Women in the 1920s
Women In The 1920s
The lifestyle of women changed drastically in the 1920s. They gained liberties in all aspects such as marriage, politics, jobs and even self expression, along with various other features. Still limited, the liberties gained outweighed the restrictions that still occurred. This gave women the freedom needed and ability to show that they were independent and could stand on their own, making their own decisions. It started with a group of rebellious women known as flappers. Mostly middle and upper class women from the Northern states, changed the way the public viewed women as a whole. They transformed the proper women into their own person. They smoke and drank in public, wore their skirts and hair short, drove on their own, and went out without chaperones. All of which was unheard of prior to the 20s period. Though there were the women who rebelled against the life prior to the 1920s, there were also the women who opposed these flappers. These small town older women were the mothers and grandmothers of the 20s women. They were accustomed to the way they lived in their precedent and believed that these flappers were a threat to social morality, due to what they represented, especially because of how they dressed and acted. Along with these women, there were a few that stood out in particular. They were Alice Paul and Margaret Sanger. These women were two very important figures in the 1920s. Alice Paul got women the vote in 1920, “We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote,” (Alice Paul) and Margaret Sanger invented birth control, “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.” (Margaret Sanger) Both of which were shocking topics during that time period. Also, prior to the 1920s, there were no organizations toward women in any aspect. Though, that
The lifestyle of women changed drastically in the 1920s. They gained liberties in all aspects such as marriage, politics, jobs and even self expression, along with various other features. Still limited, the liberties gained outweighed the restrictions that still occurred. This gave women the freedom needed and ability to show that they were independent and could stand on their own, making their own decisions. It started with a group of rebellious women known as flappers. Mostly middle and upper class women from the Northern states, changed the way the public viewed women as a whole. They transformed the proper women into their own person. They smoke and drank in public, wore their skirts and hair short, drove on their own, and went out without chaperones. All of which was unheard of prior to the 20s period. Though there were the women who rebelled against the life prior to the 1920s, there were also the women who opposed these flappers. These small town older women were the mothers and grandmothers of the 20s women. They were accustomed to the way they lived in their precedent and believed that these flappers were a threat to social morality, due to what they represented, especially because of how they dressed and acted. Along with these women, there were a few that stood out in particular. They were Alice Paul and Margaret Sanger. These women were two very important figures in the 1920s. Alice Paul got women the vote in 1920, “We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote,” (Alice Paul) and Margaret Sanger invented birth control, “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.” (Margaret Sanger) Both of which were shocking topics during that time period. Also, prior to the 1920s, there were no organizations toward women in any aspect. Though, that
Bibliography: http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/quotes/a/alice_paul February 10th, 2008 February 10th, 2008 Modern World History