Analyzing 1920s Counterculture: Flappers

Analyzing 1920s Counterculture: Flappers Vittoria Rybak American culture has undergone great change throughout its history, specifically through challenges brought about by countercultures to the traditional values of the larger society. By definition, a counterculture is a group that rejects the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society, replacing them with a new set of cultural patterns (Thomas). During the 1920s, Americans saw the rise of one particular counterculture that would challenge the traditional values of women in a significantly modest society. Flappers, they were nicknamed, consisted of northern, urban, middle-class women who defied the traditional Victorian gender roles of the era wherein women were expected to act and behave in a modest, conservative way. The once feminine ideal of staying at home and out of the workforce would drastically change socially and politically as Flappers began a life of smoking, drinking, dancing, and voting. They defied traditionalist values by cutting their hair, wearing makeup , and taking risks (Rosenberg). In an attempt to liberate themselves and eliminate social double standards, the Flappers created a new role for women in society to play. With World War I underway, young men were being sent off to fight for the ideals and mistakes of the older generation, while young women took over their jobs and entered the workforce (Rosenberg). During the war, nearly an entire generation of young men had died, leaving nearly an entire generation of young women who became significantly independent and steered away from the conventional marriage norms of finding a sufficient suitor and starting a family (Rosenberg). The return home from the war proved that settling back into normalcy would be difficult for the young men AND women after each had already broken out of the structure of society (Rosenberg). These liberated young women had emerged from the aftermath of World War I and jumped right into the Jazz Age and an era of Prohibition. They adopted their carefree attitudes specifically in this era of alcohol, jazz music, dancing, and, of course, rebellion. The Jazz Age inspired a change in style and dress that ultimately became the scandalous Flapper look, diverging greatly from the traditional style and dress of early American women. A key contributor to the Flapper culture was Cara Bow, the single most famous Flapper of the era, starring in films and inspiring the younger generations to adopt the carefree manner and style of the new womens era. Perhaps the most significant historical event that encouraged Flappers to promote their cause of eliminating social double standards was the passing of the 19th Amendment, which ended womens suffrage and gave women the right to vote (Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia). In order to develop a better understanding of the mentality of the Flappers, it is important to view the behavior of the group in a systematic way, or through a sociological perspective (Thomas 4). Specifically through the interactionist perspective, Max Weber asserts that individuals act according to their interpretations of the meaning of their world through symbolic interaction (Thomas 17). And then, using sociological imaginations, those individuals have the ability to see the connection between the larger world and their personal lives (Thomas 5). During World War I, young women began interpreting the world slightly different from before. Flappers basically realized that life was too short to live a confined life and wait for a husband who might never come home; flappers felt rightfully entitled to make their own decisions regarding how to live their lives (Celania). Serving as a symbol of freedom, the invention of the automobile is an example of how Flappers were given the libe ration to go and do anything they pleased (Rosenberg). However, automobiles were not only used for travel and escape, and the flapper was less hesitant to experiment sexually than previous generations. Flappers began to realize that the larger world was holding them back, so they rebelled and brought attention to themselves which helped bring about major cultural change. America underwent major cultural changes because of the Flappers attitudes and completely redefined the role of women in society at large. In addition to their defiance of traditionalist values, Flappers also adopted a new sexual frankness that widened the eyes of the older generation. Many older generation