AI Summary
5 min readThe Flapper: A Decade That Changed Womanhood
The year was 1915 when writer H.L. Mencken published an essay called "The Flapper" in The Smart Set, using a term that had been British slang for a young girl but giving it new weight. Mencken predicted a new kind of woman was emerging from the fabric of culture—one who would not follow the standards, traditions, and moral codes handed down generation after generation. He blamed a new force called media, and as it turned out, he was right.
The Death That Brought Freedom
The flapper did not arrive gently. It took the death of tens of millions of people to get her there. World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic hit as a one-two punch that killed enormous numbers around the world, and in doing so, they fundamentally adjusted gender norms. As Josh and Chuck explain, "the world couldn't afford to just keep women off to the side any longer." Women were needed in the workforce as never before. They needed education. These catastrophes opened opportunities for women to come out from under the thumb of their fathers and then their husbands.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:30) **H.L. Mencken Predicts the Flapper** - Josh introduces the term "flapper" as it was used by writer H.L. Mencken in a 1915 essay, where he predicted a new type of young woman who would reject traditional moral codes.
- 2 (03:17) **World War I and the Flu Pandemic as Catalysts** - The hosts explain that the massive death tolls of WWI and the 1918 flu pandemic forced society to change gender norms, creating opportunities for women.
- 3 (04:11) **The 18th and 19th Amendments** - The prohibition of alcohol and the right to vote are identified as crucial to the flapper phenomenon.
- 4 (05:02) **Flapper Rebellion: Smoking, Drinking, and Makeup** - The hosts detail the shocking new behaviors that flappers adopted, which were previously taboo for respectable women.
- 5 (05:22) **Technology as a Liberator: Automobiles and Radio** - The rise of the automobile and radio gave young women unprecedented freedom and shaped a new, shared youth culture.
- 6 (08:48) **Shoutout to the Writer** - Chuck gives a brief shoutout to Conger, who wrote the source article for the episode, and mentions the podcast "Unladylike."
- 7 (09:02) **Flappers vs. The "New Woman"** - The hosts clarify a distinction between two groups of women that emerged from the 19th Amendment.
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Show Notes
In the 1920s, a certain set of women wanted to loosen up and have a good time. Today, we get into it with the flappers.
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