The roaring Twenties/women’s place Flashcards
What created the roaring twenties?
During the 1920s people were having lots of fun, enjoying music, parties and new forms of entertainment.
This was because millions of people had more money and more leisure time than before due to the economic boom. More than half the population now lived in towns and cities meaning nightlife.
Why was their a cultural struggle between older and younger generation Americans during the twenties?
There was struggle between traditional Americans and the new forces of modern life. Older generation Americans were not used to their children having more fun and freedom. E.g smoking, dances, wearing skirts above the knee.
Examples of different crazes during the twenties include:
Playing cards- Mah Jong
Siting on poles (competition to see who could last the longest)
Who can dance for the longest.
What were flappers?
Single upper or middle class women in towns or cities located in northern states.
How did flappers behave?
They... Smoked Drank alcohol Kissed boys in public Showed her legs Danced Socialised Stayed out late
How did she dress?
Short hair Perfume Cigarette Flesh coloured stockings High heel shoes Bangles and long jewellery Sun tan and make up
How did women’s lives get worse in employment and status?
In most states women couldn’t vote.
Most women were expected to be housewives. Very few paid jobs were open to women. Women’s were in lower paid jobs such as cleaning, dress making, secretarial work.
Middle class women were expected to wear very restrictive clothes and baggage politely. They were expected not to wear makeup.
How did women’s lives get worse in culture and entertainment?
Some middle class women’s relationships with men were strictly controlled. They had to have a chaperone with them when they went out with boys.
How did women’s lives improve in both employment and status and culture and entertainment?
In urban areas women went out with men in cars without a chaperone and kissed in public.
In urban areas women wore more daring clothes and smoked and drank in public.
In the 1920s women’s domestic lives were made easier by new electrical goods such as vacuum cleaners/washing machines. In urban areas new jobs were created by new industries but they were paid less than men.
When the USA joined the was in 1917some women were taken into war industries giving them experience of skilled factory work.
Did women get to vote in some states?
In 1920 they got right to got in all states (some states had introduced this before ww1). However political parties did not want women to stand as candidates so there were only a handful of women were elected by 1929.
Forms of entertainment during the twenties?
New music: Jazz music was the most popular music during the 1920s. Whites were exposed to black music and loved it. Black musicians such as Louis Armstrong made big money from nightclubs.
Movies: the movie industry - Hollywood. During the twenties audiences reached 100million people a week which trebled from 1919 with 35 million a week. The success was called the star system. It was term used to describe the way movie studios promotes their stars.