traditionalists were the ones who developed ethnocentric views towards the shocking erotic and sexually alluring behavior of the Flappers (Kennedy and Cohen, Lizabeth). By definition, ethnocentrism is the tendency to view ones own culture and group as superior to all other cultures and groups (Thomas 35). The older generations considered themselves guardians of respectability and morality, thus they looked negatively on and were baffled by the dress and antics of the Flappers (Kennedy and Cohen, Lizabeth 710). In fact, traditional moralists were offended by their actions and attitudes. Their feelings of ethnocentrism came from the idea that a single kiss had once been the equivalent of a marriage proposal, and now Flappers were flaunting and exploiting their bodies like never before (Kennedy and Cohen, Lizabeth 709). Stuffy traditionalists continued to defend the modest and conventional way of life that they believed women were supposed to lead. For example, the Flappers began sporting the one piece bathing suit on beaches during the summers; however, they were disrupted in their leisure and measured from the knee up to ensure that not too much leg was showing (Kennedy and Cohen, Lizabeth 710). Out of pure rebellion against stuffy moralists, flappers adopted the short hair style, leaving the long, curly, traditional locks on the floors of barber shops everywhere (Celania). Just as women do today, women of the 1920s felt confined to act and behave a certain way. Their freedoms to express themselves had been diminished all of their lives by a traditional upbringing. Cultural relativism is the belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards, and not by the standards of others (Thomas 36). Through cultural relativism, the larger society can understand why flappers behaved in the manner in which they did. Sigmund Freud claims that the libido was one of the most natural of human needs that allowed Flappers to explore and experiment sexually (Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia). He believed that a variety of nervous and emotional ills came directly as a result of sexual repression, concluding that Flappers were not acting out of the norm for mere pleasure alone, but for health reasons as well. (Kennedy and Cohen, Lizabeth 708). By the Flappers standards, they had been denied sexual gratification and liberation all their lives. Once the y received that small taste of individualism and excitement that came with the aftermath of World War I, these women could not undo themselves and decided to completely defy gender norms, thus creating the undeniably flamboyant Flapper culture. Although I am not a hardcore feminist, I definitely agree with the Flapper philosophy of expressing individualism and putting an end to social double standards. Women deserve to express themselves, not only at home, but in the workforce as well. Flappers did not necessarily protest or actively participate in womens movements that gave rise to important milestones; however, the Flapper was a symbol of empowerment and liberation that changed the course of a womans role in America. In fact, I might not have the freedoms I do today if flappers had decided to remain silent and stick to the status quo. I greatly admire them taking the first steps to break out of the mold that women had been shaped into. As a person who buries herself in schoolwork, I especially admire the carefree and fun attitude of the Flapper and I like to think of their motto as living life to the fullest which definitely makes life more exciting if followed as the flappers had. I also agree that repression causes rebe llion, and, in this way, the Flapper had a right to experiment and find a life for herself, according to her own standards. Although women still have a long way to go, the Flapper culture most definitely inspired generations of women to come out of the wood work and express themselves as empowering individuals. References Celania, Miss. The Society Pages. 25 March 2013. The Rise of the Flapper. Web. 11 March 2017. Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia. U.S. History Precolumbian to the New Millenium. 2016. Web. 11 March 2017. Kennedy, David M. and Cohen, Lizabeth. The American Pageant. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016. 708. Textbook. Rosenberg, Jennifer. thoughtco. 2 February 2017. Flappers in the Roaring Twenties. Web. 11 March 2017. Thomas, W. LaVerne. Sociology- The Study of Human Relationships. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 2003. 39. Textbook.

