Women In The 1930s
A famous American Baptist Minister, Martin Luther King once exclaimed, “We must accept finite disappointment but we must never lose infinite hope.” This quote illustrates what kept the women’s unique lifestyle alive. They needed to maintain hope in order to persevere through the 1930s. For women, jobs were difficult, their fashion was very elegant and sophisticated and the rights that they had were different compared to men's. Women in the 1930s maintained a unique lifestyle because of their jobs, their fashion and the rights that they had.
For women in the 1930s, a good job was not only difficult to find but once they managed to find one, they were not treated fairly to men. Women were only given the low level jobs. They could not be managers or get any kind of job that had a high pay like men could. In fact, 75% of women were forced to be either teachers or nurses because other jobs were difficult to get and keep. (Limits to Women’s Rights In The 1930s 1) This was because those were considered to be women’s jobs. It was especially difficult for women that were single because they struggled to support themselves with the money they were making. An article called “Women And The Great Depression” goes onto explain that even if a woman did manage to get a well paying job, they were risking humiliation throughout their area. Women were told to give up their jobs for men. People would tell them that they were stealing jobs from men as well. It truly was a difficult time for woman who aspired to be successful career wise. (Ware 2)
Furthermore, women’s fashion in the 1930s was very elegant and stylish. In the 1930s, zippers were a new concept and therefore, were a major accessory to include in every outfit, the article, What Did Women Wear In The 1930s? explained. The article goes on to say that they also cost less than buttons so they were more affordable which was a plus. Although money was extremely tight during this time, women were praised when they spent a great amount of money on their clothes.(What Did Women Wear In The 1930s 2) They were expected to shop and look “smart by purchasing the latest style because if you were on a tight budget it was no excuse to not wear very nice clothes. It was considered to be a good way to spend their husband’s money. (2) The 1930s was also a major change in popular fashion. It was at that time that women became expected to dress feminine rather than “boyish” clothes.(1) For example dresses, skirts and coats were worn very often by women within this decade which further proves that they lived a very unique lifestyle.
Although, women had more rights in the 1930s than in previous years, they were still treated unfairly to men. There were some schools at this time that only allowed men and women were not allowed inside them to get an education.(Ware 2) Not only that but most times, when women did manage to get a job, they were paid very much less than men for doing the same amount of work just because of their gender. (Limits To Women’s Rights 1) This was especially difficult for women who were single and needed to support themselves without a man bringing in money from work. That was not even the worst of it though, women could easily get fired simply for being a woman.(1) Even if they were doing everything right and were working just as hard as all of the guys were, they could be forced to find another job because people thought that women were less important than men were moneywise. The fact that women were seen to be less important just because of their gender was very unfair but without those women paving the way, the world would still be living like that today.
To sum up, women’s lifestyle in the 1930s was unique because of the jobs that they had, the fashion that they wore and the way that they were treated compared to men. Women had to work extremely hard to be taken seriously and to be successful in a career and even then, they were still not paid equally to their male coworkers. Not only that, but they were expected to keep up with the latest fashion no matter how much money they had to spend on their outfits. Even if it meant spending a lot of their husband’s or even their own money. Women played an unnoticed but major role in the 1930s and they helped to pave the way for how women continue to live today.
Two couples playing cards on a table outside, upscale lifestyle
1930’s Lifestyle
J.K. Rowling, a famous author, once stated that “we do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” This clearly illustrates and defines how the people of the 1930’s lived. During this decade many people struggled to balance their lives and afford practically anything, but using their heads they had developed a lifestyle worth living. Fashion in the 1930ś was a big role. It showed people that no matter the current life they are living, they could still rock the runway, and the runway being the sidewalk. Entertainment was also huge in that era, since many people did not have the money to afford to buy toys, plays, and other things you needed to pay for, they had to make or buy inexpensive items to create joy in such dark times. The people living in the 1930’s also relied much on their jobs. It was what provided them and their family. Many people did not have a job, causing them to have to go on the move. With little to no money, the lifestyle during the 1930’s was needless to say interesting.
First and foremost, fashion in the 1930’s was very different from modern times. Men kept it simple with a basic fedora, and double breasted overcoats. Meanwhile boys wore tall socks, and short shorts. A big inspiration in the fashion industry for men were people like La Charles Farrell and Buddy Rogers. They often would go for short haircuts, meanwhile older men would sported mustaches. Men could go to a store and spend $25 on three socks, two dress shirts, a suit, a hat, a tie, and a pair of shoes. Meanwhile women would wear dresses and kept their hair close to their head. Fur and floral patterns were seen almost everywhere because of how popular they were. Hats, unlike men, fizzled out after being so popular for so long. Ultimately the women would go for a Greta Garbo look (basically sensual, mysterious, and very dramatic). Ladies would try and be very tall, slender, with very broad shoulders and a small chest. Streamlined hips were something every girl wanted paired with a long skirt ending around mid-calf.
