The Associated Pest

Don’t worry folks, I’m not going to start talking about elderly sex, even though HBO’s new show “Tell Me You Love Me” enjoys showing it in graphic detail. I am however, going to talk about a wonderful time known as the Roaring Twenties, and how it revolutionized expression and individuality in the U.S.A. This blog will also give you fuel for the next argument that comes from that conservative relative who thinks you are a heathen for running the bases with your steady significant other.


The Roaring Twenties, also known as “The Jazz Age” was filled with great music, incredible fashion, and an immense amount of change in the mentality of its youth. Prior to this time, young men and women followed in the footsteps of the generations before them, without much say in what their future would hold. It wasn’t until a nationwide spread of pop culture hit the United States that adolescents would finally begin to find their individuality.

With the mass media screaming to the middle class words of rebellion and free speech, the youth of this generation started to take a stand against a very conservative past. Radio, motion picture, advertisements, and mass circulated newspapers began to create idols for young people to look up to that were no longer the image of their parents. Hollywood starlets, athletes, and other famous figures were presented as role models, and ideas of indulgence, free thought, and individual expression were encouraged.

It is at this time that we see the emergence of the very well known glamour figure called the “flapper.” The most common image that comes to mind when one thinks of a flapper is a young woman in a fringe covered dress, stockings, and a long set of pearls adorning her neck. With her glass of gin in hand, and a long cigarette slowly burning as she dances the Charleston to the sounds of a boisterous jazz band, this young lady optimizes the new mentality of her generation. While her peers are swing dancing around her, and joining in on the fun, the generations before her are branding her a “somewhat foolish girl, full of wild surmises and inclined to revolt against the precepts and admonitions of her elders…embracing fads and crazes that promote diversions such as mahjong, crossword puzzles, dance marathons, and miniature golf.” (The 1920’s, Kathleen Morgan Drowne)

Dancing with the flapper was her fast-talking, fox trot footed counterpart, the young man commonly known as the “sheik.” With Slicked back hair, gargyle socks, baggy pants, and a sleek sweater vest, these gentlemen were all about having a good time. Frequenting the movies, dance clubs, and wooing women with pockets of cash and a promise of a good time, sheiks were ready to play when a petting party was in the works.

Similar to dates in the 21st century(although not ALWAYS the norm), young men would invite women out for a date, and it was understood that while the men paid for the evening, the women would pay by participating in “petting” at the end of an evening. Kissing, hugging, and playful touching ensued, and thanks to the previous invention of the car, it wasn’t hard to find a place to have this private time together. Although pre-marital sex was highly discouraged, it wasn’t uncommon to find young people enjoying a night at a petting party. Couples would enjoy the company of many different people, sex being the farthest thing from their minds.

All of this was done under the disapproving watchful eye of previous generations, without a care in the world for any judgment that may have been passed. Thanks to the courageous youth of this time, we have made strides in the social changes that have occurred in this country. Many of the activities we partake in today as ways of having an innocent evening out, were at one point considered incredibly risqué. So next time your grandmother asks you to join her for a game of mahjong, throw on some jazz, pour a glass of Gin over ice and thank her for paving the way for what we enjoy so freely today.

Thanks for reading, peace out!

Lots of Love,
Sasha

Last 5 posts by sasha

• Cougars Give Me Hope - January 22nd, 2008
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• Second Date Blues - December 17th, 2007
• Holiday Party Hangover - December 10th, 2007
• No Shame in the Masturbation Game - November 26th, 2007