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Rosie The Riveter Research Paper

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Rosie The Riveter Research Paper
Why Rosie the Riveter?
Answers for the Future of Women History is often taken for granted in today’s society. Without certain events in our nations past, the America we live in today would be vastly different. More specifically, women in the 21st century would live dramatically different lives if it were not for the women who changed the image of women in America forever. The New Women of the Progressive Era resisted domesticity and the Flapper allowed women to have fun. Rosie the Riveter told women that “We can do it!” while the “Happy Housewife” brought on political and economic changes during the post war era. Though not all of these groups put women in the best light; they all helped form the path for future women of America. During
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The Flapper was born, a woman that sought out new experiences, like dancing and smoking and flaunting her sexuality, such activities that were once uncharacteristic of women to do. The Flapper Era was a result of the boredom women faced in politics; “they wanted to have fun”. Women were able to experience more freedom in what they wore, in what they did, and in being public. There was a consumer increase as women began spending more money to fit the Flapper ideal. The new found freedom was quite literally elating for most women, as it became a sex positive time period. Marriage was no longer for the economical benefit of the family, but was out of true love. However, the Flapper lifestyle was not as free living as it made itself seem. Relationships were defined as being heterosexual, and lesbian relationships became deviant. So, women competed with one another for male attention, in hopes of finding marriage, replacing the “female friendship”. Purchasing power proved to be too great of a power for some women, as the industrial economy shifted from products to the consumer economy. Eating disorders also emerged from the Flapper Era, as women tried to fit into the flapper body. It was not until the Second World War, that women began having a greater role in society, one that was not long

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