[Music] flappers are the quintessential symbol of the 1920s you can recognize them immediately by their fashion their dancing and their sex appeal but who were they how did they become flappers let's find out the origins of the word flapper are a little bit foggy since it originated in slang but some sources say that flapper was once used to refer to young prostitutes in England and develop into a word referring to excitable teenage girls the rise of the American flapper had its beginnings in the social climate at the end of World War 1 it had been a brutal bloody war that had killed millions of people often pointlessly following the war a massive Spanish flu pandemic swept the world one of the deadliest in human history killing millions of others many began to realize that their life could be much shorter than they realized they could die from reasons completely beyond their control young people especially took this to heart those who were in the prime of their life opted for fun and pleasure instead of wallowing in the woes of their situation at the same time big cultural and societal changes were occurring in 1919 the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote in America was passed by the House of Representatives and then by the Senate women were finally able to vote in the 1920 presidential election allowing them to have more influence in shaping their society women were also better able to get jobs by the 1920s and they could often earn enough money to be self-sufficient and spend their money however they wanted to a little bit earlier that same year the 18th amendment had all passed which prohibited the production sale and transportation of alcohol the prohibition movement had been championed in large part by progressives as well as religious leaders who believed that alcohol was a poison on society flappers took to drinking alcohol partly because it was illegal and therefore exciting and it also contributed to their devil-may-care attitude women's increasing freedom and the youth who are looking to get the best out of life began to lead to the creation of the flapper flappers were a direct challenge to the conservatism of the victorian and edwardian arabs many young women no longer wanted to be confined to a tight fitting corset or be restricted only to formal ballroom dancing they wanted to express their newfound desire for pleasure in all of its forms the development of flappers was also helped along by the growing movie culture of the late 1910s and early 1920s the glamour of Hollywood with all of its hedonistic glory was a constant beacon for young people actresses were Maiko something which had previously been associated with prostitutes but now it was a symbol of glamour and the freedom to look as one wanted the first film to show the desired lavish lifestyle of a flapper was the aptly named 1920 film the flapper starring the beautiful olive Thomas the film shows a girl from a wealthy family break away from the strict rules and regulations of her conservative family and community and escaped from a boarding school and the up in New York City where she dresses up lavishly and attends a party while still a prototype for the flapper that was to appear in the following years Thomas's character shows all the basic characteristics longing for pleasure and fun and drastically changing her fashion and appearance she even tried smoking a cigarette for the first time something that was also related to flappers because it was a symbol of freedom music was also important in the development of the placard jazz music had emerged largely in black communities particularly in New Orleans in the previous decades after the first jazz records were recorded by the original Dixieland jazz band in 1917 the trend caught fire across the country an earlier prototype of the flapper attitude can be seen in singers such as Marian Harris who transitioned into an early jazz vocalist beginning around 1917 her showy jazz tune is filled with personality or a channel that helped to further bring jazz to white communities jazz became a staple for flappers because it was fast fun and great for dancing it was also scorned by the older generation for being too risque and too closely associated with black communities jazz was not just music but also a social force the ideal setting for a flapper would be dancing to fast jazz music while wearing a short dress and drinking illegal alcohol and smoking cigarettes this was the epitome of rebellion at that time youth and rebellion have been a common theme seen in every generation since the 1920s just in different forms by the mid 1920s flapper culture was in full swing the Bob haircut style became vogue for the trendy young flappers long hair for women had long been considered a symbol of purity and femininity throughout the Victorian era when flappers began bobbing their hair it was a statement of their rebellion against societal norms that show that they didn't care that they might be chastised by their parents and elders for doing women representing flapper culture in one way or another began to appear more and more in movies with massive popularity Colleen Moore Josephine Baker the Westbrooks and Clara Bow are the most obvious examples that come to mind a number of actresses even danced the famous Charleston dance and movies while we may look too flappers now as a positive cultural icon to be admired it wasn't so in the 1920s older generations looked down on flappers as being women of loose morals they were too open about private matters like sex and enjoyed spending time teasing multiple men with their affections some even regarded them as being comparable to prostitute and we must also keep in mind that not all young women in the 1920s were flappers there is a reason why flappers are so associated with the 1920s it's because they are almost completely confined to that decade flapper our culture abruptly disappeared after the stock market crash in 1929 and the resulting Great Depression the lavish hedonistic flapper lifestyle had no place in the difficult economic times of the 1930s not only could few afford such a lifestyle but they would be scorned by others for doing so while others struggled to survive flappers remained the iconic image of the 1920s their fashion and aesthetic tastes are still popular today though they themselves have long disappeared I hope you enjoyed this video I have a lot of other ideas for future videos but please leave a comment if there is something you would like to see me covered thanks for watching all your chic singles out there and stay tuned for more of the Roaring Twenties [Music]