Flappers

With the 19th Amendment granting women with political rights, they now had a say and more power. In 1920 “flappers” emerged into society. Flappers were known as young, single, middle-class women who tried to draw themselves away from the idea of the traditional identity of women from their previous generations. With the American economy changing, the women who were known as flappers were able to hold a steady job. Flappers were a representation of women revolving themselves.  Flappers were criticized by the women who kept the traditional identity. The women of traditional value saw flapper’s care-free attitude and party lifestyle as a disgrace to society. They felt that flapper's poor behavior reflected on the men, making them worse then they already were.

Flapper women also developed a new trend in fashion. They wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, and danced their nights away with jazz music. They smoked and drank publicly, side by side with men, flaunting their sexuality. Flappers looked at sex in a casual manner. “Their hair was cut shorter than in the past, to be more associated with men’s traditionally shorter hair, and indeed the “bobbed” hair became a symbol of freedom. Women began smoking, and they worked toward attaining sexual freedom, as well, trying to combat the traditional double standard which saw men who had taken many lovers as healthy but women who had many as evil or flawed. Cosmetics and change in dress styles are marketed to women during this time period to represent that new freedom, and that freedom was ultimately represented by the flappers of the time” ("Women in the Twentieth Century and Beyond"). They aimed to please just themselves. As soon as women thought they were heading down a path to gain more rights and independence, the stock market crashed, tightening up gender roles once again.