Roaring Twenties Flappers Research Paper

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The Roaring Twenties Flapper The image below was captured during the 1920’s, commonly known as the 'Roaring Twenties', soon after World War I. It was an era of great economic growth and widespread prosperity driven by government growth policies, a boom in construction, and the rapid growth of consumer goods such as automobiles. This era was the beginning of women breaking the “norms” of how women should present themselves in society, even though the men that were away at war were anxious to avoid returning to society’s rules and roles after the war (Rosenburg). These women were referred to as flappers which was a term that meant a “new breed” of women (Gourley). Society saw this new breed and immediately did not approve. Using Berger’s method…show more content…
Being a flapper, however, isn’t just about how a woman dressed, even though it was a distinct, unmistaken look, but how she acted as well (Fass). In my “way of seeing,” this image connotes how these women listened to jazz music and engaged in actions that were previously more reserved for men, such as drinking (more so during Prohibition) and smoking, treating sex in a casual manner, driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms. This attitude is shown in this woman’s pose of her body language and expression (Rosenberg). She looks as though she has an attitude and perhaps not a care in the world, other than…show more content…
The Modern Woman Revisited: Paris between the Wars : Whitney Chadwick. Rutgers University Press, 2003. Print. Fass, Paula S. The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920's. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1979. Print. Gourley, Catherine. Flappers and the New American Woman: Perceptions of Women from 1918 through the 1920s. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century, 2008. Print. Hudovernik, Robert. Jazz Age Beauties: the Lost Collection of Ziegfeld Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston. New York: Universe, 2006. Print. Laubner, Ellie. Fashions of the Roaring '20s. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1996. Print. Zeitz, Joshua. Flapper: a Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern. New York: Three Rivers, 2006. Print. "Flappers [ushistory.org]." Ushistory.org. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/46d.asp>. Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Flappers in the Roaring Twenties." 20th Century History. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm>. "Clara Bow Quotes - QuoteLucy.com." Famous Quotes - QuoteLucy.com. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
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