Jazz was about Feeling Good and Having Fun
By: Erin Hager
The Roaring Twenties was a period of time that transformed
society and the way we live today.
It was a major step for women’s rights, mostly because of jazz. Prior to the 1920s, the ideal woman was
“elegant yet approachable and charming, intelligent and capable without making
demands of equality,” also known as a Gibson Girl (Sagert). Jazz influenced women to have a new
liberal mindset and take a stand. Women wanted social equality, and jazz is what helped them
attain that. It became about
feeling good and having fun.
Jazz loosened people up and pulled them out of their comfort
zone. Women, specifically the
younger generation of Flappers, became carefree. It wasn’t about obeying society’s rules anymore. They wanted equality, to feel good, and
to have fun while doing it. They
wanted change. The ideal woman was
one who looked similar to what was known as a Gibson Girl, and one who took
care of the family and everything at home. Women began to rebel against their traditional roles, and
jazz gave them a way to do so. They
went from a slim, hourglass figure, with “hair piled upon her head with wisps
and curls tumbling out” and “beauty fresh-face,” to flappers, a more revealing
style (Sagert). Dance halls, jazz
clubs, and other similar places provided an escape for women to go where they
could have more freedom. Not only
did jazz influence music, it changed the way of dancing. Dancing became more sexual, which made
it more entertaining and another way for women to rebel. During the 1920s, only
men smoked. Smoking was prohibited, but this did not stop the women from doing
it. They carried around flasks and
drank until they were tipsy, which made them feel good. Women loved to dance, became reckless,
and live the fast life of a male.
Their desire for social equality and having fun has shaped society’s
views of women, creating new aspects of the life that we
live today.
Media
Sources
This video shows the things women did and the way they
dressed to feel good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFRG_B--1v8
This video shows the “new woman” with freedom and
independence after WWI
This video shows the changes women made to feel good and
have fun
Primary
Sources
Gourse,
Leslie. "Women's Review of Books." Playing For Keeps 18.3
(2000): 7. ebscohost.com. Web. 14 Nov 2012.
Sagert,
Kelly Boyer. Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture. 16. 146. Santa
Barbara, California: Greenwood Press, 2010. 14-79. eBook.
Other
Sources
Bacig,
Tom. "Jazz Culture: The 1920s." Jazz and Women's Liberation.
University of Minnesota Duluth. Web. 15 Nov 2012.
<http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/jazzlib.html>.
