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Women Of The 1920s Research Paper

1664 Words7 Pages

The 1920s was a time of social change for everyone, especially women. Before the 1920s, women were seen as housewives, mothers, and wives. However, during the 1920s, women’s views of themselves began to change. They started to pursue careers and attend universities; their clothes began to change to a more liberating style, and they began to do things that were not seen as ‘womanly’. Feminism became a popular term as women began to advocate for themselves. Women's roles during the 1920s changed from housewives and mothers to feminists and career women who challenged social roles. An excerpt from “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman gives an example of how women were treated before the 1920s. In the excerpt, we learn of an unnamed …show more content…

From this excerpt, we get the idea that women before the 1920s often never fought for themselves and went along with what the men said. However, this idea did not last for long, as women began to change their roles in society, starting with their style of clothing. Before the 1920s, dresses were longer and covered everything including shoulders and ankles. Hairstyles consist of long hair pinned up elaborately with pins, bows, and headbands. However, during the 1920s, women’s dresses began to get shorter, and showed their legs up to the knee. Some women cut their hair short, into a style called the ‘bob’. In a poem called “The Flapper” by Dorothy Parker, she says “She dared to shorten her skirts (at first just to the ankles, eventually up to her knees) and bob her hair in a short cut.” Parker uses the word ‘dared’ to emphasize the fact that this was not normal. One example of the newer style is found in a Coca-Cola advertisement (Figure 1). The hairstyle in the advertisement is an example of the bob, and the woman’s dress shows her knees and shoulders. This style helped women feel as though they could express themselves more, in their style of clothing, and other aspects of

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Have you ever wondered how women were treated by society within the 1920s? Even within the workforce? Well, in these two documents, “The New Woman of the 1920s'', and “In the Home of an Italian Rag Picker VS. The Portrait of Virginia Michael Stern '', both demonstrate the differences, and contrast between two women living in completely opposite lifestyles because of society’s treatment towards them individually, as well as society’s traditional views among women and how they presented themselves. In the document, “The New Woman of the 1920s' ', a traditional woman would have had her hair down, and longer, as well as wearing a dress that would reflect both her elegance, and pureness.

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Introduction: Thesis: The 1920s was an era of dramatic social and political change that brought along the greatest change for women. After World War I, the image of women completely transformed and the changing attitudes of America, allowed them to enroll in colleges, enter the workforce, participate in politics and play a greater role in society and public life. Paragraph I: Before 1920s Paragraph II:

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In April of 1966, James Brown sang that “this is a man’s world”, however only four decades before women had been working to prove their value and social power, by challenging the social norms, and showing that it truly would be nothing with the women of the nation. Though, in reality, to what extent did they challenge the social norms of their time? There were limitations facing the women of the 1920s regardless they changed society for the better. Even before the 1920s, women were making a new name for themselves in society. The First World War was a pivotal moment for women’s social status.

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The twentieth century was a substantial era of change and prosperity. Before this time, the predominant force were men, whether that be in the workplace, at home, and so on. Women were lower in rank and/or status, and many females accepted this as the “societal norm.” However, not every woman was satisfied with the ideology of females being put second to men. Bobbie Ann Mason, one of countless women willing to stand up against the patriarchal belief and oppression faced by females, used her writing to advocate for social change, in spite of the traditional beliefs that were held beforehand.

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As a result of technological progress and new opportunities for Americans to consume popular culture, the 1920s can be remembered as a period of immense innovation. Despite the fact that more traditional ways of thinking existed such as feelings toward immigrants and religious fundamentalism, to a greater extent, the 1920s were characterized by roles of women and the fight for freedom and equality. Before the 1920s, roles of women were mainly traditional. In general, the duty of a woman included taking care of the children, and the household. In the 1920’s, women just began to rebel against the traditions of the society, starting with becoming Flappers.

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In the 1920s women succeeded well but not without some struggles. Along the way with 19th amendment being so hard for them gaining the right to vote, women’s roles seeing that there not good enough for other than housework and the fashion or style movement with being able not to express yourself the way you should. The 19th Amendment better known as the women’s suffrage era 1920 of the united states

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The 1920’s brought a lot of equality for women, though much work still needed to be done. Before the year 1920, women could not even vote. While political equality was important during this era, there was also a huge focus placed on social equality of the sexes by feminists, called “social justice feminsts” during this time. During the twentieth century, there was a big shift in what was acceptable for woman to do, and they have more freedom, though many people still opposed it. By the 1920’s, women were openly drinking and smoking, education for women had advanced, and women actually had a larger role in the workforce, though professional careers were still somewhat elusive to them, just to name a few social improvements.

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