1. Women and Minorities in the 1920s

2. Minorities: Hispanics
Thousands of Hispanic immigrants entered American cities
50,000 Puerto Ricans in New York alone (East Harlem)
Created mutualistas (mutual aid societies)
Helped immigrants get credit, housing, and health care

3. Created own communities, called barrios
Had own businesses, churches, cultural organizations
Created a sense of permanency
Allowed immigrants to retain cultures and traditions
Also reflected hostilities
Discrimination, racism, segregation

4. Women in the 1920s

6. Amendment XIX (19)
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.

7. Northern, urban, single, young, middle-class women
Many held steady jobs and were more economically independent
Sales associates at department stores
Switchboard operators
Clerks, typists, filers
Teachers, librarians
Others attended colleges

8. Short hair in bobs, dresses and skirts above the knee
Wore make-up and high heels
Entered sports and danced
Smokes and consumed alcohol in public
Even during prohibition

9. Song of the Times (1925)  Flappers are we  Flappers are we  Flappers and fly and free.  Never too slow  All on the go  Petting parties with the smarties.  Dizzy with dangerous glee  Puritans knock us  Because the way we're clad.  Preachers all mock us  Because we're not bad.  Most flippant young flappers are we!  From Tea for Two in the musical, No, No, Nanette, written by Vincent Youmas

11. What caused this change?
Some possible explanations:
Discontented women who were forced to leave the workforce after WWI rebelled against social norms
Less men for women after WWI so women allowed to be single and casually date
Women getting more political power with the 19th Amendment
Able to voice opinions and have a say in their lives

12. Paying jobs and automobiles
Women able to support selves, not rely on husband or father
Could drive places to visit friends, go on outings
More freedom, less restrictions
Rebellion from super strict Victorian norms of the older generation
Corsets, long gowns, long hair
Chaperones, courtship

13. But not every woman was a flapper!

14. Homemaking was still a large part during the 1920s
Women still expected to cook, clean, raise children and take care of household chores
Inventions such as the washing machine, dryers, and frozen easy cook meals freed up time for many women
Upper class women also enjoyed more leisure time by hiring a nanny

16. GQ#3: How did the role of women change in
the 1920s and
what caused
this change?