...as political and workforce pillars in American society. The brave women of the 1920’s suffered great injustices, but persevered to become some of the greatest women in American history in all aspects of life such as politics, marriage, jobs and self-expression. Women who were referred to as flappers started the change in self-expression. Some were considered rebellious by their peers, mostly the older generation, due to their newfound scantily clad bodies and what were considered actions that challenged the morals put in place by society; the flappers transformed what was considered the proper woman into her own person. The less clothing, the shorter the hair, the heavier the makeup the better (Bliven, 1925). In my opinion, it was as time of women breaking free from the molds of what society thought they should be; a time of finding who they were, or letting loose and having fun. Bliven (1925) explains the carefree attitude of women and their attire when stating, “Not since 1820 has feminine apparel been so frankly abbreviated as at present; and never, on this side of the Atlantic, until you go back to the little summer frocks of Pocahontas.” While the women known as flappers were seeking individualism and starting something that would grow to give...
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...The Roaring Twenties Kimberly Brooks HIS/125 August 14, 2011 Michael Potts The United States in the 1920’s was in the center of an alteration in production. “The sale of electricity doubled; the consumption of fuel oil doubled more” (Davidson, Gienapp, & Heyrman, Ch 24 p.684, 2006). The economy began to grow rapidly between 1922 and 1927. According to Davidson, Gienapp and Heyrman (2006) if anything roared in the “roaring twenties, it was industry and commerce” (Davidson, Gienapp, & Heyrman, Ch 24 p.684, 2006). However, technology was somewhat responsible, new consumer goods allowed the labor force to grow rapidly. “Between 1919 and 1927 the average income climbed nearly $150 for each American” (Davidson, Gienapp, & Heyrman, Ch 24 p.684, 2006). Mean while the economy grew and the consumer goods appeared in the stores. Many Americans were not banking. “Personal debt was rising two and a half times faster than a person’s income, an unhealthy sign of consumers scrambling to spend” (Davidson, Gienapp, & Heyrman, Ch24 p.684, 2006). With technology and the spending of consumer’s new developed industries assisted the growth of the economy. Construction was a part of the economic growth, as people began to merge to other cities residential construction doubled. “Construction stimulated other business too: steel, concrete, lumber, home mortgages and insurance” (Davidson, Gienapp, & Heyrman, Ch24 p.684, 2006). In the 1920’s there was no industry that progressed...
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...Flappers have changed most women’s lifestyle and behavior throughout the 1920’s in early American society. The year of 1920’s was a superlative year, innumerable events occurred during this period of time including the age of the Flapper; leaving an impact on the women in early America. People began to realize that the age of the Flappers belonged to the young generation of women in Early America. Young women who became Flappers began to change their lifestyle; exploiting the remaining time they had left of their period of youth by stepping over their boundaries, into a world of excitement and wonders. As Flappers began to grow in popularity, more young women joined in the dazzling life of the Flappers. Also, not only were lifestyles changed, the behaviour of young women drastically underwent a transformation. “Flappers” en.wikepedia.org Flappers have always been known to people in America, but only became really popular when the famous french fashionista who also happens to be a designer executed a considerable amount of time and effort into making the Flapper look popular. If there was one important factor to know about this particular superstar ,It...
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...sparked what is now known as the Flapper era. Flappers also were referred to as the modern "New Women” were often described as, “Confident, employed, pleasure seeking, and most of all someone who exercised sexual agency” , almost the complete opposite of the women who came before them. The generation before was seen as “Mrs. Grundy”, which “represented prudery and sacrifice” , whereas flappers were seen as “pleasure and consumption”. Many people within the older generations shared the same ideas of Miss Laurette Taylor when she stated, “Your flapper -if you call her that- can't work or study all day and dance all night and make good at what she works at." Elder generations feared that these women were focused on having fun and not being productive to society. Flappers were less concerned with politics and more focused on social roles of women. Miss Virginia Potter, the president of New York League of Girls Clubs, Inc., states, "I think the modern young girl is a delight....
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...Flappers Flappers are closely related to today’s youth. Society is critical, and disrespectful, and the youth has always faced these problems. Things like, fashion music, and entertainment drive criticism. Fashion, music, and entertainment evolve through the youth, and provides change. Overtime the music, fashion, and entertainment become part of popular culture, and are accepted. Change is worrisome, and always brings criticism. Fashion changes over time. The fashion of the 1920s is different than the fashion of the 2000s. Fashion in the 1920s involved long dresses, suits, and formal clothing. Now, the fashion is jeans, and name brand apparel. Though fashion has changed, the reaction hasn’t. Parents will always criticize...
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...In the years of the 1920’s there were many amazing things going on. New things were coming in to play around this time that most people did not expect to see. Some of the more important things going on included; the introduction of flappers, prohibition, The Jazz Age, new children toys, car racing, horse racing, and the Ku Klux Klan. These were only a few of the important things going on, but I am going to go into detail about what a flapper is and how they changed the way society saw women in this era. The flappers in the 1920’s were like a new breed of women. These women drank, smoked, danced, wore their hair how they wanted, went to parties, and wore makeup. There were a few different definitions of a “flapper.” One was a young girl who was still in the awkward stage before womanhood, some people used this word to reference a prostitute, while others merely thought the word...
