Faces of Feminism: The Gibson Girl and the Held Flapper in Early Twentieth-century Mass Culture

Abstract

Between 1895 and 1925, two particular magazine illustrators sought to redefine the notion of womanhood in America: Charles Dana Gibson and John Held, Jr. Gibson's famous "Gibson Girl" graced the covers of American magazines from the early 1890's until around 1913, when Held's famous "flapper" took her place as the reigning beauty. Although historians today view two feminine ideals as polar opposites, research indicates that both images reflect the major concerns of the women's movement in the early twentieth century. This study will aim to uncover the political significance of both the Gibson girl and the Held flapper. While the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment was truly a milestonein the history of American women, I propose that it negatively impacted their representation in the mass media. No where is this more apparent than in the drawings of Gibson and Held. The Held flapper appears to illustrate the dying enthusiasm for politics among women inthe 1920's. Unlike the Gibson girl, who put herself in direct competition with males both on the playing field and in the political arena, the Held flapper was determined to becomethe flashy and flirty comrade of American men. In retrospect, her presence in the media seems to have been something of a death blow to the ardent feminists who had aimed toincrease women's involvement in political affairs. I propose that the appeal of the Gibson suffragette and ambassador was snuffed out by the Held flapper, who, interestinglyenough, was more concerned with fashion and cosmetics than running for office.