The "Gibson Girl"
Before women started changing their roles and fashions in the 1920s, there was the feminine ideal known as the “Gibson Girl.”
- At the start of the 1900s, the Gibson Girl was the influential social icon of the time.
At the time, women would mimic the fashions of the Gibson Girl sketches, attempting to covet the overall “look” and beauty the Gibson Girl possessed. The confidence the sketches showcased eventually paved its way into the females of the generation; a new persona was created. Women began realizing their value in society; the potential they possessed was much greater than the limitations previously placed on them.
In a 1901 issue of Atlantic Monthly, an interview with a Gibson Girl was published. The interviewer expressed concern in the assertiveness the young woman displayed. The Gibson Girl responded to the apprehension, stating:
When a man approaches, we do not tremble and droop our eyelids or gaze adoringly while he lays
down the law. We meet him on a ground of perfect fellowship and converse freely on any topic.
Whether [the man] likes it or not makes little difference. He is no longer the one whose pleasure is to
be consulted. The question now is not, ‘what does man like?’ But ‘what do women prefer?’ (Brown,
1987)
By the start of 1920, the fashions of the Gibson Girl began to fade, however, the attitudes and confidence women gained the pen-and-ink drawings transcended into the new era of “The Flapper” ("The gibson girl," 2009).
- At the start of the 1900s, the Gibson Girl was the influential social icon of the time.
- - Created by Charles Dana Gibson in the late 1890’s, she was the model woman; she was described as the “American girl to the world.”
- - These pen-and-ink drawings created by Gibson
showcased a young, attractive female, sporting an hourglass figure, corsets, and lovely flowing curls, usually upswept under a hat ("The Gibson girl," 2009).
At the time, women would mimic the fashions of the Gibson Girl sketches, attempting to covet the overall “look” and beauty the Gibson Girl possessed. The confidence the sketches showcased eventually paved its way into the females of the generation; a new persona was created. Women began realizing their value in society; the potential they possessed was much greater than the limitations previously placed on them.
In a 1901 issue of Atlantic Monthly, an interview with a Gibson Girl was published. The interviewer expressed concern in the assertiveness the young woman displayed. The Gibson Girl responded to the apprehension, stating:
When a man approaches, we do not tremble and droop our eyelids or gaze adoringly while he lays
down the law. We meet him on a ground of perfect fellowship and converse freely on any topic.
Whether [the man] likes it or not makes little difference. He is no longer the one whose pleasure is to
be consulted. The question now is not, ‘what does man like?’ But ‘what do women prefer?’ (Brown,
1987)
By the start of 1920, the fashions of the Gibson Girl began to fade, however, the attitudes and confidence women gained the pen-and-ink drawings transcended into the new era of “The Flapper” ("The gibson girl," 2009).