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...“TO WHAT EXTENT DOES ANITA LOOS PRESENT LORELEI AS A ‘NEW WOMEN’ WITH ATTITUDES WHICH CHALLENGE PATRIARCHY?” Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was published in 1925, a time when society was just discovering the meaning behind the terminology of the ‘new women’- ‘flapper’, ‘suffragette’, and ‘bob haircuts’. These were transitional times. The flapper’s shocked society with their short clothes and bare arms and legs. Due to the ratification of the 19th amendment in the American constitution, American women received the right to vote. The people were convinced that this new found independence these ‘new women’ enjoyed are leading to loss of tradition. They were jeopardizing the long-held mantle that women bore as wives and mothers. Their bold nature was a symbol of the liberal period of the roaring twenties and Lorelei Lee was the epitome of all this. Lorelei was how some people put it, ‘a flappers flapper’. She knew exactly how to tackle the male chauvinism the society wreaked of. She diffuses the presented patriarchy with her charm, beauty, and all the “brains” she can muster. Anita Loos uses dialect and intentional illiteracies to fill the reader with a sense of false superiority much like Lorelei hides her intellect to lure in her ill-fated suitors. Instead of being confined and exploited by men due to her gender, she uses the stereotypical image of the blonde to her own...
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...previously associated with men. Before the 1920’s the women found in saloon were often referred to as prostitutes (Clement, 176) Flappers tried to break these assumptions by setting aside some of their most distinctive traits and competing with men along his own lines (Hirshbein, 120) This was done by having a strong presence in not only bars, but redefining the social conventions of calling. Courtship which had the purpose of leading to marriage, was replaced with dating which meant a newfound casualness that wasn’t found in the social norms associated with calling. This more relaxed approach to relationship also lead to a more relaxed attitude towards sex. In this way Flapper gained some social freedoms with their sexual interactions with men, however because this new look on courtship “took dating out of the female and family realm of the front parlor… and into cabarets and movie theaters of the new entertainment economy.”(Clement, 157) Women in particular flappers were often engaged in the concept of “treating”. The definition of this is the exchange of sexual favors for material goods. Although, the flapper symbolized the idea of the New Women, they were only able to slightly blur the gender boundaries present in the 1920’s. Although they started to embrace a newfound sexual liberation, they were met with challenges. Many preachers and politicians in dozens of states proposed laws to would prohibit women from exposing to much flesh” (Kallen 130). Although they felt like...
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...Flappers were an iconic symbol of the roaring twenties. From their fashion style to their controversial nature, these girls were what made those years so memorable. This lifestyle was born when WW1 took off, taking along our country's men and most of the working population. To fill in these roles, women flocked to take up work. They were given more power and independence, as they slowly climbed the social ladder. Throughout this time, especially when many Canadian men did not return, they developed a “live fast die young” mentality that caused them to chase after fuller lives. Other important events that lead up to this sudden cultural change was greatly due to their newfound ability to vote and the horrors of the Spanish epidemic. However,...
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...Consumerisms Effect Consumerisms Effect Consumerism is defined as, “the theory that an increasing consumption to goods is economically desirable; also: a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods” (“Consumerism,” n.d.). With this said, is consumerism healthy for anyone who is involved? From American cultures birth after the revolutionary war, this society has relished the flattery of consumerism. The search for wealth, material goods, and happiness has no boundaries in this society. Although some positive influences exist within consumerisms definition, a darker side to this phenomenon cannot be over looked. Consumerism reflects many negative human attributes and its increase is adversely affecting American culture, societal equalities, and the environment. Consumerism, in all its forms, has been around since the earliest times of American culture. From the earliest time of America, directly after the Revolutionary War, this attitude of need and want for material good and what was considered the best was very evident. One would think that during a life altering divide of nations the concept of consumerism would stop between them, but during this time, Americans still sought British goods. A high perceived value and thought pattern that these goods were of superior quality allowed these items to become a status symbol for early Americans. George Washington, weeks after signing a peace treaty with Britain, ordered a large...
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...Ryan Plunkett Ray Setters AMS 250 7 March 2013 The Culture of Narcissism Paper For over the past 30 years there has been a prevailing idea that American society has changed drastically. While it is undeniable that every person is different and there are always plenty of exceptions to the norm, in many ways our modern society has become very similar to what Christopher Lasch predicted in The Culture of Narcissism. Unfortunately, it would be safe to say that some modern people are in a state that is extremely pre-occupied with the self. The idea of narcissism came from psychology and is mostly attributed to Sigmund Freud. It was considered to be an extreme preoccupation with the self that distorted ones relationship to reality. This resulted in an inability to make a clear distinction between themselves as the subject and what existed outside them. They were so focused on themselves that they lost awareness of the real beyond them. Because the narcissist does not recognize the separate existence of 'the other' they tend to use reality as a mirror to reflect messages back to the self. The other is there to impress, to be admired by, and to get pity from. The Narcissist is so identified with his/her needs that the other person is simply there to be available for them. In his book The Culture of Narcissism Christopher Larsch describes the Narcissistic personality, “the Narcissist can function in the everyday world - and is often very charming. However, his devaluation...
