Women of the 1920s
http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/flapper.html
The ‘Roaring Twenties’ was a decade that propelled immense change and new experiences, many people were spontaneous part-takers in the change. Several revolutions occurred in areas of music, scientific and technological discoveries, media (art, literature, movies), fashion and most significantly was the revolutionised ‘New woman’ of the decade. Woman of the 1920s gained several rights and much like the rest of society adopted a freer lifestyle, more casual fashion standards and less pious beliefs. Fashion was no longer a means of presenting oneself as a poised and polite female, it evolved into a form of self-expression as seen in the words of Helena Rubenstein “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.” During WW1 girls were encapsulated by the patriotic fervour and belligerently entered the workforce. Both genders of this generation were able to break from society’s structure; hence they found it very difficult to return. Woman also sought and gained success in politics this combined with having more leisure time in this era; granted them more liberty and allowed females to challenge the traditional ideas of women’s roles in society.
The Flapper
A Flapper on a ship, 1929
"Take two bare knees, two rolled stockings, two flapping goloshes, one short skirt, one lipstick, one powder puff, 33 cigarettes, and a boy friend with flask. Season with a pinch of salt and dash of pep, and cover all with some spicy sauce, and you have the old-time flapper."- One Connecticut damsel gives the following recipe for the flapper
Undoubtedly one of the greatest symbols of the 1920s was the ‘Flapper’. First coined in Great Britain after WW1, it was used to describe the young girls still somewhat awkward in poise and who had not yet entered womanhood. In essence the term soon came to represent young ladies, with bobbed hair (Eton crop), short less covering attire, excessive makeup who flaunted their disdain for what was considered the acceptable behaviour, drank too much and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms. Called garçonne in French ("boy" with a feminine suffix), flapper style made girls look young and boyish: short hair, flattened breasts, and straight waists accentuated it. Flapper dresses were straight and tight, leaving the arms bare (sometimes no straps at all) and dropping the waistline to the hips. So revolutionary was the change in dress code that in 1925 the Archbishop of the Naples pointed the finger at short-skirts for causing an Italian earthquake. Their attitude was characterised by a bold truthfulness, fast living and sexual behaviour, true to their form these women clung to their youth as if it were to leave them at any moment. Their outlandish behaviour was portrayed in the image of women who took risks and were reckless, they were regular patrons of Jazz clubs where they danced provocatively (the Charleston, the Shimmy, the Bunny Hug, and the Black Bottom.) and openly engaging in excessive drinking and smoking, something which men had only done before. Henry Ford’s innovations presented to the flapper an accessible commodity that was fast and risky, fitting well with the fast paced lifestyle they had chosen. In an act of defiance to the traditional gender roles, devotion to plain-living hard work and religion; flappers not only insisted to ride in them, they drove them as well. Increasingly, women discarded old, rigid ideas about roles and embraced consumerism and personal choice, and were often described in terms of representing a "culture war" of old versus new. In reality most women did not embrace these conventions, but even women that were not flappers gained unprecedented freedoms.
Undoubtedly one of the greatest symbols of the 1920s was the ‘Flapper’. First coined in Great Britain after WW1, it was used to describe the young girls still somewhat awkward in poise and who had not yet entered womanhood. In essence the term soon came to represent young ladies, with bobbed hair (Eton crop), short less covering attire, excessive makeup who flaunted their disdain for what was considered the acceptable behaviour, drank too much and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms. Called garçonne in French ("boy" with a feminine suffix), flapper style made girls look young and boyish: short hair, flattened breasts, and straight waists accentuated it. Flapper dresses were straight and tight, leaving the arms bare (sometimes no straps at all) and dropping the waistline to the hips. So revolutionary was the change in dress code that in 1925 the Archbishop of the Naples pointed the finger at short-skirts for causing an Italian earthquake. Their attitude was characterised by a bold truthfulness, fast living and sexual behaviour, true to their form these women clung to their youth as if it were to leave them at any moment. Their outlandish behaviour was portrayed in the image of women who took risks and were reckless, they were regular patrons of Jazz clubs where they danced provocatively (the Charleston, the Shimmy, the Bunny Hug, and the Black Bottom.) and openly engaging in excessive drinking and smoking, something which men had only done before. Henry Ford’s innovations presented to the flapper an accessible commodity that was fast and risky, fitting well with the fast paced lifestyle they had chosen. In an act of defiance to the traditional gender roles, devotion to plain-living hard work and religion; flappers not only insisted to ride in them, they drove them as well. Increasingly, women discarded old, rigid ideas about roles and embraced consumerism and personal choice, and were often described in terms of representing a "culture war" of old versus new. In reality most women did not embrace these conventions, but even women that were not flappers gained unprecedented freedoms.
