We learned briefly about flappers in the video about the 1920s, but one quick question wasn’t enough to satisfy my curiosity. I’ve heard of flappers in books and movies, they represent the twenties to many people, but who were they really? And what did they represent for women and women’s rights?
Flappers came about mainly after the time women got the vote in the United States. This is an extremely important time for women, as it represents progress and freedom. But there was more that happened during that time to give women further freedom. Birth control, something Margaret Sanger helped to provide to women, became far more widespread and accessible. Even smaller things such as cars allowed for flappers, as they provided further mobility. The deaths of the men in World War I left a country full of young, independent women gaining further freedom in a time of prosperity. This setup created what we know today as flappers.
Flappers were young, single, and often employed women in the 20s. They held jobs such as clerk and operator in their day life, and weren’t looking for a man. But the day life of a flapper is far less fun and far less known than that of the night life flapper.
In the night, flappers were partiers, smokers, drinkers, and dancers. They wore their hair short, something that wouldn’t have happened just twenty, or even ten years before. The dresses they wore were famous for being scandalous for the time, with shorter necklines and shorter skirts. In today’s world, mid calf seems long, but at the time it was new and revealing. Dresses were also lighter and thinner to make movement easier, which was necessary for the explosive and active dancing in the jazz clubs. This new look was and still is celebrated as a demonstration of female independence.
A new and lesser known change in look was that of makeup. Flappers began to wear more makeup. Eyeliner, lipstick, and powder were popular choices for flappers at the time. Another lesser known flapper staple was their reckless behavior, especially seen with their use of cigarettes and alcohol. Despite prohibition, the use of alcohol in speakeasies was abundant, and flappers often had drinks out on the town and in the clubs, the spots they were most famous for being in.
Flappers began to transcend the streets. Ads targeting women often featured the new spunky flappers, not uncommon in this new age of consumerism. One of the most famous advertising women was Helen Lansdowne Resor, who was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 1967. This was one of the first times sex appeal was used in advertising, something still seen today.
Movies also featured the new women of the era. The movie boom in the 20s due to new technology allowed for the new women of the era to be stars. Some famous ones include The Flapper in 1920 and It in 1927. It popularized the idea of the “it” girl in culture. Others include Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1928 and Flaming Youth in 1923. Flaming Youth also featured a common flapper actress at the time, Colleen Moore. She was one of the most fashionable stars of the era with her bob haircut. She has an impressive 64 credits in movies from 1916 all the way to 1934.
In today’s culture, we know the flapper from pictures and movies, seeing her simply as a party girl with a short dress and shorter hair. But flappers were so much more. Their cultural impact was enormous, and their presence defined the independent woman of the time. Women continue to push boundaries today, and the flapper truly started the risqué trends. The social, political, and economic conditions created one of the most iconic 20s figures, and she’s still relevant today. Take the time to learn about flappers, because they’re more than party girls; they helped create a modern women’s independence movement.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/flappers
http://www.ushistory.org/us/46d.asp
https://www.thoughtco.com/flappers-in-the-roaring-twenties-1779240
I love how you connected flappers to their impact in women's rights, and how the death of most of a generation of men allowed these women to embrace independence. I also find it really interesting how you expanded on my previous notion of what independences they were granted: I had known that they got the right to vote, but I didn't realize that they were also given more access to birth control and more mobility. I'm wondering if the increased mobility due to cars had a similar impact on other minorities or previously oppressed people, such as African Americans.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting to see how movies, a new emerging form of entertainment, was used to promote the movement and freedom of expression. How might new forms of entertainment today influence similar movements?
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was really interesting. I liked how you emphasized how all of the things that the flappers were doing were so different from anything that women had ever done before (i.e. makeup, haircuts, clothes). I agree with Jessica in saying that you also talked about how this gave women more independence, freedom and choice in their lives. You talk about how they pushed boundaries in everyday life, while women were also pushing boundaries in politics when they tried to get women the right to vote. I'm curious, however, on how these flappers compared to vamps and how vamps pushed boundaries differently.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you mentioned how flappers were related to the women's independence movement. Vamps were also similar to flappers but came a few years before and were even more daring. They were often seem in films and were portrayed as seductive and extremely controversial.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2014/07/before-flapper-naughty-vamp-scandalized.html
I liked this article because it acknowledges flapper's role not only as a character from the 1920s but also a figure for white women's rights.
ReplyDeleteI liked this article because it showed the more subtle ways that women expressed their freedom and independence. Things like wearing more make up, more scandalous clothing and wearing ones hair shorter seems insignificant to us but in fact was a huge change for women then. It is cool that the flappers were promoted through ads because it probably helped other women feel more free to express themselves in new ways instead of being forced to conform to the old ways of society.
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