Santos 1

Angelica Santos
Gallagher
History Day Project
February 24, 2014
The Roaring 20’s
In the 1920s, women started to act differently and dress differently because of this they started to gain more rights. These women become known as flappers. During, the war women had took on different roles. They started to do things that men would usually do.
When the war was over, women had a brand new attitude. Lastly, because of the women wanting to be different and do things differently it changed how they were viewed in society. Women earned more rights and respect for themselves.

When the war was over in 1918, Women realized if they could be doing things

that men do they should be able to express themselves and have more rights. Shortly after the war, women were granted the right to vote in 1920. This was a whole new level for women in society after so many years women finally had a voice in the government.
Although women did not rush to vote right away, they became more involved in politics.
Women also became part of local, state and national groups just like men. Their opinion about social issues such as child labor and prison reform started to matter. Also in
1920, Clara Bowe, Hollywood’s “it girl” appeared in the movie, Flappers. It was about women who dressed differently and did not need men. Now women had been exposed to new ways of living and they became influenced.

Santos 2

Women wanted to change their way of living and realized that they could be independent without a man, just like Clara Bowe from the movie. This started a whole new movement in society for women. This movement was named, the flapper girl movement. The young, fashionable women of the 1920s define the dress and style of their peers in their own words (The Flapper: The Heroine or Antagonist of the 1920s).
Women in society started to express themselves differently fashionably and with new attitudes. The 1920s style marked a change in women's fashions from the more restrictive silhouettes of the past to more comfortable attire (Driscoll). The flapper had an unforgettable look compared to the modern women. The long traditional hair was abandoned because women decided to cut their long hair to shoulder length or even shorter. The clothes started to get shorter as hemlines of dresses rose all the way up to the knee or higher than that. The makeup industries boomed as women started to overuse make­up in excessive amounts to show off their new look. Women did not only start to dress differently; they also started to act differently. For example,many women entered college or the workforce and felt entitled to make their own decisions about how to live their lives (Dennis). A lot of women started to protest for women's rights. Carrie
Chapman and other women started parades for equal rights using street speakers, petitions and even rallies. In 1923, The Equal Rights Movement amendment was proposed. Alice Paul worked very hard on these passages but it never got passed until the late 70s. Women decided that this era should be a celebration because of the ways they were changing.

Santos 3

If there is an iconic symbol of the 1920s, it is the flapper girl (Nash). Women started to celebrate the age of the flapper as a female declaration of independence because of the brand new looks, jobs, and lifestyles. It all seemed freer compared to before. The flapper girls did things to please themselves, not a husband or father which was what made them different. Women started to not be restricted to gender roles as much. This was a good thing because before the movement, women had no choice in their lifestyle because their role in society was to cook, clean and have a job in their houses like a typical housewife. They had to act like ladies and dress like ladies as well.
This all changed because not only did women start to dress differently but they started to work