Alone Together: The Impact Of Social Media and Its Relationship to Loneliness Essay

Alone Together: The Impact Of Social Media and Its Relationship to Loneliness In the school, parks, restaurants, or streets we can always see a person who is busy â€Å"tweeting†, checking Facebook, or putting pictures to Instagram. Earlier in the past, people would spent their free time with family and friends, reading books, going to the park with kids, and playing games outside. If in the last century, people could say, â€Å"You are what your friends are†; nowadays, you are what you â€Å"like†, post, or share on Facebook. Social media networks have became some of the most entertaining and popular things all over the world, as well as it makes us remember the quote by T.S. Eliot: â€Å"Distracted from distraction by distraction.† Social media is a network of web-sites where people share or discus information; also, it is a great op- portunity to communicate long-distance and build new friendships. Although, social network was designed for people to become closer and h elp to improve their relations, it also declined out at- tempt to communicate in person. In urban life, social media makes such a lonely activity for us — to be stuck in front of the screen. The paradox of social technology that reduces our social in- volvement does affect a lot of people, and can lead to social awkwardness and loneliness. As big as the media itself, it connects all of us in every single aspect, but makes us to be alone together. How does social networks reduce our social involvement? There are three ways through which social media brings us to isolation from the real world: it is easy available, entertaining and very popular. At first, it is so easy and free to make an account on social website, such as Tweeter, Facebook, MySpase, Skype and so on. Because many of us have internet on out phones, it makes it more available and on the go. The statistics shows that, â€Å"over a billion people belong to Face- book, the world’s largest online social network, and over half of them log in daily† (Kross). Being around your friends or in school, we would not realize that we keep looking at our phones, and checking the latest news. Social networks m ake it easy for us to control distances — weather you choose open up for people, or keep them away, there is always a capability for you to keep your distance just right. I use social networks in my regular life, and it helps me to communicate with my family from all around the world. It is easier and cheeper for all of us; we do not have to spent money on our plane tickets, and cancel our plans,  because we can connect over the com- puter. On another hand, the technology reduces chances for me to travel and visit my family. In this way, we can see how easily our conversations transform to connections. People do not have to plan meetings and events in person, because they can connect, press button, and promote everything. Nowadays, most of the things we search for is through â€Å"the easy way†. Wether its interviews, shopping, planning birthday events or reunions, anything what we would usually do in person, now we do without getting out of our houses, and even without leaving our room. By sitting in front of the screen, and doing our â€Å"easy available† activities, we isolate ourselves from social life, which is also shows our laziness based on advantages of technology. Another of the ways though which social network isolating us from the real life, is the entertainment of it. People in general cannot live without something that can make them feel ï ¿ ¼happy and satisfied. Its a great source for us to get entertained, because being online we can present ourselves that we want to be. People can filter all the negatives and show only the positives through uploading pictures, statuses or other information. Social networks such Facebook have a huge amount of groups where people can share their interests; therefore, we have no need for meeting people in person, if we know whats going on in their lives through computer. It is of course helps more introvert people to find new friendships, but it does opposite outcome for more extrovert people, who get addicted to online society. Like video games, and mass media, social media has a great influence on us to get stuck at home. In one of the journals by Graeme Hutton, explains the connection between entertainment activities and humans: Passive social media activities — online reading and viewing, for instance — typically demand less involvement and cognitive processing than such active pursuits as writing, creating video, and posting to sites. Consumers are more likely to be involved in passive rather than active usage largely because such activities demand less conscious effort (566). The quote shows the relation that has speed up our social media use; which is also reminds us of the â€Å"easy available† entertaining activities that lead us to spent less time in public. More people get lonely, or depressed without socializing, and you can benefit from social network, that give you an opportunity to connect, or in some cases to disconnect from people. Finally, when you create a free account, make your profile and put  your â€Å"life† into it, most of people want to get famous. In another words, we want everyone to know what we are doing, and see how many people â€Å"like† or â€Å"share† it with us. People want to be popular, so their news get a top rank on a â€Å"news feed†, such as one on Facebook. We â€Å"engage socially online†, because we have â€Å"needs to promote ourselves† (Hutton 566). But as we search through our news feed we can see already â€Å"popular† people, who usually very good looking, or rich, or successful in their lives. Such little things makes us feel insecure about ourselves, and think that we are not good, pretty, smart enough. After these activities, some of us get soc ially awkward and do not want to attend the public, which will lead our road to loneliness. On another hand, the â€Å"popular† people spent a big amount of hours on the computer to promote themselves, which makes them lonely from the lack of activities they could have done outdoor with their friends. This example makes us to see the paradox of social technology, where we can feel cut off from other people even if they around us. In the short future, our generation will have a plugged-in lives. The explanation of it is that more and more people will get lazy, fake, insecure or jealous that would lead our society to shift. We would have more stereotype than unique people, because it will be â€Å"easier† for us to communicate with people such like us ourselves. Lack of emotions will increase, because people will forget how it is to have a facial expression. Loneliness will take the major spot, because we will be scared to act in front of other people whether than the screen. World will become a smaller place, but in this case it will fundamentally affect our so cial life. We will be alone, but together seeking for connection, and if people want to escape from loneliness, they would have to rely on new technology; therefore make it a vicious cycle.

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 3

August 21, 1864 I can't stop thinking about her. I will not even write her name; I daren't. She is beautiful, entrancing, singular. When I'm with Rosalyn, I am Giuseppe's son, the Salvatore boy, essentially interchangeable with Damon. I know it would not matter one whit to the Cartwrights if Damon took my place. It is only me because Father knew Damon would not stand for it, knew I would say yes, just like always. But when I saw her, her lithe figure, her red lips, her eyes that were flickering and sad and thrilling all at once †¦ it was as though I was finally just myself, just Stefan Salvatore. I must be strong. I must treat her like a sister. I must fall in love with the woman who is to be my wife. But I fear it is already too late†¦. Rosalyn Salvatore, I thought to myself the next day, tasting the words as I walked out the door, ready to fulfill my duty by paying a second call on my soon-to-be-betrothed. I imagined living with Rosalyn in the carriage house–or perhaps some smaller mansion my father would build as our wedding present–me working all day, poring through ledgers with my father in his stuffy study, while she took care of our children. I tried to feel excitement. But all I felt was cold dread seeping through my veins. I walked around the grand path of Veritas and gazed wistfully up at the carriage house. I hadn't seen Katherine since she arrived yesterday afternoon. Father had dispatched Alfred to invite her to supper, but she'd declined. I'd spent the evening looking out the window toward the house, but I couldn't see any flicker of candlelight. If I hadn't known she and Emily had moved in, I'd have assumed the house had remained unoccupied. Finally, I went to sleep, wondering the whole time what Katherine was doing and whether she needed comforting. I tore my eyes away from the drawn upstairs shades and trudged down the driveway. The dirt road under my feet was hard and cracked; we needed a good rainstorm. There was no breeze, and the air felt dead. There wasn't another person outside as far as the eye could see, yet as I walked, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on walked, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I got the uneasy feeling that I wasn't alone. Unbidden, Robert's warnings about walking off on my own floated through my mind. â€Å"Hello?† I called out as I turned around. I started. Standing just a few feet behind me, leaning against one of the angel statues that flanked the drive, was Katherine. She wore a white sunbonnet that protected her ivory skin and a white dress dotted with tiny rosebuds. Despite the heat, her fair skin looked as cool as the pond on a December morning. She smiled at me, displaying perfectly straight, white teeth. â€Å"I had hoped for a tour of the grounds, but it seems you are otherwise engaged.† My heart pounded at the word â€Å"engaged,† the ring box in my back pocket as heavy as a branding iron. â€Å"I'm not †¦ no. I mean,† I stammered, â€Å"I could stay.† â€Å"Nonsense.† Katherine shook her head. â€Å"I already am taking lodging from you and your father. I will not take your time as well.† She raised a dark eyebrow at me. Never before had I spoken with a girl who seemed so at ease and sure of herself. I felt the sudden, overwhelming urge to whip the ring from my pocket and offer it to Katherine on one knee. But then I thought of Father and forced my hand to stay put. â€Å"May I at least walk with you for a bit?† Katherine asked, swinging her sun umbrella back and forth. Companionably, we walked down the road. I kept glancing to my left and right, wondering why she didn't seem nervous to walk, unaccompanied, with a man. Perhaps it was because she was an orphan and so utterly alone in the world. Whatever the reason, I was grateful for it. A light wind blew around us, and I inhaled her lemony ginger scent, feeling as though I could die of happiness, right there, next to Katherine. Simply being near her was a reminder that beauty and love did exist in the world, even if I couldn't have them. â€Å"I think I shall call you Silent Stefan,† Katherine said as we walked through the cluster of oaks that marked the line between the village of Mystic Falls and the outlying plantations and estates. â€Å"I'm sorry †¦,† I started, fearing that I was as dull to her as Rosalyn was to me. â€Å"It's simply that we don't get very many strangers in Mystic Falls. It's difficult to speak to someone who doesn't know my whole history. I suppose I don't want to bore you. After Atlanta, I'm sure you find Mystic Falls a bit quiet.† I felt mortified as soon as the sentence left my lips. Her parents had died in Atlanta, and here I was, making it sound like she'd left some exciting life to live here. I cleared my throat. â€Å"I mean, not that you had found Atlanta exciting, or that you wouldn't enjoy getting away exciting, or that you wouldn't enjoy getting away from everything.† Katherine smiled. â€Å"Thank you, Stefan. That's sweet.† Her tone made it clear she didn't want to delve into the topic any further. We walked in silence for a few long moments. I kept my stride deliberately short so Katherine could keep up. Then, whether by accident or by design I'm not sure, Katherine's fingers brushed against my arm. They were cold as ice, even in the humid air. â€Å"Just so you know,† she said, â€Å"I don't find anything about you boring.† My entire body flamed hot as a conflagration. I glanced up the road, as if trying to ascertain the best route for us to follow, though really I was hiding my blush from Katherine. I felt the weight of the ring in my pocket again, heavier than ever. I turned to face Katherine, to say what, I'm not even sure. But she was no longer by my side. â€Å"Katherine?† I called, shielding my eyes against the sun, waiting for her lilting laugh to rise up in the underbrush along the road. But all I heard was the echo of my own voice. She had vanished.

What I Want At Liberty And The Future - 1567 Words

I have always enjoyed creating things and being good at what I chose to do. When I was a young boy, I spent countless hours building things with Legos or Kinetics. I had a vivid imagination, hoping to one day invent a hover car or a jet pack. I am now in a moment of my life where my decisions now will affect what my life is and what it will become. With great uncertainty, I explored many different career paths. I have many interests, but my competitive nature hinders and encourages me in different directions. After recent self-analysis, I have found that the decisions I have made are not based off of solid grounded decisions. I would retreat before things get tough. My competitiveness has driven decisions that with a sound mind I would not otherwise make, because of a fear to fail. Doubting my already made decisions, I now have to reassess what I will do at Liberty and in the future. At this point of college, I will start getting into my more difficult, degree focused classes. I no l onger have general education courses I can use to stall the time in which I had to make a decision for my major. Now with less than a semester to make a decision, I have concluded that I truly do not know what to do. I have found that I have made selfish decisions and approach my career without a God guided life. I sit now waiting for answers to my prayers, hoping that God will guide me in the direction he wants me to go. I believed that I should become a mechanical engineer, but I am afraid IShow MoreRelatedThe Five Habits Of Highly Effective People1326 Words   |  6 Pages I chose Liberty University for its combination of a nurturing, Christian atmosphere and its advanced, up-to-date resources. These positive attributes extend to the Honors Program with the addition of a challenging academic curriculum. I am in pursuit of the best version of myself and that version is at the Liberty Honors Program. 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