Preview

The Changing Role of Women in the 1920's

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
399 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Changing Role of Women in the 1920's
The changing role of Women in the 1920’s from a photograph taken from a 1928 US fashion magazine

This source is a picture of four women dressed in flapper dresses (shorter dresses that showed off more of their body). In this source I have recognised that these women may be dancing the Charleston. This could have also been danced to jazz music. This source tells us that women weren’t accompanied by men anymore (without chaperones); this gave the impression that they were single and could whatever they want. It also tells us that the fashion in the 1920’s changed, women had their hair cut much shorter, into bobs; they stopped wearing corsets and tight under garments and the hemlines on skirts and dresses rose. This gave them more choice and freedom to show off. Without chaperones women could spend their time out dancing rather than being stuck at home.
The photograph taken by the US fashion magazine is not reliable in the changing role of women because fashion magazines look at fashion, not the change of roles for women in the 1920’s. If this source was in a newspaper it would have been more reliable because it would give you information on the changing role of women. A fashion magazine is the lifestyle that women aspire to rather that what they actually have. However, this source is also reliable because it gives us the idea of what the fashion style was like at the time. This applies to at least a few women otherwise there wouldn’t be a picture of the latest fashion. As the picture in the photograph is not a painting it should be accurate.
This is useful because it shows us what women wanted to aspire to. It also shows us the progress and changing attitudes younger women in the 1920’s. From my own knowledge I would have thought these women tended to be young, rich, urban women that may have drank or smoked in public to draw attention to them. This may have been because they were unaccompanied by men. On the other hand, this only shows one role of women.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The intent of this essay is to explore the research question “How did cultural events from 1914-1945 affect women’s fashion and their means of self-expression?” Within this essay, various cultural events were investigated such as World War I, Women’s Rights Movements, The Jazz Age, The Great Depression, and World War II. Each of these events is explored in order to obtain knowledge of how they affected and shaped women’s fashion. Women were introduced into the workforce during both World Wars which influenced women in a way that made them desire more rights and privileges. Women’s fashion underwent various reforms as women began to gain more freedoms. With the birth of the Jazz era, fashion took a turn. Flapper dresses were produced and took…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dbquors In The 1920's

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page

    The 1920s were the year when drinking was against the law, and the law was a just a joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be bought. They were the years when organized crime ruled the urban center, and the police force seemed powerless against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz became more popular, and Bix Beiderbecke, Joe Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of young people. Along came the flapper beginning in the twenties, and with her bobbed haircloth and short chick, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, United States 's break with the…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though flapper aspects have changed women forever since this time period and the image of flappers began in the United States’ Hollywood, many fashion gurus changed the look of women as well. This change specifically took place in Paris because of Bow’s influence through her acting. The Parisian haute couture from 1919 to 1929 completely changed the way women dressed and the overall fashion boundaries between the sexes. A French stylist named Paul Poiret “‘declared war’ on the corset” and he showed a “powerful reminder that in the world of fashion, no bigger design revolution has taken place.” This fashion up rise can be seen on all of Bow’s magazine covers. On the cover of one of Screenland’s magazines from June of 1929, Clara Bow’s face is depicted with her red short hair and her feminine bow tie. On the cover it even states, “Clara Bow’s bathing suit for the best letter” . All throughout magazines, Bow defines the new revolution of fashion by wearing a feminine bow tie and small bikinis which was very out of the ordinary. Bow’s influence is seen through both advertising and the movie industry by making “The flapper style- both in look and demeanor- reflected the exuberant, fast pace of modern America, with its mass production, mass marketing, and mass consumption.” according to Daniel Delis Hill. Overall these aspects of fashion led to what is…

