An Analysis Of American "New Woman" In The1920s

The decade of the1920s in America is characterized by conservative politics, prosperous economy and revolutionary pop culture. With such social background rose a women group named New Woman which was mainly composed of middle-class white women, and they can be regarded as the symbol of the1920s America. New Woman had appeared in America in the1870s. Foreign and domestic scholars mainly focus on the group of New Woman who holds strong social responsibility in their researches while the New Woman in the1920s, also called flappers, who pursued individual comforts, is scarcely studied. This thesis aims to give a holistic interpretation of the group of the women to make up the deficiency to some extent. Based on the data that historians and researchers have recorded and the cultural theory of Cultural Materialism, the paper examines the living of New Woman in the1920s in an all-round vision and analyzes the group’s emergence reason and its practical impact.It is believed that the tremendous changes in infrastructures in the1920s are the root causes of the appearance of "flapper". Industrialization and urbanization, prosperous economy and the change on age structure all contributed to the form of a new social group. Such changes in infrastructures further extended impact on the publics; they triggered the prevailing of consumerism, hedonism, sexual revelation and pop culture in the1920s America, which accelerated the emergence and development of flappers, the New Woman. As a result of the time, flappers exerted considerable influence over social environment, public view on marriage and family and even feminism movements.The paper is divided into five parts. Introduction part illustrates the research purpose and methodology of the thesis. Also it clarifies the research scope by discussing two distinct definitions of American New Woman. Chapter One introduces the characteristics of New Woman in the1920s. Their conspicuous looks, bold behaviors, economic independence, astonishing idea on sexual and family relations are presented in this part. Chapter Two explores the causes of the appearance of New Woman in the1920s including the industrialization and urbanization, consumerism, education, pop culture and sexual revolution with Freudianism. Chapter Three analyzes the influences brought by New Woman and its limitations. Conclusion part aims to emphasize the importance and necessity of the study on American New Woman in the1920s.