In her thesis, she explains how the Flappers reflected the changes in women’s role in the 1920s, and how it was a different from the conservative women of the Victorian Era. She emphasizes how important the Flappers were, and how sometimes they are overlooked. “The role of the flappers in the 1920s was to introduce a new way of life to women, and the flappers provided a model through which women may be able to make a small change in their marriage and life.” As we see here, Flappers were of great importance to the advancement of women roles in society. Even though, Flapper helped change the role of women, which would be considered a feminist issue, they criticized them.
The 1920s were a time of great change in the United States. World War I had just ended and everyone was joyous that it was over. New jobs were created and styles changed to fit these new times. It was during this period that the flapper came about. The flapper’s unfamiliar style shocked those of the older generation.
A new, modern woman who was self-assured, exuberant, adventurous and sophisticated, the flapper embraced unconventional behavior and represented American’s changing attitudes towards cultural norms, language and dress. impact: the flapper left behind her indelible mark on language, dress and behavior of american women. She was often labeled as bold for her outspoken nature and her use of slang; she was not a woman to be shocked by swearing or to censure the language of others. Flappers were energetic, independent, self-sufficient and sure of themselves and they ushered in a new era of freedom for women. The changing attitudes they inspired increasingly allowed women to enroll in colleges, enter the workforce, participate in politics and generally play a greater role in society and public life.
Flappers symbolized the “new woman” and began to redefine the role of women in society as well as the home. A huge turning point for women’s suffrage occurred during the 1920’s and “nothing symbolized it more than the Nineteenth Amendment – woman won the right to vote” This push for equality helped pave the way for future equality
Lloyd Armbrust reputes that the flappers abandoned the old generation’s unflattering and tight fashion with their flowing dresses with bobbed hair to display their confidence. Flappers would hang their corsets and cut their hair to illustrate how women had the ability to wear what they want and be who they please. They disapproved of the modest dresses women were expected to wear and ridded themselves of the patriarchy’s body shaming notions. Before the 1920s, women were rarely seen in bars and saloons but, as the Prohibition was implemented, Armbrust notes the flappers segregated the bars to drink freely. These women had the ability to defy what society told them and learned that being “selfless” was oppressive.
Flappers were more than women with bob haircuts and short skirts; they were women that symbolized a larger change in society. The behavior of flappers was greatly credited to its time: the Roaring Twenties -a period between the terrifying First World War and misfortune of the Great Depression. The decade of the 1920s involved many women experiencing new found freedoms, specifically employment. As many men were drafted to fight in the war, jobs within the continental United States opened up for women. In addition, less men at home meant that there would be a larger competition amongst young women for male attention.
Since early ages, mothers have always criticized the ways their daughters acted. In the 1920s criticisms were taken a step further by the flappers, who completely revolutionized the view on females. Flappers in the 1920s had an impact on women for the future. Who they were, what they wore, and what their morals were was how their impacts changed the future for all the females. “The term "flapper" originated in the 1920s and refers to the fashion trend for unfastened rubber galoshes that "flapped" when walking, an attribution reinforced by the image of the free-wheeling flapper in popular culture.”
Flappers “Flappers were northern, urban, single, young, middle-class women” (“Flappers[Ushistory. Org]”). Flappers were a generation of young women in the Roaring Twenties that lived their lives as they pleased. These women broke typical stereotypes of the “Victorian woman” and started a revolution of what a “woman” was and could be. Flappers smoked, drank, danced, cut their hair, stopped wearing corsets, dated, and even could vote.
While a majority of the “old-fashioned” people disagreed with the ways of flappers in this time, others saw it as a declaration of independance. “(…) the New Woman of the 1920s boldly asserted her right to dance, drink, smoke, and date—to work her own property, to live free of the strictures that governed her mother’s generation. (…) She flouted Victorian-era conventions and scandalized her parents. In many ways, she controlled her own destiny.”
Recognizable for looser moral behavior, the flapper wore revealing clothing desiring a body type focused on androgyny and cut her hair into a short style framing the face. Typically found in urban areas and practiced by “young, single women,” the flapper forcibly distorted the divisions “between working class and middle class femininity,” yet this was not a purposeful social cause such as what led to the passage of the 19th Amendment. Concerned mostly with individual actions and rebellions, the flapper stayed “oblivious to the problems” of the 1920 and was not a “political identity” at all but rather a youth movement that did not include or consider the feminists of the previous decade that pushed for female suffrage; in fact not equate their “femininity with gender equality” in American society. As the Great Depression hit, however, the behavior of men and women changed drastically. This economic downturn led to a return to traditional forms of femininity with the safety of marriage, and though criticized under the eyes of “revolutionaries,” remained the unshakeable basis for American society until the 1960s.
Flappers, by definition, are young women , not yet in womanhood, whose intent was to enjoy herself and break the rules. Throughout the project, I learned that Flappers were roaring through the 1920’s as independent women who just wanted to have fun. Flappers had just gotten the right to vote, and were still fighting for more equal rights on their part. They were women who wanted to be treated equally with men; they wanted to get rid of the double standards between the men and women. People thought the women were trying to be like the men, when really the women just wanted keep everything equal without having a barrier between men and women.
Since women in the 1920s fought so hard for our rights, we are now able to smoke, drink, wear makeup, wear short dresses, and do whatever they want. We can go to parties, school, work, etc. and be able to wear our cute clothes that express ourselves without being judged or thought badly of. The most familiar symbol of the “Roaring Twenties” is probably the flapper (Document four). A flapper is a young woman with bobbed hair and short skirts who drank, smoked and said what might be termed “unladylike” things, in addition to being more sexually “free” than previous generations.
Many women in this time period were known as flappers: personified by the sound made by the skirts they wore, which traditionally were not socially acceptable. An important event for women's rights during the 20s was the passing of the 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote and marked a big step towards gender equality. Altogether, the 1920s marked the beginning of a huge evolution for women’s rights in America, therefore making a key change in America.
Flapper: “The woman of the 1920’s boldly asserted her right to dance, drink, smoke, and to work. Her own property, to live free of strictures that governed her mother's generation. Since the beginning of time society has changed drastically, with some years seeming to differ more than others. Although three time periods that seem to stand out to me are the 1920’s era, 1980’s, and 21st century. All three time periods the United states have grown and made our nation what it is today.
Flappers were women in the 1920’s that expressed themselves in ways that opposed the social norms of the time. Flappers had a reputation for acting flamboyant, independent in spirit, and looking for a good time. Along with their lively personas, they were always seen having a specific fashion. It was common to see flappers wearing loose dresses with low waists, short skirts, and tops with no arms. The combination of these pieces were intended to make the flapper look boyish and androgynous.
