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Explosion Of Women In The 1920's

Decent Essays

The 1920’s was a time of glitz and glam but also secrecy and hiding in plain sight. This was especially true in Harlem where there was an explosion of music, literature and art. In addition to the creative movement, there were a few social movements that were gaining attention. For example, the NAACP, Marcus Garvey and the Back to Africa Movement, and Dubois and the Talented Tenth (CITE). During this time, a lot of the visibility of People of Color, and especially the POC LGBTQ community was in underground environments. Places like, Speakeasies, Buffet Flats and Rent Parties, all served to provide it’s partygoers, with a feeling of anything goes, and be who you want (CITE). Although these parties were places of consumption, people could be themselves and experiment with their sexuality while being entertainment. These habitats were able to get away …show more content…

The policing of women’s bodies and accessibility to self determination is a common theme throughout the readings (but also in the present day). Women have had the unfortunate experiences of being treated like second class citizens, and it is only worse for women of color. In their Blues lyrics, women of color could express how limited their lives were, how they were affected by their circumstances and how they found their strength. For example Clara Smith sang, “Gonna leave this town, cause my man is so unkind” (CITE), is an example of women recognizing their strength and independence. Using lyrics as a means to advocate for the progression of women created a sense of unity, because these singers we not just singing their own experiences, but using them as a way to connect and vocalize common circumstances, “we hear the ‘we’ when they say ‘I’” (CITE). Their work, helped to build communities and to call out what happens within them by pushing the

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