Changing Position of Women

Question 1

Who were flappers?

Answer 1

• Young, urban, middle-class women
• Rejected traditional roles
• Embraced new freedoms like smoking, drinkiing and experimenting sexually

Question 2

What was the significance of the 19th Amendment in 1920?

Answer 2

Granted women the right to vote in the US

Question 3

How did job opportunities for women change in the 1920s?

Answer 3

• Work in new roles such as telephone operators and department store clerks
• Wage inequality remained

Question 4

How did attitudes towards women’s franchise differ between regions?

Answer 4

• Southern and Midwestern often more traditional
• Franchise and politics seemed to be for men instead

Question 5

What was the impact of women’s increased independence?

Answer 5

• Divorce rates doubled
• Wanted to leave abusive/unhappy marriages

Question 6

Did all women experience the same level of social change in the 1920s?

Answer 6

• No
• Extent of change depended on factors (race, class, geographic location)
• Seen the most change: urban and middle class

Question 7

What happened to women who worked in industries after WW1?

Answer 7

• Gained experience and skills during the war
• Filled in men’s place for the war
• Lost positions as returning men took their jobs back