flapper girls

Throughout history women as a whole have continued to evolve and fight for what they want. But not all women have the same opinions and views as to how they want to go about these issues. When we look at feminism issues today we can clearly see a distinct difference between the older more traditional feminist and the “new age” feminist that arrived on scene in the 1920s. By taking advantage of several different developments in their time, the new feminists were about to gain more ground as a sex and define their gender in a way no one would have imagined was possible.
The first significant development I noticed in the reading was the newfound “freedom of choice” that females of the time were acting on. Females of this time were determined to not be like their older relatives and they sure were not going to continue their ways. Although the ladies of the 1920s admired and respected the pioneer feminist, they were ready to set their own tone. It was time for them to develop their new attitude and make decisions for themselves. Of the many decisions they would begin to make for themselves the two biggest ones were if one was to marry or not and if one was to have children or not. The modern women handled these new decisions by developing a sense of balance between their marriage, family life, careers and personal lives. They believed the
most important thing was to prove their value not just in the home but also in every other aspect of life. “Love may die, and children may grow up, but one’s work goes on forever.” (Ware, Page 128)
Next, and probably the most noted development of the time, came women’s expression of their sexual identity. Woman began to show off their sexuality in a variety of ways including clothing, make-up, flirting, dancing, dating and even having sexual relationships with men. “Like the flappers… defined social control and conventions, who was modern, sophisticated, and frank in speech, dress, morals and lifestyle.” (The Chinese Flapper) As the younger women of the generation began to show some sexuality and confidence they were faced with generational and cultural conflicts with older women. Because females were still viewed as a reflection on the family, many women had problems living the way they wanted to live and definitely weren’t always able to get away with flashy clothes or sexy make-up. In the article The Flapper and the Chaperone, they discuss the various ways families tried to control women. Many girls could not do anything on their own because people seemed to be afraid that they were becoming too expressive and explorative. They were not allowed to go to dances, dates or even have a male walk them home without a chaperone, which many young females viewed as a “spy.” “Faced with this type of situation, young women had three options: they could accept the rules set down for them; they could rebel; or they could find ways to compromise or circumvent traditional standards.” (The Flapper and the Chaperone) I believe the goal of chaperones was to keep the women in control and control their wondering thoughts. The concern was that if women begun wearing make-up and dresses she would look and act like a flapper no matter what. One interesting thing I could was that Luna stated that she remembered that she used to think kissing would get you pregnant. On the contrary, women enjoyed talking and flirting with men because their ideas interested her and she found it amusing to flirt. (Ware, Page 129) However, they weren’t able to control women that well and they eventually found ways around and lived the way they wanted to with the men they wanted to do so with. Chaperones were no longer able to control or harass women’s personal behavior and sexuality.
Lastly, as a journalism student I could not help but noticed the development of the media during the flapper era. In all the readings I noticed that some form of media was mentioned (magazines and newspapers mostly). According to Lupe Velez, “The social authority of the media of mass culture replaced older forms of family authority and behavior.” It seemed as though the media was displaying the new remodeled female for the world to see. The new ideas of the females were reinforced in various English and Spanish publications. They began to include feature advice columns, horoscopes and celebrity gossip for women. Magazines began to run ads and articles for make up, hair and other beauty products to market them to females. As one company selling skin cream claimed, “Those with lighter, more healthy skin tones will become much more successful in business, love and society.” The press was conveying the new societal norms and models for the readers to follow.
As a whole, I believe that the women of the time really were helping the gender gain ground for themselves and women of the future. As I was reading I realized that a lot of the issues they faced in the 1920s are still issues that young women face today and I believe the women of the 1920s set the tone for how we are living our life today. Sure, there will always be obstacles with your parents and pressure to get married and have kids from some families, but the women of the 1920s showed us that we have a choice and we can live our life anyway we want to. Because of them I can continue to be single, flirt as much as I want and wear the brightest lipstick around!