1920's Youth

Alexis Ramstine
Feb 23, 2013
HIS II

Did the behavior of young women in the 1920’s reflect bad morals?

The youth of America in the 1920’s behaved very differently than the generations that came before them. They indulged in experiences that defined their time and raised questions of morality among peers and elders. Youth in the 1920’s changed fashion, sexual relationships and the way women functioned. According to author Paula Fass, “ College youth of the 1920’s redefined the relationship between men and women”( Fass 1). Because women gained the right to vote in 1919 the gender roles were bound to change and shift. Although a bit extreme for the time, the actions of the female youth were not to be vulgar or rude, but instead to express change and independance.
The fashion for women contained three remarkable adjustments. The first involving short hair. Prior to this time women did not cut their hair into bobs but instead wore long “manes” that would be kept up in buns to uphold a very proper atmosphere. Short hair, “was enthusiastically defended on the grounds that is was carefree and less troublesome to care for...”(Fass 4). Women of the time were trying to fit in with their new roles in society. As they became more equal to men they wanted to become more of a “companion in work and play” and to do so they took on a “boyish” look (Fass 3). Despite the positive attributions of having short hair, “bobbed hair was often attacked as a symbol of female promiscuity, of explicit sexuality, and of a self-conscious denial of respectability and the domestic ideal” (Fass 4). This however did not stop young women who found their short hair attractive and more manageable as they worked or studied. Secondly, much like the bobbed hair, women found short skirts to be a contented and functional addition to their appearance (Fass 4). The amount of skin shown with these short skirts were an outrage to some. They felt that women were “manipulating fashion” to show off more than needed (Fass 4). Furthermore, “calorie-consciousness among young women” increased. “Dieting became so popular that newspapers often cited the calorie value of foods and gave nutritional advice about the amount of food intake that would help to sustain or shed weight” (Fass 4). Women wanted the sleek silhouette that was glamorized by the famous. They began to see themselves as needing to look a certain way and with the freedom to dress how they sought fit compelled them to emulate what was presented to them. Lastly the use of cosmetics were a way for women to “symbolize the woman’s open acceptance of her own sexuality” (Fass 4). Prior to this time the use of cosmetics were equated with prostitution. It was believe that women were too “endowed with a sexual personality”. What this meant to people was they they couldn’t distinctively tell who was a girl of virtue and who was not. This brings an idea that “they had taken on themselves as potential wives all the characteristic of lovers. The two kinds of women were no longer separate and distinguishable at first glance but one and the same”( Fass 4).
This ideal directly relates to the sexuality of young women at the time. Unlike their mother’s and grandmother’s they were thinking of sex as not only a vice for men and childbearing. These young women wanted to be sexual without being labeled as a prostitute as they found their pleasure in sexual activities. In 1916 Margaret Sanger began her fight for contraceptives to be available for all women and pushed ahead for this sexual equality( Keene 258). The ability to explore sexually and the drive to do so changed the way virginity was viewed. “For men, female chastity appear[ed}to have taken a backseat to considerations of compatibility...”( Fass 3). This means that for most men, the sexual change in women wasn’t that disgraceful. In conclusion, the behavior of young women in the 1920’s reflected changing times. It was a time of exploration in the way women thought of themselves. To their elder’s it appeared that women were acting out of place and the fear of a changing society lead them to awful conclusions about these women. In the spectrum of history however, these women were just reacting to their surroundings. Their morals were not controlled by evil thoughts but of new views.

WORKS CITED:

Keene, Jennifer D., Saul Cornell, and Edward T. O 'Donnell. "A Turbulent Decade: The Twenties." Visions of America: A History of the United States. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009. N. pag. Print.

Fass, Paula S.”Sex and Youth in the Jazz Age.” The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920’s. New York: Oxford UP, 1977.N.PAG.Print.

Cited: Keene, Jennifer D., Saul Cornell, and Edward T. O 'Donnell. "A Turbulent Decade: The Twenties." Visions of America: A History of the United States. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009. N. pag. Print. Fass, Paula S.”Sex and Youth in the Jazz Age.” The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920’s. New York: Oxford UP, 1977.N.PAG.Print.