What is a Flapper?
The term flapper is most associated with a set of attitudes, behavior, and fashion ascribed to some women of the 1920s. Though most think that the original flapper is an American creation, the UK actually coined the term flapper before the 1920s. A flapper was a young woman trying to leave the nest, flapping her wings in awkward fashion as she tried to reach maturity.
For many the flapper was associated with the many illegal clubs that sold alcohol during prohibition. Yet she was much more than simply a woman who drank and frequently smoked. The flapper in many ways symbolized the young woman of the early twenties rejecting conventional feminine behavior.
This was most obvious in clothing and hairstyles. The flapper shed the restrictive garments of corsets and instead favored a boyish figure in dress styles and undergarment styles. She might wear teddies or bras that actually pushed the breasts inward to minimize her figure.
As well, the hemlines of dresses fell just below the knee, and waistlines were often completely lacking. Such clothing and the lack of ironclad undergarments were often considered shocking. Yet later, dresses with higher hemlines and a-line construction became quite normal wear. As well, few went back to corseting; thus women enjoyed more physical freedom and easier breathing.
Hairstyle as well was quite “unconventional” at first. The bob, a short, almost mannish cut that was usually chin length was a trade-up on long, long hair that had to be pinned and placed by maids or by extensive personal effort. Make-up was used in, some say, excess, with dark lips, and heavy eyeliners and powder.
Flappers were open to more physical intimacy, then women preceding them by a decade. In fact petting and kissing was considered relatively normal behavior. Yet many at the time called this very loose and questionable morality. However, petting was often as far as early sexual behavior went, and many women still waited until marriage to have intercourse. As in any generation, pattern of sexual behavior was varied.
F. Scott Fitzgerald greatly popularized the flapper movement in many of his short stories. In particular, “Bernice Bobs her Hair,” discusses the decision as to whether a woman will succumb to the flapper style and give up her pretty tresses. Furthermore, certain actresses like Clara Bow were examples of flapper actresses.
The flapper movement and the gay times that went with it were considered over by 1929 with the onset of the Great Depression. In fact displays of conspicuous consumption, like those by the pleasure-seeking flappers were greatly discouraged. However, though flappers were often thought of as hedonistic and silly, their legacy to women was the pervading thought that women did not have to behave conventionally. Actually, unconventional behavior might be celebrated rather than despised.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
