Social and cultural developments

• Roaring twenties:

  There were great changes in technology,music,dance and fashion. Many young people rejected traditional values
• People had more time and money to spend on leisure activities. Average wages rose by 11.1 percent
• Women:

  Traditional views of womens role continued

  While more women had paid work that were paid less than men

  Women gained the vote but there were few female politicians.
• Film actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford became stars
• Urban women got more freedom and opportunity
• Women's dress and behaviour before the 1920s


  • Wore restrictive clothing
  • Did not wear make-up
  • Had to behave politely
  • Did not attend sporting fixtures
  • Were not expected to smoke in public
• If unmarried women wanted to spend time with a man, a chaperone came with them (to make sure they behaved appropriately)
• Jobs for middle-class women before the 1920s


  • Unmarried women could work as teachers or secretaries
  • Married women were expected to stay at home
• Women could not vote before the 1920s
• Traditional views were strong in rural areas and were influenced by the Church
• Characteristics of flappers in the 1920s


  • Cut their hair short
  • Wore daring clothes
  • Smoked in public
• Hollywood films, newspapers and magazines presented a range of glamorous female role models
• Women could go out with men unaccompanied, and there was greater sexual freedom
• The First World War challenged traditional views on women, as women worked in munitions factories and earned great respect
• Labour-saving devices, for example vacuum cleaners and washing machines, gave women more free time
• By 1929, there were 10 million women in paid work (24 per cent more than in 1920)
• Modern views were particularly common in the cities