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Justina Clanton
English 100
Li-Anne DelaVega
18 October 2014
The Gilded 1920s
In the past few years, several movies set in 1920s America have been made,
released, and consumed with fervor by the American public. J. Edgar (2011), The Great
Gatsby (2013), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Leatherheads (2008),
Chicago (2002), Midnight In Paris (2011), and The Princess and the Frog (2009). All
fairly successful American produced films set in 1920s America, and there are many
more films set in other places of the world during this time period. But why are the 1920s
such an interesting time period for many people? Many people adore the aesthetic of the
1920s, with the flapper girl style, men’s fashion, architecture, and beautiful jewelry.
Others take their infatuation a step further, reasoning that the rebellion and subsequent
“liberation” of the 1920s woman is a dominant reason for the glorification of the decade.
However, this advertisement from the 1920s for Palmolive soap bars exposes sexism and
racism in a decade that has often been glorified as a liberating era for many people.
Looking at the historical facts and events, it would seem that this notion of the
liberation of women is true. Women finally won the right to vote in 1920, female birth
control was beginning to become more widely available (which allowed women to be
sexually active with more than one partner without fear of conception), and women had
proven themselves capable of having jobs during World War I. The ultimate products of
these events were women who identified themselves as “flappers”. Often hailed as the
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first feminists, they challenged the gender roles that society had put onto them by
drinking, smoking, wearing a lot of makeup, having casual sex, driving cars and many
other things. Flappers have become the icon of 1920s America and modern American
women often emulate their clothing, hairstyles, and sometimes even their unique
vernacular. While it makes sense to idolize the brash challenging of their strict gender
norms, the unfortunate truth is that not many women in the 20s were actually flappers.
Granted, many women and girls adapted to the fashion of the flappers but very few also
adapted the lifestyle. Therefore, sexism and the oppression of women was still very
prevalent in the 1920s, contrary to most people’s conceptions of the decade.
This advertisement for Palmolive soap bars reveals the sexism of the 1920s in
possibly the least subtle way. The first image in the advertisement that draws your
attention is the image of the woman in the top right corner. The first thing in the picture
one notices is the large red covering slipping off her shoulder. Red often symbolizes
passion and lust. The woman looks perfect, pretty, and passive. She looks directly at the
viewer in a sensual way. She is being presented as a “perfect” woman and is the largest
and most vibrantly colored image on the advertisement.
The next thing the viewer probably notices are the large text words to the left of
the woman that read, “Most men ask ‘is she pretty?’ not ‘is she clever’.” This statement is
very sexist to both men and women. It implies that the only qualities a man is capable of
wanting for a partner is beauty. It is also telling women that if they should probably try to
make you as pretty as possible or else no one will ever love them.
In the large block of text, the most interesting sentence is the first one. “Often we
marvel at her – the girl whose only asset is her beauty. She knows so little and says so
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little; yet serenely attracts everyone to her side. Too often her clever rival sits in a corner
alone.” I thought it was pretty interesting that this statement was not necessarily putting
down girls being smart but stating that no one would probably want her as if it were just
an unfortunate fact. However, referring to two women as “rivals” is problematic in many
ways. It goes on to say that if you are beautiful you should use the soap in order to keep
being beautiful, but if you are only clever then you should start to use the soap so that
you can be beautiful too. It implies that girls that aren’t considered pretty by men just
aren’t “trying hard enough” which is kind of a good and bad statement.
The advertisement also demeans its audience (women) by speaking down to them
as if they lacked common sense. It seems to think that women are so dumb that they
wouldn’t be able to recognize the product is the only one that is in a wrapper when they
saw it in the store. They think their audience could be tricked into thinking another soap
is Palmolive just because its green and they also claim that Palmolive is not soap! Its skin
emollient in a soap form…
emollient in a soap form…
Many people also frequently ignore the huge issue of racism that was prevalent in
the 1920s. Membership of the Ku Klux Klan rose to record heights in the 1920s due to
the Great Migration of African Americans from the Southern United States to the North.
Older generations and those rebelling against the new and massive social change did so in
the form of increasing their violent racism against African Americans. The W.A.S.P.s
(White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) of New York and other populous cities across America
openly objected to immigration of all people – but especially people of color. While
simultaneously financing and supporting a huge nationwide appropriation of Egyptian
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and Northern African culture sparked by the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb
in 1922 by Englishmen Howard Carter and George Herbert.
This appropriation is also evident in the advertisement, with the inclusion of an
image of Cleopatra. In the text of the advertisement, is says that Cleopatra used an
emollient made from palm and olive oils (just like Palmolive!), which was why she was
so beautiful. It is interesting that the advertisers, and by extension the public, seem to
have thought that a woman from Northern Africa had a pale complexion… In fact, the
only person in the image who could likely have lived in Ancient Egypt during the time
period is a servant who is fanning Cleopatra.
The extreme prejudice against African-Americans in the 1920s is also present in
the advertisement with the fact that the only dark-skinned person in the advertisement is a
man holding a fan for Cleopatra. This highlights this period’s racism in many ways. It
proves notions that these people believe in white supremacy as they made someone who
is supposed to be African, and therefore darker skinned, have an extremely pale
complexion and Aryan-European features because she has servants and a dark skinned
person with servants probably wouldn’t have made sense to people.
Obviously, the 1920s were a gilded decade. The outside looks beautiful, but
underneath the glamor the era is just as ugly as any other decade. The Palmolive
advertisement is the perfect image to expose the racism and sexism in the 1920s.
Palmolive Soap Bars Advertisement link: http://imgur.com/APPnIqr
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Bibliography
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Art History. Met Museum, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Creamofcardstv.. “Ancient Egypt Influence on 1920’s Flappers – Roaring Twenties
Fashion Trend Tutankhamun Tomb” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPIxWN-ogc4
"USA 1919-1941. Racism and Intolerance in the 1920's." GCSE History. N.p., n.d. Web.
19 Oct. 2014.
"The Roaring 20s." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.