They were part of the women life cycle, since many stated that they quit when they find a "beau" or get married. The dance hall culture changed by making "unescorted" women admission fees lower so to attract single women. In addition, the dance halls were a gathering of people looking for amusement and pleasure, so most "new" things in entertainment were tested there or developed there. On the contrary to many assumptions, the charity girls were not prostitutes since they didn't want money, but they wanted presents, attention, and other things that gave them pleasure. Some of them do it just for pleasure and others for financial support in the short term.
Peiss investigates what women did for leisure and how they were able to find it in turn-of-the-century New York. The study makes us aware of the available variety of Amusements, such as: cheap theatre, the amusement parks of Coney Island, wandering through dance halls, nickelodeons, and even loitering on street corners. Although these amusements were considered cheap, during the time working women could not afford most of these forms of recreation. With the emergence of "heterosocial companionship" more women were able to enjoy these forms of entertainment through a process called “treating”. To treat is to provide entertainment, food, gifts.
Despite the church’s desperate outcry, amoral standards would continue to slip in society as a result of this fashion, the women's fashion revolution continued. All of the factors of this new type of outdoor lifestyle was also reflected in entertainment and recreation. Australians were watching and participating in more sports because of the practical sports wear made for women. For example, Bathing suits for women were no longer concerning modesty and fashion, but practicality ( source 3.12). In conclusion, there definitely was much change in the Australian society of the 1920’s ( in particular women).
A woman at the party began to dance in a new style, shimmying, and people weren’t sure how to respond until “the erroneous news [went] around that she [was] Gilda Gray’s understudy from the Follies”(41). Shimmying became a popular way for women to dance during the 1920’s after Gilda Gray introduced it. The new style of dance was one of many things that led to jazz being called a bad influence on society. During this time people began to live their lives based on having fun, and less about following moral traditions, leading to jazz being associated with socially questionable activities. "Well, we're almost the last to leave tonight... the orchestra left half an hour ago"(52).
Only men were known to smoke cigarettes. Even though this act seemed so drastic, the most dramatic change seen in women of the 1920s was when they began to drink alcohol. To make it worse, the 1920s was the era of prohibition. Women often carried flasks of liquor on their hips so it would be easy to access it. Flappers had a scandalous image as the "giddy flapper, rouged and clipped, careening in a drunken stupor to the lewd strains of a jazz quartet,"
Janissa Saracino Musical Theater History October 21, 2009 Fanny Brice: The Journey of a 'Funny Girl' Comedienne, actress, radio star and mother, these were just some of the traits of the all around entertainer, Fanny Brice. She brought sparkle to the darkest songs and laughter to unknown depths. Starting as a vaudeville performer and working her way up to scale to a Zeigfield Follie was quite the journey for a lady to accomplish in a life. But somehow, someway Fanny got through it all and seemed to have a ripple effect on peoples lives. Even today, she is know known even if you don't know who she was.
Della Mae Justice took in her niece and nephew who were in foster care. She didn't grow up to immediately become middle-class. What Justice did was work so hard to climb out of the working-class to become middle-class so that her niece and nephew could have more than what she was offered when she was their age. Aware of the financial situations, Justice is compared to others in the upper and working class, she struggles with the different cultures each has. Lewin quotes Justice when she says, "'My stomach's always in knots getting ready to go to a party, wondering if I'm wearing the right thing, if I'll know what to do..." (70) This happens because of the different cultures the middle-class, which Justice is now in, presents, compared to the lower class she used to be in.
The automobile enabled people to do many things that were not previously possible in the 1920s: It freed Americans from their homes and neighborhoods to which they were confined It gave women more free time to do things, including travel and find a job The car become an area for people to perform, what a judge described, as “inappropriate” sex. People could live further away from big cities and then commute Here are my reactions: Not fantastic quality Very
Flappers wore short skirts that revealed the knee and shapeless dresses with flat chests while non flappers wore dresses that were calf length and eliminated all the curves of the women (ThinkQuest). Flappers wore more makeup than the other women and got rid of their long tresses and replaced them with boyish bob haircuts which some wore hats with (ThinkQuest). They were almost like a rebellion to the sexual norm of women, acting in inappropriate ways like smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, and dancing in a provocative manner to jazz music (Rosenberg). While this new, radical lifestyle of some women in this time period was not accepted initially, in time, flappers inspired women to step outside of normal social boundaries by evoking a sense of defiant independence and uniqueness. Even now, short hair shows an air of confidence and revealing clothing is still in fashion.
In 1924, Zelda Fitzgerald is quoted as saying, "I like the jazz generation and I hope my daughter's generation will be jazzier." At this time, the "flapper" became the symbol of the age. Young women were leaving behind the respectability of their mothers and entering in to a new world of sexuality, shorter skirts and make-up. They were going to dance halls, movies; they were smoking and flaunting their bodies before everyone. Why had these young women turned their backs on everything that their mothers and grandmothers had believed in and built? Is it because they see they can make decisions and choices on their own and stand by the consciences?