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...1.1.1: They (the products) seem amusing on the first day of Christmas, daft on the second, embarrassing on the third. 1.1.2: Only 1 per cent of material being used in the economy remains in use six months after sale 1.1.3: Even the goods we might have expected to hold on to are soon condemned to destruction through either planned obsolescence or perceived obsolescence. 1.1: materials we buy are not used for long after the purchase 1: We use materials for short-lived pleasure that have long-lasting consequences for the planet 2.1: They are designed to elicit thanks, perhaps a snigger or two, and then be thrown away. 2: Many products we buy don’t have any use at all 3.1: People in eastern Congo are massacred to facilitate smartphone upgrades of ever diminishing marginal utility 3.2: Forests are felled to make ''personalised heart-shaped wooden cheese board sets'' 3.3: Rivers are poisoned to manufacture talking fish 3.4: manufacturing and consumption are responsible for more than half of our carbon dioxide production 3: The creation and purchases of these products are wasting, diminishing and destroying the planet’s resources 4.1.1: Growth depends on selling the utterly useless. 4.1: Governments cut taxes, deregulate business, manipulate interest rates to stimulate spending 4.2.1: Those who resist are denounced as lunatics 4.2: This is pathological consumption rendered so normal by advertising and by the media that we scarcely notice 4.3: Governments, the...
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...MEANING OF CONSUMERISM Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Torstein Veblen. Veblen's subject of examination, the newly emergent middle class arising at the turn of the twentieth century, comes to full fruition by the end of the twentieth century through the process of globalization. In this sense, consumerism is usually considered a part of media culture. Consumerism is also used to refer to the consumerists movement, consumer protection or consumer activism, which seeks to protect and inform consumers by requiring such practices as honest packaging and advertising, product guarantees, and improved safety standards. In this sense it is a movement or a set of policies aimed at regulating the products, services, methods, and standards of manufacturers, sellers, and advertisers in the interests of the buyer. In economics, consumerism refers to economic policies placing emphasis on consumption. In an abstract sense, it is the belief that the free choice of consumers should dictate the economic structure of a society. It was first used in 1915 to refer to advocacy of the rights and interests of consumers but in this article the term consumerism refers to the sense first used in 1960, emphasis on or preoccupation with the acquisition of consumer goods (Oxford English Dictionary). DEVELOPMENT OF CONSUMERISM The development...
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...The Story of Stuff: A Review The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute film aimed at raising awareness on the dangers of excessive human consumption. Presented by Annie Leonard – an activist for consumerism and environmental sustainability (Story Of Stuff Project, 2013) – this video provides a simple yet well researched explanation on the ‘behind-the-scenes’ management of the life-cycle of common items consumed daily in the United States. From mining and manufacturing to distribution, consumption and waste, this presentation takes viewers on a journey to explore many missing fragments that are hardly ever reported in the system (Leonard, 2009). Watched by over 12 million people worldwide, and translated into over 15 languages (Roosevelt, 2010), Leonard has received both applauds and criticisms for her unapologetic condemnation of humans (especially Americans) – for their excessive consumption and wasteful habits – and her rather conspicuous allegation of the devious relationship between the government and private corporations. One significant issue that Leonard (2009) presented in the video was that, due to human activity, natural resources around the world are rapidly diminishing. Natural resources such as minerals and trees are constantly mined and felled to satisfy men’s insatiable appetite for more goods. The presentation revealed that in the last decade, one-third of the world’s resource base has depleted. Furthermore, it is said that only four percent...
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...Consumerism History of Consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in an elevated amount. Consumerism as an ideology first appeared in Western Europe roughly three hundred years ago. It gave a rise in consumer’s need and importance to the display of material items. It promoted economic progress, a rise in small shops, an increase in the growth of cities, and an incline in individualism. A shift in the market hit right before the Industrial Revolution. Capitalist development and the industrial revolution focused on infrastructure and production and manipulation of fossil fuels. In 1919 consumerism began to sweep over the American population when General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) was established. The General Motors Acceptance Corporation mission was to issue loans to customers who had purchased a vehicle. Americans started the notion of “Keeping up with the joneses” which is the idea that Americans compare themselves to their neighbors, defining each stance in socio-cultural inferiority. With this new need for status with possessions was thought to be the beginning of the American consumer culture. Soon after The Great Depression and World War broke out. When the war-ceased consumers went wild, credit cards issued first for convince took off quickly to show status through the products each individual had. Consumerism gathered strength in the United States through internal trade growing, expansion...
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