FlappersWhen we think of flappers, the first thing that comes to mind is the image of a woman dressed a bit like Julie Andrews in Thoroughly Modern Millie, bobbed hair, waist dress fringed bottom, flat chest and heavily made-up face. This, although a stereotype, is close to the truth. In the 1920s, after World War I, women's role in society began to change, mainly because they began to become more independent – ​​both in their dress and their actions. They began to challenge what was considered appropriate feminine behavior and with these actions came new fashions. The sleek, masculine look became popular and women began wearing lower waistlines, higher hemlines, sleeveless dresses that showed off their arms, long strands of pearls, and tights rolled up to show off their knees. Women who had larger breasts even went so far as to bind them to fit the flat-chested ideal of beauty. The "fashionable" look was now childish, contrasting greatly with the feminine, full-skirted, shirt-waisted dresses of their mothers' ages. Women began to gain the independence and social freedoms that men had always possessed, they wanted to physically display their newly acquired freedoms. Short hair, first in a bob, then in slicked-back shingles that curled above the ears, emphasized the new androgynous look women were trying to achieve. These “modern” women asserted their independence by going out dancing, moving into town alone, drinking even during Prohibition, flirting, and having romantic relationships. After gaining so much independence during World War I, when men had moved across the ocean, many women resisted. the idea that they should now return to the kitchen, the rise of the flapper was born from this new concept of feminism and...... middle of paper ......self-sufficient, sexy and powerful were all so doing calling out to women who had been oppressed for years in the past and that society needed to change completely to accommodate them. Sources http://home.earthlink.net/~rbotti/ Flapper Station, information on flapper culture, links to sites with photos of vintage flapper clothinghttp://www.geocities.com/flapper_culture/ Flapper Culture, articles first-person account of the era, literary connections of the era, and many details about the decade of decadence.http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm The Internet Guide to Jazz Age Slang, jazz dictionary for terms like "applesauce" and "kids party" Mowry, George Edwin, The Twenties: Fords, Flappers, and Fanatics, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1963 Melman, Billie, The Women and the popular imagination of the twenties: flappers and nymphs, Macmillan Press, 1988