Like said before, women were very inspired by stars on the big screen like Greta Garbo with a windblown look and sideswept hair, as well and Joan Crawford that often sported puffed sleeves which made the waist look slimmer. Jean Harlow also influenced halter tops and evening gown coats. Thick clingy fabric was popular while wearing three inch shoulder pads to broaden up their shoulders. It says on retrowaste.com, “Makeup was chic and shoulder pads were very important until the late 1930s.” This shows how popular they were in the 1930’s and fizzled out toward the end. In almost every single home that had a female in it included a curling iron and close up mirror. They would use these two too get tight curls and perfectly plucked eyebrows. They would fill in their eyebrows heavily with eyeliner and smokey eyeshadow. Makeup would also emphasize nice bone structure in a very bold way.
In the beginning of the 1930’s women would often be seen wearing hats, scarves, large rings and a watch set. They loved accessorizing to match their gloves, shoes and matching handbags, as well as their dresses. Ladies loved showing off their red or grey fox fur that would be only flung over one shoulder. They would wear their hair in curls and have it a little longer than later times in this era.
Starting in the 1935 the military look for women started trending. Sporting square shoulders, low heels plumed hats and gauntlet gloves. During the evening though, women tended to change their look into an international flair. Indian and Greek inspired looks were very popular with nice prints and loads of jewelry. Women would wear their hair loose in a ton of curls. During 1935 bra cup sized were introduced.
Toward the end of the 1930’s, particularly 1939, suits for women became popular and feminine. They could be found pleated, straight, or flared but always came with a tightly fitted jacket and blouse. Umbrellas and a hat became a motif in accessories or prints. The first time wavey hair was permanently seen, and was considered a style, was during 1939. Snoods were also introduced, a net like hair piece that would hold hair at the back of your head to keep out of your face, as well as just a fashion statement. Fashion in the 1930’s was very important to representing this time period, showing what people were like and how they represented themselves.
Entertainment in the 1930’s was very different from modern days. Everything was inexpensive and very creative. They would need to use their imagination every time they would want to have fun or use toys. Movies, mainly comedies, gangster movies, and musicals were very cheap. Dance, particularly swing dance was very popular. Sound in general was very important in the 1930’s was very important seeing as though you could make sound from anything. For example singing telegrams, bands and war songs were very usually used for entertainment in the sound department.
Children had many hands-on toys. They tended to read with friends, normally comics, and just forget about their current living position. Most toys would be made from wood, and/ or fabric. Usually toys were hand-me downs considering most people didn't have the money to buy new ones. Toy companies would go out of business because nobody could buy toys.
Things like dolls, fingerpaints, and die cast model cars, were a huge hit for the kids of 1930’s. Boardgames like Monopoly, Scrabble, and Sorry were created. Rich kids would get toy trains, air rifles, dolls, doll houses, medical play sets, kid adding machines, and kit typewriters.
The 1930’s included a lot of careers but couldn’t have a lot of employees. Many people were unemployed and were lucky to find a job. Since many folks didn’t have careers they would end up travelling city to city in search for a job. Typically people would hitchhike because they did not own any form of transportation.
When people didn't want to go on the move they would stay in a place called Hoovervilles. Hoovervilles would be an area full of trash that people would settle down in. One in four Americans could not find jobs, 12.8 million out of work.
There were many types of jobs, semi skilled workers where mechanics in factories. Construction workers were easy to do for unskilled workers. Meanwhile law and medicine increased for work. Often, people without jobs would do temporary day labor. Sometimes people would live off family farms to feed their family and survive.
Women in the 1930’s had harder with careers compared to men. Once they passed the age of 14 they would start working. Since women would accept reduced wages, they entered work twice as much as men. Even though they would work for long hours they would still barely get payed. Most girls would work for 50’s hours a week. Their annual payment was $525 while men's annual payment was $1027.
Women were often ridiculed for ‘taking men's jobs’. Married women would have hard times finding jobs because men would say their jobs was at home taking care of the children.
50% of black people during the 1930’s were unemployed. They would often be told that they could not get a job until every white man had one, as well as that all city jobs were for the whites and black people had to go work at the cotton fields. Sometimes black people would be killed so white men could take their jobs. Overall in the 1930’s careers were very hard to find in general and because of discrimination of gender and skin color.
