Members Only | Hollywood and History: The New Woman
Date: Friday, May 9, 2025
Time: 6:30–8pm
Location: The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue
As societal norms shifted in the 1920s, the film industry played a pivotal role in shaping and reflecting contemporary views on modern womanhood. Coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Jazz Age" saw the emergence of a bold new female identity—one defined by independence, fashion, and a defiance of traditional expectations. Cinema both glamorized and critiqued this transformation in portrayals of young women who embraced short hairstyles, active lifestyles, and social freedoms. Featuring selections from the Wolfsonian collection alongside period film clips from Wine of Youth (1924), It (1927), and others, this presentation from chief librarian Frank Luca examines Hollywood's contradictory narratives around femininity in this period.
Banner image: Advertisement (detail), "Me gusta el Stacomb porque mantiene el cabello peinado a mi capricho" [I Like the Stacomb Because It Keeps My Hair Styled the Way I Want It], from Social, January 1925. Conrado Walter Massaguer, illustrator. Havana, Cuba. The Wolfsonian–FIU, Long-term loan, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection.
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