The Twenties Woman The Twenties Woman

THE TWENTIES WOMAN After the tumult of World War I, Americans were looking for a little fun in the 1920s. Many women began to assert their independent, reject the values of the 19 th century, and demand the same freedoms as men. Chicago 1926

THE FLAPPER was born  Challenged the traditional ways.  Revolution of manners and morals. A Flapper was an emancipated young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes.

Life of a Flapper The life of a flapper was a lot of fun! It consisted of constant partying. Flappers smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol – all of which were unheard of if you were a woman! They lived very reckless lives and would cling to their youth. Flappers were the first of the women to flaunt their sexuality. Their lifestyles were shown in the way that they dressed and danced.

FlappersFlappers These women challenged traditional American values.  Characteristics of a Flapper:  Short, bobbed hair  Short hems on their skirts  Listened to Jazz music  Wore makeup  Drank hard liquor  Smoked cigarettes  Treating sex in a more casual manner  Were opposed to the conventional social and sexual norms

The Flapper Look Flappers wore heavy make up with scarlet lips and heavy eye make up. Before the flappers, only “loose” women wore make up. Women tried to look more like men in the twenties. They would tightly wrap their chest with strips of cloth to flatten it. They were trying to look around the age of a 15 year old boy.

The Flapper Look Part Two The twenties changed the way the world looked at hair styles. “The Bob” is the infamous hair style that was everywhere in the 20’s. Most women haircuts were very short in the back and 20 % longer in the front. The Cloche Hat was a must during the day. This was a hat that fit snuggly over short hair and reached the eyebrows.

Coco Chanel Coco Chanel she designed such an image which ultimately was recognized as flapper fashion She propagated loose fitting clothes for women to be comfortable. Chanel put women into slacks All the famous innovations in fashion and design cannot outshine the fame of the single Chanel Little Black Dress Chanel black dress “a Ford”, meaning it’s simplicity and it's potential for an enormous and long-lasting success One of the first women to wear trousers, cut her hair and reject the corset was Coco Chanel. Probably the most influential woman in fashion of the 20th century, Coco Chanel did much to further the emancipation and freedom of women's fashion.

EntertainmentEntertainment Dancing Dancing was a flappers favorite pastime. They would dance the Charleston, Black Bottom and the Shimmy. The May 1920 edition of Atlantic Monthly said that “flappers trot like foxes, limp like lame ducks, one step like cripples, and all the barbaric lawp of strange instruments which transform the whole scene into a moving picture of a fancy ball in bedliam”. ch?v=NdPlUjbiDoI&feature=pla yer_detailpage

EntertainmentEntertainment Drinking Drinking was a favorite pastime of the flappers. Prohibition was in effect, and the women were breaking the law. Before this, only men would drink. The women were seen as “Giddy Flappers” due to drunkenness. Many carried a flask, which was extremely unheard of – even for men!

NEW ROLES FOR WOMEN  The fast-changing world of the 1920s produced new roles for women  Many women entered the workplace as nurses, teachers, librarians, & secretaries  However, women earned less than men and were kept out of many traditional male jobs (management) and faced discrimination Early 20 th Century teachers

EducationEducation By 1928, women were earning 39% of the college degrees given in the United States. It had risen from the original 19% it was at the beginning of the century.  Example:  In 1926, Sarah Lawrence College was founded as an all girls school

THE CHANGING FAMILY  American birthrates declined for several decades before the 1920s  During the 1920s that trend increased as birth control information became widely available  Birth control clinics opened and the American Birth Control League was founded in 1921 Margaret Sanger and other founders of the American Birth Control League

MODERN Family EMERGES Marriage was based on romantic love.  Women managed the household and finances. Children were not considered laborers/ wage earners anymore. Seen as developing children who needed nurturing and education

19 th Amendment Women Rights To Vote “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” It was ratified on August 18 th, 1920.

Alice Paul She was the head of National Women’s Party. Felt that the 19 th Amendment wasn’t enough. (Pushed for an Equal Rights Amendment to be added to the constitution) Double Standard-a set of principles granting greater sexual freedom to men than to women January 11th, 1885

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) “Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction.”  It was first introduced to Congress in  Made all forms of discrimination based on sex illegal.  Never passed in Congress.

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