USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Flappers were a “new breed” of young women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed (cut short) their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior.

Detailed explanation-2: -Several period sources claim the word ‘flapper’ originated from the American fashion among teenage girls for wearing unbuckled galoshes – because their galoshes flapped about in a carefree manner as they walked.

Detailed explanation-3: -Colleen Moore, Clara Bow and Louise Brooks were the 3 most famous flappers in Hollywood in 1920’s. They inspired the change for generations of young women to come, of how women were perceived and how they could act.

Detailed explanation-4: -Flappers were young, fast-moving, fast-talking, reckless and unfazed by previous social conventions or taboos. They smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, rode in and drove cars and kissed and “petted” with different men. Women move to cities and into the workforce, but stayed in traditional ‘women’s roles.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 1907, English actor George Graves explained it to Americans as theatrical slang for acrobatic young female stage performers. The flapper was also known as a dancer, who danced like a bird-flapping her arms while doing the Charleston move. This move became quite a competitive dance during this era.