Roarin' 20s - By Elizabeth Roden

The Roarin' 20s

By: Elizabeth Roden

After the final ties with World War I, there was a tremendous increase in women entering college. Along with women integrated into the higher education system, there was a rise in public mingling between the sexes. College had many activities that allowed the students to socialize with each other. From football games, dances, and parties, the men and women college students expressed their sexuality openly.¹ Petting parties made a rise in the college environment in the 1920s, exclusively for men and women to hook up and “pet” each other.²

There was a drastic change in style among women from the early 1900s to the 1920s. In the early years of the 1900s, women were still stuck in the Victorian Era style of clothing. They mostly wore long dresses that covered most of their body, full length stockings, long hair tied in a bun, and no makeup. With the introduction of the 1920s, dresses shortened to above the knee, stockings were rolled down, hair was cut into a bob and died black, and make-up was worn as a fashion statement.³ This also became the era where smoking became popular for women. The change from a conservative style to the “flapper” style became a sexualized symbol of the promiscuous generation.4

The introduction of the automobile during this time period also led to the boost of sexual activity. Previously, courting was under surveillance of the parents of the daughter.¹ With the debut of the car in this time period, the privacy led to an increase in sexual activity. For example, a couple may drive to a make-out spot after a date. It was common for a person to lose their virginity in a vehicle. Without the watchful eye of authority figure, the men and women could express their lust for each other and experiment openly.²

When the Prohibition was live during this era, the selling of illegal alcohol became frequent and not hard to find. Like marijuana in today's society, when a something is illegal, it becomes something that everyone wants to partake in. It is like the forbidden fruit. Illegal alcohol started popping up in the college scene. With the increase in drinking, sexual promiscuity became prevalent. The parties were teeming with alcohol, sex, and flappers.³ Many would say that the sixties birthed the rise of open sexuality. With the breakthrough that the twenties experienced, I would have to disagree. The twenties was most sexually liberal compared to the hundreds of years previous.

1 Sexton, Timothy. "The Decade that Gave Birth to Sexual Promiscuity: The 1920s." Yahoo! Voices. http://voices.yahoo.com/the-decade-gave-birth-sexual-promiscuity-the-280024.html?cat=17 (accessed April 26, 2014).

2 Moore, Crystal. "Part I: Beyond Reproduction 1920-1960." Lecture,, Charlotte, January 1, 2014.

3 Mageland, Chelsea. "Roarin' 20s." History of Human Sexuality: Western Culture Blog. http://historyofsexuality.umwblogs.org/topic-1/early-1900s/roaring-20s/ (accessed April 26, 2014).

4 Michele Gouveia. "Running Wild: College Students in the 1920s." FlapperJane. http://www.flapperjane.com/September%2004/running_wild.htm (accessed April 26, 2014).

1
Sexton, Timothy. "The Decade that Gave Birth to Sexual Promiscuity: The 1920s." Yahoo! Voices. http://voices.yahoo.com/the-decade-gave-birth-sexual-promiscuity-the-280024.html?cat=17 (accessed April 26, 2014).

2
Mageland, Chelsea. "Roarin' 20s." History of Human Sexuality: Western Culture Blog. http://historyofsexuality.umwblogs.org/topic-1/early-1900s/roaring-20s/ (accessed April 26, 2014).

3
Sexton, Timothy. "The Decade that Gave Birth to Sexual Promiscuity: The 1920s." Yahoo! Voices. http://voices.yahoo.com/the-decade-gave-birth-sexual-promiscuity-the-280024.html?cat=17 (accessed April 26, 2014).