Ultimately with little to no money the lifestyle during the 1930’s was needless to say interesting. Fashion in the 1930’s helped people express themselves and was very different from modern times. Entertainment had to be very cheap and would need imagination. Careers were very hard to find and when they found one they would be considered lucky. The 1930’s was very interesting and has definitely changed over time.
J.K. Rowling, a famous author, once stated that “we do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” This clearly illustrates and defines how the people of the 1930’s lived. During this decade many people struggled to balance their lives and afford practically anything, but using their heads they had developed a lifestyle worth living. Fashion in the 1930ś was a big role. It showed people that no matter the current life they are living, they could still rock the runway, and the runway being the sidewalk. Entertainment was also huge in that era, since many people did not have the money to afford to buy toys, plays, and other things you needed to pay for, they had to make or buy inexpensive items to create joy in such dark times. The people living in the 1930’s also relied much on their jobs. It was what provided them and their family. Many people did not have a job, causing them to have to go on the move. With little to no money, the lifestyle during the 1930’s was needless to say interesting.
First and foremost, fashion in the 1930’s was very different from modern times. Men kept it simple with a basic fedora, and double breasted overcoats. Meanwhile boys wore tall socks, and short shorts. A big inspiration in the fashion industry for men were people like La Charles Farrell and Buddy Rogers. They often would go for short haircuts, meanwhile older men would sported mustaches. Men could go to a store and spend $25 on three socks, two dress shirts, a suit, a hat, a tie, and a pair of shoes. Meanwhile women would wear dresses and kept their hair close to their head. Fur and floral patterns were seen almost everywhere because of how popular they were. Hats, unlike men, fizzled out after being so popular for so long. Ultimately the women would go for a Greta Garbo look (basically sensual, mysterious, and very dramatic). Ladies would try and be very tall, slender, with very broad shoulders and a small chest. Streamlined hips were something every girl wanted paired with a long skirt ending around mid-calf.
Like said before, women were very inspired by stars on the big screen like Greta Garbo with a windblown look and sideswept hair, as well and Joan Crawford that often sported puffed sleeves which made the waist look slimmer. Jean Harlow also influenced halter tops and evening gown coats. Thick clingy fabric was popular while wearing three inch shoulder pads to broaden up their shoulders. It says on retrowaste.com, “Makeup was chic and shoulder pads were very important until the late 1930s.” This shows how popular they were in the 1930’s and fizzled out toward the end. In almost every single home that had a female in it included a curling iron and close up mirror. They would use these two too get tight curls and perfectly plucked eyebrows. They would fill in their eyebrows heavily with eyeliner and smokey eyeshadow. Makeup would also emphasize nice bone structure in a very bold way.
In the beginning of the 1930’s women would often be seen wearing hats, scarves, large rings and a watch set. They loved accessorizing to match their gloves, shoes and matching handbags, as well as their dresses. Ladies loved showing off their red or grey fox fur that would be only flung over one shoulder. They would wear their hair in curls and have it a little longer than later times in this era.
Starting in the 1935 the military look for women started trending. Sporting square shoulders, low heels plumed hats and gauntlet gloves. During the evening though, women tended to change their look into an international flair. Indian and Greek inspired looks were very popular with nice prints and loads of jewelry. Women would wear their hair loose in a ton of curls. During 1935 bra cup sized were introduced.
Toward the end of the 1930’s, particularly 1939, suits for women became popular and feminine. They could be found pleated, straight, or flared but always came with a tightly fitted jacket and blouse. Umbrellas and a hat became a motif in accessories or prints. The first time wavey hair was permanently seen, and was considered a style, was during 1939. Snoods were also introduced, a net like hair piece that would hold hair at the back of your head to keep out of your face, as well as just a fashion statement. Fashion in the 1930’s was very important to representing this time period, showing what people were like and how they represented themselves.
Entertainment in the 1930’s was very different from modern days. Everything was inexpensive and very creative. They would need to use their imagination every time they would want to have fun or use toys. Movies, mainly comedies, gangster movies, and musicals were very cheap. Dance, particularly swing dance was very popular. Sound in general was very important in the 1930’s was very important seeing as though you could make sound from anything. For example singing telegrams, bands and war songs were very usually used for entertainment in the sound department.
Children had many hands-on toys. They tended to read with friends, normally comics, and just forget about their current living position. Most toys would be made from wood, and/ or fabric. Usually toys were hand-me downs considering most people didn't have the money to buy new ones. Toy companies would go out of business because nobody could buy toys.
Things like dolls, fingerpaints, and die cast model cars, were a huge hit for the kids of 1930’s. Boardgames like Monopoly, Scrabble, and Sorry were created. Rich kids would get toy trains, air rifles, dolls, doll houses, medical play sets, kid adding machines, and kit typewriters.
