Flappers In The 1920s Essay

Flappers were not in fact only concerned with standing out and being noticed. They were not simply fashion and image-driven, selfish women, but were strong, self-willed, independent young feminist citizens who were fighting passionately for their right to stable equality amidst a prominently male-driven world. These women pushed aggressively for their social, professional, and sexual freedom which they felt were hard-earned and well overdue. Many flappers wished to pursue positions in careers which would otherwise be deemed unacceptable for the average women of the time. They hoped that by breaking away from social normality's that they could eventually obtain equality in all important aspects of life while hopefully also allowing them entry into many professional fields which would normally be unaccessible to women.

The 1920s was nicknamed the “Roaring Twenties” because every action had a voice. Every event or amendment was supported by some type of individual or group. Certain individuals made opportunity for American citizens, such as Henry Ford. Because of business leaders like him, Americans once confined to their city of work, can now live miles away. This era was full of trial and error. Trial and error can be supported by the fact that a new amendment repealed a past amendment. America was shaped politically by Congress, stereotypes, and mass production. The 1920s wouldn’t be the same without the leading automobile industry, “New Women”, and the Eighteenth Amendment.

Before flappers came along women were very modest. They were brought up to be "lady-like" and did not even date men unless their parents came along. They would wear clothes that were long and fancy and would cover their bodies head-to-toe, because they were not allowed to even show their ankles. Flappers went against all theses customs. Their irresponsible actions included: around kissing men, dancing on men provocatively, and just not caring about what the rules were. Women had limited freedom in the 1900s until the Flappers came along and changed many things for women through the way they dressed and acted, creating the "New Woman" or the 1920s.

The 1920s was a very special time for woman. Women started standing for up for themselves and making points to men that women can do just the same as them, and that women should be equal to men and have the same rights. That’s where flappers came from. Flappers were basically woman who stood out and did what they wanted. Women's rights were changed drastically because of flappers, now women are more equal to men. Flappers had a large impact on the American culture going from woman’s right, music and their fashion.

The flapper had an indisputable look. The long locks of Victorian women fell on the floors of beauty parlors as young women cut their hair to shoulder length. Hemlines of dresses rose fiercely to the knee. The cosmetics industry prospered as women used makeup in large numbers. Flappers constrained their chests and wore high heels. Many women celebrated the age of the flapper as a female “declaration of independence”. Experimentation with new looks, jobs, and lifestyles was incomparable with the woman in the Victorian Age. The flappers chose activities to please themselves, not a father or husband. But critics were quick to elucidate the shortcomings of “flapperism.” The political agenda grasped by the previous generation was largely ignored until the feminist revival of the 1960s. Many wondered if flappers were trying to express themselves or act like men. One thing was certain: Despite the political and social gains or losses, the flappers of the 1920s sure managed to have a good time.

A flapper’s daily routine is going to a jazz club or a burlesque and even speakeasies. In society flappers were being looked upon as defying their gender roles which were traditional, commitment to being religious, and commitment to hard work and also modesty. Flappers thought that they were making a difference because they were called “New Women”.

Many changes in the 1920s in day to day life happened. In the 1920s most of it was under President Woodrow Wilson. During this time many Americans challenged past traditions and created their own. Many people became interested in new popular culture. New traditions such as listening to the radio, and watching film brought new thrills about news, sports, and made party’s better.

Flappers in the 1920s where the girls and women that dressed less modestly. They also disobeyed the rules that most women and girls followed. They did what others would not ever think of doing in this time period.

Frederick Lewis Allen, in his famous chronicle of the 1920s Only Yesterday, contended that women’s “growing independence” had accelerated a “revolution in manners and morals” in American society (95). The 1920s did bring significant changes to the lives of American women. World War I, industrialization, suffrage, urbanization, and birth control increased women’s economic, political, and sexual freedom. However, with these advances came pressure to conform to powerful but contradictory archetypes. Women were expected to be both flapper and wife, sex object and mother. Furthermore, Hollywood and the emerging “science” of advertising increasingly tied conceptions of femininity to

War is often followed by change; World War I is no exception. World War I is often labeled the cause for the rise of a feminine revolution-“the flapper”. Before the term “flapper” began to describe the “young independently-minded woman of the early Twenties” (Mowry 173), the definition that is most prominent today, it had a 300-year long history. The young woman of the 1920’s was new and rebellious. In her appearance and demeanor, she broke the social constructs of her society.

Flappers of the 20’s changed the standards of femininity forever in many ways. The major thing that these flapper girls did was make femininity marketable. Before the flapper generation, many women took part in the political realm and fought to have the same rights that men had. However, these flapper women wanted nothing to do with politics like their mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers did. These women found politics boring, and these women only wanted to have fun.

In the 1920s, America began to experience a lot of modernization with the era of prohibition, lively spirited flappers, and a clash between science and religion. Just after World War I, Americans had to make the hard transition from farm life, to work in the cities. Life in the cities was very different from the small life in small towns. With many immigrants in America, city life offered Americans change socially with its tolerance with drinking, gambling and dating life. Just after World War I, prohibition to manufacture, sell, and transport alcohol took place because of the Eighteenth Amendment.

The twenties was a time of drinking, cars, and jazz. At the time, prohibition had officially ended as they had passed the 21st Amedment. Henry Ford's Model T vehicle became one of the most bought items. The introduction of jazz also happened during this period. However, it all came to a sudden end at the beginning of the thirties when the stock market crashed. Overall, the twenties was a time for new life and new opportunities.

The decade of the 20 in the United States was a time of great change after exit of the First World War. When the war ended after a fight of 72 years, women had won the most precious right to vote. The Flappers were young urban women, unmarried of middle class that had a job in the changing U.S. economy, especially as secretaries, telephone operators or vendors at the department stores. The flapper went by the nights to jazz clubs where used to dance in a provocative way, smoked cigarettes with long nozzles, aspired cocaine and the flapper had meeting with rich men. The flapper driving motorcycles and cars (fast).

At the start of the 1920s, a new woman emerged. She drank, danced, smoked, and took risks. She didn’t hide her legs behind thick stockings, and she put on as much makeup as she desired. Her voice was loud, her personality anything but conservative. She was known as a flapper. These woman were known for many reasons; such as, their social influence, their behavior, and the way they dressed, but how did they fill these categories?