My Journey into Neo-Flapperism

While searching for an even more glamorous dress to wear with my Glamorous Kitty costume this Halloween, I came across a skimpy, beaded flapper costume. Instantly I thought of Flapper Kitty. But the cat ears with the dress was overkill even for me so I decided to just be a flapper. This was the beginning of my ascent into neo-flapperism.

First I thought, how appropriate. As a 1920's flapper, I'll be commemorating the excesses of my generation and the end of "the party". Flappers were about nonstop party, weren't they? They ran around in short dresses and short hair, drank and smoked, and lots of dancing. And yes, casual sex. Perfect! But something happened as I did research for my costume.

I realized that flappers were actually ubber feminists of their day not sex-crazy party girls. Everything on their terms. Everything. They went against the social grain with no apologies. Applying lipstick in public or showing a little skin at the beach is perhaps not as lofty as fighting for equal for equal work. Feminsim has gone through a few Waves. I am thankful the waves have pulled me along but I have never felt like there was a spot for me at the table. That's why I am embracing neo-flapperism. I see neo-flapperism as an outlet for my own un-conventional nature. Call it the Fouth Wave of Feminism or an just an eccentric strain, it is how I wish to define my womanhood.

Neo-flapperism is not about drinking or smoking, it is about inhaling the beauty of women, their illogicality and emotion, and the softness of their voices. It maintains that woman and men are different and therefore respond to situations differently. It tries to have a sense of humor. It acknowledges that women and men have sexual desire. It questions abortion - not when life begins, that's personal opinion, but whether we should be able to call the terminated fetus a potential life and be able to take our potential life home with us to bury. It asks why a woman can't look like a woman, talk like a woman, and act like a woman in the workplace and still be regarded as CEO material. It allows men to be men in the home; however, just as women take their responsibilities outside of the home seriously, it demands that men take their responsibilites inside the home just as seriously.

It's not about having it all. No, I do not want it all. It's about having what I want on my terms with no apologies.