The 1930’s included a lot of careers but couldn’t have a lot of employees. Many people were unemployed and were lucky to find a job. Since many folks didn’t have careers they would end up travelling city to city in search for a job. Typically people would hitchhike because they did not own any form of transportation.
When people didn't want to go on the move they would stay in a place called Hoovervilles. Hoovervilles would be an area full of trash that people would settle down in. One in four Americans could not find jobs, 12.8 million out of work.
There were many types of jobs, semi skilled workers where mechanics in factories. Construction workers were easy to do for unskilled workers. Meanwhile law and medicine increased for work. Often, people without jobs would do temporary day labor. Sometimes people would live off family farms to feed their family and survive.
Women in the 1930’s had harder with careers compared to men. Once they passed the age of 14 they would start working. Since women would accept reduced wages, they entered work twice as much as men. Even though they would work for long hours they would still barely get payed. Most girls would work for 50’s hours a week. Their annual payment was $525 while men's annual payment was $1027.
Women were often ridiculed for ‘taking men's jobs’. Married women would have hard times finding jobs because men would say their jobs was at home taking care of the children.
50% of black people during the 1930’s were unemployed. They would often be told that they could not get a job until every white man had one, as well as that all city jobs were for the whites and black people had to go work at the cotton fields. Sometimes black people would be killed so white men could take their jobs. Overall in the 1930’s careers were very hard to find in general and because of discrimination of gender and skin color.
Ultimately with little to no money the lifestyle during the 1930’s was needless to say interesting. Fashion in the 1930’s helped people express themselves and was very different from modern times. Entertainment had to be very cheap and would need imagination. Careers were very hard to find and when they found one they would be considered lucky. The 1930’s was very interesting and has definitely changed over time.
The photo to the right is the klu klux klan (kkk) holding up signs saying "America for wwhites" and "America first" with a burning cross in the back
Racism
Martin Luther King .Jr an American Baptist Minister, once said “in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” This quote demonstrate that not many people in the 1930’s took the words that was given or said to them by their enemies but the silence of their friends when they had their backs. For example, in the 1930’s African Americans relied on each other for the golden silence because their enemies were so loud. Their enemies were the Scottsboro trials, the KKK, and the Jim Crow Laws. It was the combination of their enemies that made the 1930s unbearable for the African Americans. Therefore, the 1930s was a decade filled with racism.
Firstly Scottsboro trials was a cruel event in the 1930’s. “Nine black youth between the age 13-21 were arrested in Alabama on charges of raping two white women” stated blackpast.com. These boys were accused of raping two women who were white and in which they really had no say in anything. There was no evidence beyond the clams of the women.This shows that the woman's didn't need to show any evidence because in the 1930s white people could say anything and the black people can't do anything about it. Within two week the Scottsboro Boys were conducted and eight sentenced to death,the youngest who was 13 went to life imprisonment. This shows that all 8 boys were sentenced to death and the youngest had a life sentence in jail they didn't have choice into changing anything. Overall the Scottsboro trials was a scary part in the nine boy's life.
Secondly the KKK was terrifying to everyone in the 1930’s. The kkk had never considered the former slaves as being free and terrorised. This means that people who were in the kkk never thought of the black people also having to be human like them. The kkk burnt churches of the black population, murdered,raped, and castrated people but, they were rarely caught. The kkk did things that hurts many people and also left some people hopeless and they were never given justice for there actions. Even white people who had contact with the blacks had reason to fear the kkk because they were afraid that there house can get burned bown. That was a scary thing for everyone in the 1930s everyone was to talk to their kind and not having any relationship with other people because there could have been so consequences white people thought of the African Americans ask slaves not ask humans. The KKK was frightening to everyone.
Lastly Jim Crow laws in the 1930s was unfair to many people. African American were relegated to the status of second class citizens. It was if African Americans were the second and last thing people thought about. Ferris State In states “Blacks had little legal recourse against assaults because of the police all having to be white” The black people could accuse white people of anything because they wouldn't believe them. In South Carolina black and white textile workers couldn't work in the same room. They had to be in different rooms they couldn't be seen together.
Overall for example, in the 1930’s African Americans relied on each other for the golden silence because their enemies were so loud their enemies were the Scottsboro, the KKK, and Jim Crow Laws. The Scottsboro trials brought much fortune to innocent people, and the KKK left people hopeless in pain. In addition, the Jim Crow Laws were unfair and it was racist and disrespectful. The 1930’s didn't give any African Americans the same rights as white people. They were discriminated disrespected, and couldn't do anything about it. During all the misery, the African Americans manage to leave the tragic words behind.