Flapper Culture Became the First Generation of the Sexually Progressive Woman
In the 1920s, an independent woman was born
The ending of the First World War gave way to an economic boom in the United States. People were moving to cities. Modern technology invented kitchen appliances such as refrigerators, telephones, radios, and cars. Women were allowed to vote, drive, live alone in apartments, and work for a living. The young women of the times felt newfound freedom as cultural norms loosened up with the rise in the economy.
The Roaring ’20s was known as the Jazz Age, an era of decadence. This decade spurred a revolution. With F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book ‘The Great Gatsby’ and prohibition in tow, social desires gave way to jazz halls, illegal drinking, burlesque shows, and flappers — young women who just wanted to have fun and went against the cultural norms of society.
Flappers were considered the first generation of progressive women. Known as the counter-culture of the 1920s and 1930s, they put themselves out there in ways women had never done before.
A flapper cut her hair short into the iconic bob of the time. She wore shorter dresses, and rouged her knees as well as her cheeks. She drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and dated multiple men before marriage. Increased access to birth…
