Flappers

After World War I, a girl who barley entered womanhood, portrayed a new image known as the Flapper. The Flapper wore heavy make-up, little clothing, a bobbed hair cut, drank, and was a risk taker. Many women idealized them but others thought they were disrespectful to society. Other women found it shocking to see this drastic change. Even though, these “flappers”, were re-imaging society, many believed that it was not the way to accomplish equal rights. Many women were convinced that this was the new way of life. Many girls wanted to be flappers, because it was “in thing” to do. Many Hollywood actresses were flappers, which helped this phenomenon emerge.

As this new provocative image began to spread, many women began to show a new style. They cut their hair into a “bob-cut”, this manly look then progressed into a popular term called “garconne” which means “little boy”, created by Coco Chanel. They made this “little boy” image work even more by cutting strips of cloth that were tied tightly to flatten their chest. They wore extremely heavy make-up, and they even applied it in public, which gave them a bad image. They wore short dresses and skirts that were above their knees. Many flappers wore stockings made of artificial silk and rolled that over a garter belt. They reflected a bad image in America because of their provocative appearance.

Flappers had very inappropriate behavior; they smoked, drank, danced, and voted. They rejected the typical conservative women, and were criticized by society. They went to illegal bars with men. They attended what was known as a “petting party”, which consisted of kissing and physical intimacy. It became pretty normal for them, and this behavior became regular every night. The iconic flapper made the Roaring 20’s, with their disregard to the average women.


http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-flapper.htm
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm