Women's Rights. Kathy Peiss Book Cheap amusements Essay

Women's Rights. Kathy Peiss Book Cheap amusements - Essay Example Apart from being an important step towards the feminist movement, these indicators were also powerful and important with regards to the future of the Civil Rights movement within the United States and seeking to integrate all of society into what had previously been a club dominated by old, white men. One of the authors that best elaborates on this particular situation within American history is Kathy Peiss in her book, Cheap Amusements. As a function of this understanding of womanhood that Kathy Peiss puts forward in her book, this brief analysis will seek to answer the following questions: what changes around work and leisure occurred during the progressive Era, how did women’s embrace of style fashion romanced and mixed sex fun create new opportunities for independence for these women, and how did working class women’s embrace of those very same things also contribute to their being oppressed or discriminate against. Accordingly, by examining each of these determinan ts, it is the hope of this author that the analysis will be able to point to the greatest strengths and aspects of definitions that Peiss puts forward. Furthermore it is the hope of this author that through analysis of Peiss’ writing, the individual can gain a more clear and complete understanding of the means by which societal change and cultural change integrates itself within the modern era. One of the greatest changes that place during the Progressive Era was the integration of women into the workforce. Although many individuals might be led to believe that this did not take place until the Second World War, the fact of the matter is that the First World War offered a wealth of opportunities within the labor force provided by the vacancies left by men in the armed services. As a result of this change within the Progressive Era, the women within society were able to enjoy a great degree of liberalization with regards to both professional opportunity as well as cultural int egration that had previously not been realized. With regards to the realities that existed for women within society prior to this point, Peiss notes the following: â€Å"the working class woman discussed in the following pages typically were immigrants or daughters of immigrants, lived in†¦tenement districts, and labored for wages while unmarried† (Peiss 9). As a result of this rigid stratification that existed, women were utterly unable to penetrate the cultural constraints that previously defined their existence. As a result of the changes that were realized, not only were labor opportunities made available but also the style of fashion and clothing came to represent a more manly and boyish dynamic that had previously been unheard of. Accordingly, the most popular woman’s hairstyles became bobs whereas with regards to the style of clothing, flapper fashion came into existence; representing a unique and noticeable divergent from the Victorian era where full lengt h dresses were the norm. Whereas many people would seek to disregard fashion as indicative of any greater level of independence or feminism within the population, the fact of the matter is that the changes that were enjoyed an experienced during the Progressive Era had a noticeable impact on the level of freedom, culture, and social mobility that the women of that time were able to experience within society. Moreover, the changing norms of the time, alongside the differential that was experienced with regards to the degree that women and men could spend time together and mixed company without the horse societal judgments that it previously existed, allowed for a great liberalize ancient with