WOMEN’S ROLES AFTER THE WAR:

GENDER DYNAMICS IN

THE 1920S AND TODAY

November 20th, 2014

STUDENT OBJECTIVES

TSWBAT explain how flappers challenged conventional expectations.

TSWBAT analyze a series of political cartoons dealing with women’s suffrage and gender dynamics in the 1920s.

TSWBAT evaluate the validity of the Equal Rights Amendment.

THE “NEW” WOMAN

Women’s experiences during WW1 and the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 led them to seek greater equality with men.

RIGHTS THEN AND NOW

What rights do women have today that they did not necessarily have in the 1920s?

OPPAN FLAPPER STYLE (HEYYYY 20’S LADAYY)

Flappers wore heavy makeup, shorter skirts, bobbed hair.

They smoked cigarettes, drank beer, drove automobiles

They defied conventional expectations for womanly behavior.

TRANSFORMATION

PRIMARY SOURCE ACTIVITY

Arrange yourselves into four separate groups.

Group 1 will examine “A Woman’s Mind Magnified.”

Group 2 will examine “The Last Few Buttons Are Always The Hardest.”

Group 3 will examine “Origin and Development of a Suffragette”

Group 4 will examine “Hugging a Delusion.” Fill out the accompanying Cartoon Analysis

worksheet and be prepared to present your group’s cartoon to the class.

A SHOCKING MODEL OF NEW FEMINISM As you might expect, flappers angered the

more conservative folks. Regardless, they represented rugged

American individualism. They became more masculine, causing both

men and women to protest.

RELUCTANCE DESPITE SUFFRAGE

Most women voted along the same lines as men.

Relatively few voted at all in the early years. What are some practical reasons why

women would choose not to vote in the 1920s?

1) Women in rural areas or with children had to make special arrangements.

2) Sometimes, women’s families discouraged them from voting.

3) Others were not yet comfortable with the idea of voting. It had not become a habit . . . yet

ALICE PAUL AND THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Paul believed there should be no legal distinction between the sexes. Any differences were strictly biological.

What are some physical differences between men and women?

Are there any stereotypes as far as education goes? Are boys better at certain subjects than girls or vice versa?

MEN VS. WOMEN IN SPORTS

Title IX states that for every male sport at a public school or university, there must be a female equivalent.

What is the purpose of this law?

WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE

The 1920s saw a steady increase in the number of employed women.

They filled mainly traditional occupations: office workers, teachers, clerks, salespeople, dressmakers, seamstresses.

THE TEACHING PROFESSION: PERCENTAGES

Combining elementary schools and middle schools, male teachers only make up 17% of the teaching population.

What percentage of high school teachers do you think are male?

Answer: 42% What percentage of 42% do you think are

African American? Asian? Latino? About 17% all together

So 83% of male teachers are white. Males only make up about 25% of the

teacher labor force.

WHAT ABOUT COLLEGE PROFESSORS?

79% white (44% white males and 35% white females)

6% black 4% Hispanic 9% Asian/Pacific Islander <1% Native American