ANNE GREENE
here. I’m writing a book, working title, AGAINST ALL ODDS, about the 1920s. The
research is so fascinating I’m sharing with my readers. I hope you enjoy
learning more about that jazzy decade.
A
woman of 1920 would be surprised to know that she would be remembered as a new woman. Many changes would enter
her life in the next ten years. Significant changes for women took place in
politics, the home, the workplace, and in education. Some were the results of
laws passed, many resulted from newly developed technologies, and all had to do
with changing attitudes toward the place
of women in society. 
When
passed in 1920, the Nineteenth
Amendment
gave women the right to vote. Surprisingly, some women didn’t want the vote.
People believed women’s roles and men’s roles did not overlap. This idea
of separate spheres held that
women should concern themselves with home, children, and religion, while men
took care of business and politics.
Though
slow to use their newly won voting rights, by the end of the decade women
influenced the political agenda of the federal government. They put more
emphasis on social improvement, such as protective laws for child labor and
prison reform.
Female
high school students seldom expected to go to college. If they did, most women became
teachers or nurses as these were considered suitable professions for women. Few
women earned degrees during the 1920s. But times were changing, and each year
more women earned college degrees.
Before
WWI most women lived in rural areas without electricity. Imagine trying to keep
food fresh without a refrigerator, ironing with an iron that had to be reheated
constantly, cooking on a woodstove, going to an outside well for water, and
visiting an outhouse instead of a bathroom.
The
1920s women found that electricity made housework easier, with electrically run
vacuum cleaners, irons, and washing machines. Electricity meant that people
could stay up later at night, because electric lights were more efficient than
kerosene lamps and candles. Indoor plumbing brought water inside and introduced
a new room to clean—the bathroom.
In
the 1920s only about 15 percent of white and 30 percent of black married women
with wage-earning husbands held paying jobs. Most Americans believed that women
should not work outside the home if their husbands held jobs. As a result,
wives seldom worked at outside jobs. However, some married women in desperate
need took jobs in textile mills.
By
1922 mills hired female floor workers. Cotton mills employed a few nurses,
teachers, and social workers to staff social and educational programs. Black
women worked as domestic and child-care workers. Public acceptance of
wage-earning jobs for young unmarried women grew. No longer being limited to
work as mill girls or domestics, women began to perform clerical work in
offices and retail work in shops and department stores. Some young married
women worked until they had children. Working for wages gave women
independence, and by 1930 one in four women held a paying job.
Despite
increasing opportunities in employment and education, and the expanding concept of a woman’s place,
marriage remained the goal of most young women. Magazine articles and movies
encouraged women to believe that their security and social status depended on a
successful marriage. The majority worked only until they
married.
Today
the easily recognized image of the flapper symbolizes the 1920s for many
people. The flapper—with her short
skirts, short hair, noticeable makeup, and fun-loving attitude—represented a new freedom for women.
The old restrictions on dress and behavior were overthrown.
Is
this glamorous and rebellious image of the flapper a true representation of the
1920s woman? Not entirely. In order to be a flapper, a woman had to have enough
money and free time to play the part. College girls, unmarried girls living at
home, and independent office workers most frequently presented themselves as
flappers. However, the average woman did wear the fashions made popular by
flappers. As often happens, unconventional clothing integrated into fashion.
Flappers
popularized slender, boyish fashions. Figures were flattened with
undergarments. Hemlines, straight or uneven, gradually crept up, and waistlines
dropped. High-fashion evening wear in tubular, sleeveless styles featured
beading and fringe. Day dresses copied the evening lines. Short skirts were
complemented by flesh-colored stockings worn with decorative shoes. Hair was
cut close to the head and covered outdoors by the close-fitting cloche hat. Makeup
became respectable. Between 1920 and
1930 women’s appearance changed completely.
Women’s
lives changed. Society accepted that women could be independent and make
choices for themselves in education, jobs, marital status, and careers. Women’s
spheres broadened to include public as well as home life. The new woman was on her way.
Leave a comment on what you think was the best
change for women in the 1920s for a chance to win an autographed copy of
MARRIAGE BY ARRANGEMENT.
ANNE GREENE
delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. Her second novel,
a Scottish historical, Masquerade Marriage, won three
prestigious book awards. The sequel Marriage
By Arrangement released November, 2013.
A Texas Christmas Mystery also won
awards. Anne’s highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to awesome
new worlds and touch hearts to seek a deeper spiritual relationship with the
Lord Jesus. Anne makes her home in McKinney, Texas. She loves to talk with her
readers. Buy Anne’s books at http://www.Amazon.com. Talk with Anne
on twitter at @TheAnneGreene. View Anne’s books, travel pictures and art work
at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com.
Learn more about
Anne as well as get tips on writing award-winning books at http://www.anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com.
