Thursday Doors to #WomensHistoryMonth — the #1920s

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Green doors shutters Dimitri Svetesikas Pixabay

Dimitri Svetesikas, Pixabay

Since my post is skimpy on actual doors, here’s a lovely old green door with shutters (a sort of door) and a wall box (which has another sort of door).

Doors to Women’s History

Yes, it’s time for “the wearing of the green,” but March is also Women’s History Month in the USA.  For my response to the Thursday Doors challenge, hosted by Dan Antion, I’m focusing on the historic 1920s.  I’ve published several books with that setting, and I’m fond of the Jazz Age, or the Roaring Twenties as the decade is often named. 

#Sale!  The e-books in the “Pip’s Three Things” series are all 99 cents each, in honor of Women’s History Month.

There are some quaint South Dakota doors in the background of the photo of this group from the National Woman’s Party.

National Womans Party 1927 Rapid City Wikipedia
National Woman’s Party 1927 Rapid City, SD. Wikipedia

Wikipedia photo information:  Equal Rights Envoys of the National Woman’s Party who motored to Rapid City where the delegation, consisting principally of western women, saw President Coolidge and asked his aid for the Equal Rights Amendment which was pending in Congress. The national delegates bade farewell to Rapid City women who organized a branch in support of the Equal Rights program.

Women entertainers made some breakthroughs in the 1920s.  Here’s Josephine Baker dancing the Charleston with a backdrop of doors in Jazz Age art.

Josephine Baker dancing the Charleston at the Folies-Bergère Paris 1926 Wikipedia
Josephine Baker dancing the Charleston at the Folies-Bergère Paris 1926 Wikipedia

Musical theatre and cabarets were popular.  I couldn’t find a good door image, but it’s there somewhere.

Roxy Theatre circa 1920s New York Times
Roxy Theatre entrance circa 1920s New York Times

Photo information: The theater was located at 50th Street at 7th Avenue, New York, NY.

Coco Chanel, creator of the original “little black dress” was a Roaring Twenties influencer in more than just fashion.  Her fashion and personal brands were still going strong thirty years later for this photo.  You see her reflection in glass doors located on the curving stairway. Imagining the architecture of a building with that feature baffles me.

Coco Chanel 1963 Sidney Morning Herald
Coco Chanel, 1963 Sidney Morning Herald

This is a door from Chanel’s holiday estate on the French Riviera.

Coco Chanel French Riviera Estate door
Coco Chanel’s French Riviera Estate

However, job opportunities for most were extremely limited. I looked at a lot of photos of women in the 1920s workforce.  Oddly, no matter how long the room, I never saw any doors, as with this image of telephone operators. It made me feel they were as trapped as their impossible career advancement. Companies tried using teenaged boys for the job before “resorting” to women when the boys couldn’t behave.  

Telephone Operators circa 1915 Getty Images
Telephone Operators circa 1915, Getty Images

History.com photo information: In many places, operators were closely monitored, subject to strict rules about dress code and behavior, with punishments for talking, laughing or even smiling…  As the number of telephones in the U.S. multiplied, so did the demand for operators. In 1910, there were 88,000 female telephone operators in the United States. By 1920, there were 178,000, and by 1930, 235,000.

♦♦♦

2022 Thursday Doors badge by Teagan R. Geneviene

Thanks for entering this doorway to the Roaring Twenties with me.  I hope you’ll stop and leave a friendly comment.  Hugs on the wing!

♦♦♦

My 1920s Books

Just published, Pip’s Other Adventures, Short Stories of the 1920s

Pips Other Adventures cover by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Pip’s Three Things Books Series. E-books 99¢

Series link e-books:  relinks.me/B08Z4F4YGX

Pip’s Other Adventures, Short Stories of the 1920s

Kindle:  relinks.me/B09V3D6NPD

Paperback:  relinks.me/B09TQLZGNF

Three Things Serial Story

Kindle:  relinks.me/B01MRRC0B2

Paperback:  relinks.me/1540698645

Murder at the Bijou: Three Ingredients I

Kindle:  relinks.me/B074S5ZK7L

Paperback:  relinks.me/1974544273

A Ghost in the Kitchen: Three Ingredients 2

Kindle:  relinks.me/B07Y2KN1NM

Paperback:  relinks.me/1694046451

Other 1920s Books

Hullaba Lulu cover by Teagan R. Geneviene

Hullaba Lulu, a Dieselpunk Adventure

Kindle:  relinks.me/B08JKP1RS4

Paperback:  relinks.me/B08JDYXPZM

Kobo eBook:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hullaba-lulu

Speak Flapper, Slang of the 1920s by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

Speak Flapper – Slang of the 1920s

Kindle:  relinks.me/B083HNK3BB

Paperback:  relinks.me/1656168553

 

 

This is a work of fiction.  Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 through 2022 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.

 

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71 thoughts on “Thursday Doors to #WomensHistoryMonth — the #1920s”

  5. The green door reminds me of my childhood when my father went to the farmers in the country to buy homemade flour, ancient grain, and fresh eggs that were much better than the products sold in the city. He always took me along for the experience.

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  6. Thanks so much for honoring women on women’s history month, Teagan. I remember that when I was a kid, women were steered toward jobs as teachers or secretaries. Being a CEO wasn’t an option. I’m glad we’ve come a long way, and we have so much farther to go. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, my day. 😀

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    1. Thanks, Diana. Yes, in my neighborhood teacher or secretary were lofty aspirations for girls. Now, even when we get farther, there are always both men and women who try to relegate/redefine/downgrade the duties of other job titles back to secretarial work. There’s nothing wrong with that work, but after acquiring education and experience for specific jobs, one wants to do that work without having other duties dumped on her mostly because of gender. I’m sure I’m preachin’ to the choir. Happy weekend hugs.