    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the dynamic era of the 1920s, a new, modern women emerged from society. This woman threw out the Victorian image of what women would be expected to look like and act like before this time period. World War I essentially changed the lifestyle for the women of America. The men during this time were accustomed to the “living-on-edge” type of lifestyle due to the riskiness of fighting in the war. They knew that each day they lived could be their last, so they lived their lives to the fullest by drinking and partying excessively. The women had broken many social barriers, such as gaining the right to vote, attending college more than men, putting off marriage, and entered new professions, while the men were at war, so when the war ended and the men returned home, everyone found it quite difficult…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1920’s proved to be an exciting time for women in America, everything indicated a new dawn was on the horizon. The recent passage of the 19th Amendment had put an end to a 40 year battle to give women the right to vote. In 1920, the suffrage cause prevailed, and a new era for women had begun. This era would empower women. Their role in the home and the workforce was about to change. Up to this point, women had been content as housewives, mothers and caregivers. The new dawn brought a new breed of young energetic women “The New Fashioned Girl”, the “Flapper”. Flappers entered the 1920’s with change on their mind. They influenced the very essence of a woman by altering their clothing, hair style and makeup. Their demeanor changed as well; Flappers were outspoken and stood up for what they believed in. They engaged in drinking, smoking, and they discussed their sexuality freely and openly with the…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Due to the new world before them, the twenties women denied the traditions of the nineteenth century. They also gained independence and fought for the same freedoms men had. This is when the woman was transformed. As a result of the Jazz Age, women needed to be able to move freely. The women of the twenties also strived to look “manly.” In order to look more like men, they tried to flatten their breasts by tightly wrapping them with strips of cloth. Their clothes were straight and loose as possible, to hide their curves. They cut off their hair and dyed it jet black. The flapper was born. Flappers' behavior was outlandish at the time and redefined women's roles. The 1920 women were stereotyped as irresponsible. They were seductive, very rebellious, and wild. Teenagers spent less and less time with their families, and more time disgracing them. With the new society influencing them, women did what they what, when they wanted to. They drank, smoke, and refused to do what was expected of them. With World War I ending, the world around was changing rapidly. With the 1920s arriving multiple changes occurred in the family life. Women were expected to cook, clean and care for their growing families. But, due to birth-control info, birthrates decreased. Also, with bread that is previously sliced, ready to wear clothes in stores, canned food, and…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The majority of the historical events that took place in the 1920’s, greatly influenced the way women dressed, as the automobile industry grew, so did female’s interest in cars. As they became drivers, women’s clothes were adjusted accordingly to their more liberated lifestyle, with sporty clothes becoming one of the leading fashion trends.…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Flapper lifestyle became popular in the 1920’s after the rights of women were expanded. The new rights that were given to the women gave them a certain confidence boost. Some women began to expand certain lifestyle activities that would, in the 1920’s, not necessarily be accepted by society’s standards. The women whose attitude became rebellious and independent became known as flapper. “Many women celebrated the age of the flapper as a female declaration of independence. Experimentation with new looks, jobs, and lifestyles seemed liberating compared with the socially silenced woman in the Victorian Age.” Both the flappers of the 1920’s and the women of modern America share an attitude of independence. Society's reactions to these women has become less…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Also, in the 1920s, women started taking on a more modern look and attitude. Women…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The 1920s was a quite controversial decade concerning women’s position. People, trying to forget about the shock of the Great War, buried themselves in an unabashed materialism and hedonism. It was a decade when all old norms were extinguished not only for women but for the whole society. It was the time of one of the greatest changes American society ever experienced.…

    • 1390 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1920s and 1930s women’s clothing became more freely flowing as opposed to more traditional constricting clothing styles until the late 1930s. The 1920s brought forth more comfortable clothing such as shorter skirts, lowered waistlines, and closer-fitted dresses to “emphasize youthful elegance” (History of 20th Century Women’s Clothing). This was deemed the “Flapper Era” and reigned from the early 1920s to the early 1930s before the Great Depression struck. During the Depression, clothing became more conservative, taking fashion a step backwards. This was because function had to be chosen over appearance on account of the stock market crashing and most people losing most to all of their money.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most noticeable fashion trends in the thirties was a Little Black Dress. Despite of being created in 1920’s, it gained popularity in the next decade. The LBD , “a slim-fitting dress of varying length worn for dinners, cocktail parties and evenings out – was one of the most popular fashions of the twentieth century” . Because of the simplicity of the dress, it became one of the all time favorites of women living in the Great Depression era. As the dress was simple, it did not need much of accessories. Due to the universality of the dress, women of the middle-class were able to be on a par with those from high-society.…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    New Women In The 1920's

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Also, I think the New women was one of the successful changes that emerged in the Roaring twenties. The now women known as flapper had more freedom (they did not want to use corsets and act like their mother). They had short hair, short skirt, drink and smoke in public. Women had access to a type of birth control, which helped poor families to not have a lot of children. In 1920, the 19th amendment allowed women to vote, which increased women presence in public area. Women had more chances to work in professional jobs, but only feminized professions like teaching and nursing. The automobile becomes more popular and more reliable, especially in women. Women drove themselves anywhere and were not depended on men. The automobile made escaping more easily to women. Women were escaping their homes and fleeing with men to get married.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In The 1920's

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The 1920’s were the years of expression, change, innovations and new opportunities. Within these years women were exposed to different types of cultures and expressions some major ones being jazz and flappers. Women also gained the right to vote when the nineteenth amendment was passed allowing women to now have a say in political circumstances. Sheppard-Towner Act was also passed making it possible to have well-baby clinics, educational programs, as well as nursing. Expression for women came from the influence of flappers, which were usually young women who partied nonstop. This new stereotype for women came with the expression of dance, fashion and women clubs and college influenced to change their looks and way of lives. Although women were…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fashion in the 1930’s

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Have you ever wondered how fashion was back then in the 1930’s? If you ask me, I thought it was amazingly beautiful. They were so creative, unique and old-fashion, that’s what is called real fashion . That’s just my opinion. I’m interested in the different designs they have on the clothing, how they are cut, and what they wear with what type of other clothing on. “The women’s fashion back then was much more lady-like” . ( http://www.fashion-era.com/stylish_thirties.htm ) The little girls fashion was mostly cute dresses with flats. Men’s fashion was more formal back then.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics