Working Women and Women’s Rights Movement
By: Katherine Wallis
Jazz opened up many working opportunities not
only for men, but also for women. This was unheard of during this time period
due to the dominant male working class. Women were expected to be teachers or
housewives. During the war, women were forced to enter the workforce and mastered
many skills. When the war was over, the men expected the women to go back to
being housewives. The women were not willing to give up this newfound
accomplishment. This change in the working role of women also carried over to
the jazz movement. The women had to prove themselves over and over earn even a
little bit of respect in the jazz career field. After World War I, jazz really
began to boom. Theses times were referred to as the “Roaring 20’s.”
One working opportunity that became available
for women in the jazz era was becoming a musician. Groups of women would get
together and form a jazz band, but these bands were not respected or considered
“real.” Men were open to the fact of having the women dress up and hold
instruments only for the sake of “looking pretty.” They never considered them
to be a genuine musician even if they were more talented than the men. This
didn’t stop the women from forming their own bands though. Jazz bands became
popular throughout groups of women. They didn’t usually perform publically though.
Many other popular working opportunities came
with the invention of electricity. Women became very popular “movie stars.”
Electricity also brought the radio, which greatly helped to spread jazz
throughout the country.
Another
very popular working opportunity for women in jazz came from dancing. Women in
this time were known as “flappers.” This jazz-dancing craze was very widely
popular and accepted. The movement was empowering and “dangerous” to the
younger generation of women. Being a flapper was just as much as about the
attitude as the fun dresses. This greatly helped the women find a place in the
jazz community and become accepted.
Media Sources
http://youtu.be/3svvCj4yhYc - Women’s occupations in the 20s
http://youtu.be/684n8FO68LU
- Life in the 1920’s
http://youtu.be/M1FKPvNO6gY
- Women working in the 1920s
Primary Sources
Gourse, Leslie. "Playing For Keeps." Women's
Review Of Books 18.3 (2000): 7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
Gubrium, Jaber F. "Urban Ethnography Of The 1920S
Working Girl." Gender, Work & Organization 14.3 (2007): 232-258.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