Women in Politics
The 1920s saw more and women involved within the political process, becoming significant influencers of global politics. Their involvement came through;
1) lobbying state legislature by holding rallies, marches, protests and civil disobedience
2) national campaigns posters such as “Rosie the Riveteer” they pushed views very proactive to make changes
3) increase public awareness occupational segregation
4) change vocabulary to make certain descriptions more appealing, less derogatory towards women
Before this period the common belief was that women shouldn’t vote as it was not within her intellectual capabilities to make a sound judgement at elections, there was also a fear that an increasing involvement in politics would mean that women would stop getting married, stop having children and the human race would die out; known as the Race Suicide Argument. New rights gained was the right to vote, equal rights to both genders, both genders became joint guardians of children and raising the age of the protection of young girls to 18. Suffragists’ campaigns in the US consisted of the sole argument that: “Women's work on behalf of the war effort, activists pointed out, proved that they were just as patriotic and deserving of citizenship as men,” This lead to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on August 26th 1920, ultimately granting suffrage to all American women, declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. It was only a short period of time before countries all over the world followed suit (1921-Sweden, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Belgium, 1922-Burma 1924- Saint Lucia, Tajikistan, 1925- Italy 1928-UK, Guyana, Ireland, Ecuador) also in 1923 activists in Britain gained a step forward through the Matrimonial Causes Act which once enforced that in the event of a divorce both spouses were regarded as equal and in 1929 in Canada Women found to be "persons" in Canada and therefore able to become members of the Senate. Famous suffragists and activists of the time included Australians Edith Cowan, Charlotte Fulton and Rose Scott, Americans Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony. These women pioneered the movements towards universal women’s suffrage and dedicated their lives to causes such as women’s property rights, abolition of slavery and temperance and equal rights for all human beings.
1) lobbying state legislature by holding rallies, marches, protests and civil disobedience
2) national campaigns posters such as “Rosie the Riveteer” they pushed views very proactive to make changes
3) increase public awareness occupational segregation
4) change vocabulary to make certain descriptions more appealing, less derogatory towards women
Before this period the common belief was that women shouldn’t vote as it was not within her intellectual capabilities to make a sound judgement at elections, there was also a fear that an increasing involvement in politics would mean that women would stop getting married, stop having children and the human race would die out; known as the Race Suicide Argument. New rights gained was the right to vote, equal rights to both genders, both genders became joint guardians of children and raising the age of the protection of young girls to 18. Suffragists’ campaigns in the US consisted of the sole argument that: “Women's work on behalf of the war effort, activists pointed out, proved that they were just as patriotic and deserving of citizenship as men,” This lead to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on August 26th 1920, ultimately granting suffrage to all American women, declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. It was only a short period of time before countries all over the world followed suit (1921-Sweden, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Belgium, 1922-Burma 1924- Saint Lucia, Tajikistan, 1925- Italy 1928-UK, Guyana, Ireland, Ecuador) also in 1923 activists in Britain gained a step forward through the Matrimonial Causes Act which once enforced that in the event of a divorce both spouses were regarded as equal and in 1929 in Canada Women found to be "persons" in Canada and therefore able to become members of the Senate. Famous suffragists and activists of the time included Australians Edith Cowan, Charlotte Fulton and Rose Scott, Americans Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony. These women pioneered the movements towards universal women’s suffrage and dedicated their lives to causes such as women’s property rights, abolition of slavery and temperance and equal rights for all human beings.
