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Gender Essay

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In the 1920's women's roles were soon starting to change. After World War One it was called the "Jazz Age", known for new music and dancing styles. It was also known as the "Golden Twenties" or "Roaring Twenties" and everyone seemed to have money. Both single and married women we earning higher- paying jobs. Women were much more than just staying home with their kids and doing house work. They become independent both financially and literally. Women also earned the right to vote in 1920 after the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted. They worked hard for the same or greater equality as men and while all this was going on they also brought out a new style known as the flapper. All this brought them much closer to their goal.
In the 1920's the term flapper referred to a "new breed" of women. They wore short skirts and dresses which were straight and very loose. The arms were left bare and the waistline was dropped to the hips. By 1927 the length of the skirts had rose just below the knee which when they danced would be shown. The chests appeared to look very small and women would tape themselves to look even smaller. Bras were also sold to make them appear very small. Their hairstyles were cut very short and were known as a bob, another popular style that was later introduced was the "Eaton" or "Shingle". These styles had slicked the hair back and covered the ears with curls. Women started wearing "kiss proof" lipstick in shades of red, their eyes were ringed a dark black color, and their skin was powered to look very pale. One of the big things with the flappers was that they smoked cigarettes through long holders and drank alcohol openly in public now. They also started dating freely and danced all night long very provocatively. Jazz music was rising in population and the flappers brought it out even more. Not all women changed into becoming a flapper, yet the little numbers impacted the 1920's in a huge way. Many women just adopted the style for the easy convenience when working. Margaret Sanger was concerned about women who lacked knowledge of contraception, and then led the battle for birth control. She dealt with legal, religious, and societal barriers but soon made women think about accepting and using birth control. Many states modified divorce laws to protect women's rights. Women attended college and worked, but they still earned less money than men and were excluded from many management positions.
Women's independence soon began to explore in the activeness in society. Soon politics were on the things to accomplish list of many females. Women were developing into political and social activists who worked with the public means to reform what they could to society. They formed many groups and a lot were strictly women to work together on their goals. Working in only female groups also proved to the men they could do it on their own without any man's help. For seventy-two years women fought for the right to vote and on August 26, 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified and women could vote in all elections. Very few women voted at first. Three reasons why women didn't want to vote was: 1. They had children to look after and it made it too hard to get to the polls to vote. 2. The women's families discouraged them. 3. Some just didn't feel comfortable. But the habit began to develop and more and more women started to vote. Women soon started working together to win political offices. By 1928, there were 145 women in thirty-eight state legislatures. In 1923 the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to congress, it stated that "men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction." Some reformers opposed the Equal Rights Amendment because it would make the laws requiring special working conditions for women unconstitutional. The Women's Rights Movement also encouraged equality for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Coffin Mott felt women were treated unfairly and decided to do something about it all. Their motivation to follow through with the actions gave us women the equal rights we were entitled to as American citizens. These three women encouraged lots of other women to be heard and fight for their equality.

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