The Twenties WomanThe Twenties Woman

How does the role of a woman change in the 20s?

Young Women Change the Rules

• A flapper was a young woman who embraced new fashions and the urban attitudes of the 20s

• Women’s fashion includes shorter hair, close-fitting hats, bright waistless dresses above the knee, beads, pumps and accessories• Women also become more assertive, smoke & drink in public and talk openly about sex

• Why? Women were trying to break the double standard that was set prior to the 20s

New Job Opportunities• When men return to factories, women turned to other careers: college educated women became teachers, nurses and librarians

• Some like Amelia Earhardt went into less traditional professions

• Other women went into clerical fields like file clerks, secretaries, and telephone operators, overall earning much less then men

VQ1: What does Earhardt say about giving up on the flight and how do crowds react to Earhardt after she crosses the Atlantic?VQ2: Explain how Earhardt is becoming a celebrity.

Changing Roles

• Margaret Sanger: opens 1st birth control clinic, allowing women gain more control over their bodies

• Women have greater equality in their marriages, marry for love, not just for money

• Modern conveniences and pre-packaged food allow women to juggle a career & family

• Younger women date more freely, go out without a being escorted by a man

Women’s Employment, 1910

Trans. &Comm.

Trade

Clerical

Agriculture

Manu. & Mech.

Domestic

Professional

Trans. &Comm.

Trade

Clerical

Agriculture

Manu. & Mech.

Domestic

Professional

Women’s Employment, 1920

Trans. &Comm.

Trade

Clerical

Agriculture

Manu. & Mech.

Domestic

Professional

Women’s Employment, 2010

Questions:

1. What three fields did most women work in prior to WW I?

2. Which two fields expand for women in the 1920s?

3. What three fields do most women work in today?

Dom, Manu, Agricul

Clerical, Professional

Prof, Cler, Trans/Comm