Women in the Workforce
Women of the time were an artefact to larger social changes, they were now becoming more assertive and less willing to keep the home fires burning this attitude effectively saw them advancing in the workforce. New found freedoms encouraged movement out of the house, and millions of women worked in white collar jobs (stenographers or clerical and secretarial jobs, typing offices), factory and domestic work, nursing, teaching, and shop assisting, overall allowing females to be able to afford to participate in the burgeoning consumer economy. Although many women were becoming part of the workforce, it was still looked upon as an act of desperation when a married woman chose to work as for some the cost of living was high and few people could own a home and keep up with the new lifestyle which required its large array of domestic gadgets. WW1 gave women the opportunity to depart from the traditional roles and take up the challenges that were occupied by men, this lead to a higher proportion of women both single and married taking jobs outside the home. The working woman was epitomized by the image of a female who left home, moved into the paid workforce, moved outside the stereotypical realm of female activities and creating a huge barrier between home and work. When the soldiers returned home from WW1, women weren’t ousted from their jobs as their employers saw that they worked as efficiently as men but for a lower wage. Women soon began to demand higher wages along with more political rights; in 1928, the average male wage was £10 40s (shilling) a day whereas the average female wage was £8 80s.
Women at home
'Adam is a notoriously egocentric fellow who, with some honorable exceptions, believes that the universe was made for him and his sons, and that Eve and her daughters are people of a lesser growth, with a lower destiny'- Politician Ms M. Preston Stanley wrote a column in The Sydney Daily Telegraph called 'A Woman to Women'. She openly confronted male arrogance and encouraged women towards independence.
Home-life was drastically changed for the average woman. Women were now competing with men in the business world and obtaining financial independence and, therefore, other kinds of independence from men. The ‘Roaring twenties’ brought on a wave of families with less children, whether this was due to high cost of living in some areas or the development of the diaphragm (form of female birth control) allowing women to have fewer children is uncertain. The elimination of drudgery housework came through the development of technologies such as the washing machine, vacuum cleaner while the creation of cars with electrical self-starters meant that they longer have to hand-crank them or have the assistance of a male and most importantly they had greater access to mobility. ‘Divorce’ soon became the catchphrase of the decade. An increasing number of women were filing for a divorce during this period, as they had greater financial freedom and independence.
Home-life was drastically changed for the average woman. Women were now competing with men in the business world and obtaining financial independence and, therefore, other kinds of independence from men. The ‘Roaring twenties’ brought on a wave of families with less children, whether this was due to high cost of living in some areas or the development of the diaphragm (form of female birth control) allowing women to have fewer children is uncertain. The elimination of drudgery housework came through the development of technologies such as the washing machine, vacuum cleaner while the creation of cars with electrical self-starters meant that they longer have to hand-crank them or have the assistance of a male and most importantly they had greater access to mobility. ‘Divorce’ soon became the catchphrase of the decade. An increasing number of women were filing for a divorce during this period, as they had greater financial freedom and independence.
Bibliography
Pictures and Information sourced from:
http://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/photos#suffrage-and-the-women-behind-it
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005846/introduction/introduction.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/fschiro/ppt-women-1920s
http://skwerk.com.au/p-c_s-14_u-43_t-50_c-149/women/nsw/women/australia-between-the-wars-1920s/australians-between-the-wars-1920s
by Sajani Abeykoon
Last Updated: 18th September 2011
http://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/photos#suffrage-and-the-women-behind-it
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005846/introduction/introduction.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/fschiro/ppt-women-1920s
http://skwerk.com.au/p-c_s-14_u-43_t-50_c-149/women/nsw/women/australia-between-the-wars-1920s/australians-between-the-wars-1920s
by Sajani Abeykoon
Last Updated: 18th September 2011