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  7. I love Coco’s doors although I don’t mention her in our family as our younger daughter will always say she was a Nazi collaborator. But her doors are blameless. 🙂 I also love the green doors. Cheers!

    janet

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  8. Oh wow, this green door is really green!! Coco Chanel was certainly a breakthrough for a woman to be become so well known in the fashion world! (In Europe, where women still stay at home more – after they’re married, than in the USA).

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  9. Great post, Teagan!

    As a woman, I know a lot of this info. I did not know “Companies tried using teenaged boys for the job before “resorting” to women” the job being telephone operators. Makes me think of the other big job open to women in the 60’s – key punch operator. Thank you for focusing on Women’s Month! 👍

    ☘️ 💚

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    1. Yes, at first telephone operator was considered a very technical position, so they were all men. As they started needing more operators that changed. Unfortunately, due to the disparity in respect and wages, as it became more of a woman’s job, respect and salary decreased. The same has happened in other professions, like teaching, technical writing, etc.
      Thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs on the wing.

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. Haha. You’re a pro researcher, Robbie. Things to do with laws and civil rights really are complicated research for the USA, because even when the nation, the Federal government, accepts something, the individual states don’t necessarily put it into place at the same time. After women achieved the right to vote, they didn’t necessarily have that right in every state… not for a few years anyhow. Similar has applied in current times to legalized marijuana, if in reverse. Some states made it legal, but it was still not legal (on some specific details) with the federal authorities, and businesses selling it could be raided by the Feds, even though they were legal locally. I don’t have the expertise to explain the exact hows and whys. It’s a complicated form of government. Hugs!

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      1. Hi TEagan, I have understood what you describe from my own research. Maine seems to have been one of the most conservative states and I am featuring their progress with the enactment of various laws in my latest novel. This is part of the reason is is slow going, but seeing as I am not Stephen King and the world is not waiting with baited breath for my next novel, I don’t think it matters how long I take with it.

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  12. Your excellent post combining doors and women’s history month reminded me that the woman who opened the doors for us in NZ (and indeed inspired others around the world) was born on 10 March 1848. Her name was Kate Sheppard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Sheppard I don’t know what she would feel about women’s progress in NZ now. She would certainly still find lots of inequalities and, most likely, she would be horrified at how women have taken to equal opportunity drinking. 😉

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  13. Happy St, Patricks Day! (I love your green door) We stand, looking back on all the events of history. I remember my friend, way back then who sat in front of a big square board with places to insert the ends of telephone lines: These lines connected to other lines inside that went far out into places in the wide hills of Nebraska. I was in “high school” then and wished so much that I could have that important job. Now we do not need telephone lines, not even telephones to connect in our world. But, the history is important, and even beautiful. Thank you, this has been delightful! !

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    1. I’m so happy that you enjoyed this, Ms. Frances. Maybe it’s backward of me, but I find the old technologies so fascinating. The idea of being able to see and touch the wires (and other components) that connect sound and sight over distances, the jaw-dropping look of energy zooming through a Tesla coil… so many old tech things are more amazing to me than modern technology, which is, of course, much, much more advanced.
      A little farther back, Victorian Era technology held so many amazing gizmos that were never fully explored. The theremin, a musical instrument controlled without touch. The violet ray (also by Tesla), a medical appliance.
      Thanks for joining the conversation. Hugs on the wing.

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  14. Teagan – a wonderful look back into history of the 1920’s. So much happened in that decade that continues to influence our lives 100 years later. I think back to my grandmother who went to nursing college and worked as a social worker before marrying my grandfather. We stand on the apron strings of women who came on before us. It is a legacy of love and commitment. I love joining your celebrations!!

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        1. LOL, there’s that aspect of dumbing- down too. I was thinking of the intentional way many women present themselves as lacking in smarts, because they believe that’s more appealing. Several people over the years complained to me that I “act too smart” or use too many big words. “You have to let the guys win (at the board game), or they won’t talk to us any more.” And the most stand out, which wasn’t all that long ago… “Guys would like you better if you didn’t act so… (she looked hard for the multi-syllable word and sneered at it) intelligent.”
          My response was a very puzzled, “I haven’t had a problem with men liking me. And what would I possibly want with a man who thought I was stupid?” My so called friend found that concept so strange and incomprehensible that she was speechless.

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          1. Hi Teagan, I am well aware of this attitude of some men towards women and some women’s response. Luckily for me, I have a very smart husband and he is not threatened by me. Actually, sometimes we work together and help each other with our work. It is quite a binding thing for us.

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  18. My mother started her career with the telephone company as an operator when I was little then several years later she moved into their engineering dept. as an engineer where she continued to work until her retirement in her late 50’s.

    Coco Chanel always avant garde looks wonderful on those stairs.

    Great doors, and tribute to women’s history, Teagan!

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    1. Wow, your mother was amazing. To make that kind of career advancement is rare enough now, but truly amazing back then. When I was young, I worked answering phones for a small company. After a few years, the engineers started asking management to let them bring me into the department and train me on the CAD design software, which they were sure I could use. Management refused, saying they couldn’t replace me. (eye roll)
      I would rather have used a 1920s photo of Chanel, but I couldn’t find one with a door. LOL. Thanks for reading and commenting.

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      1. She is! She retired from Pac Bell on Friday and Monday started working for World Com or something like that where she stayed for a few years before retiring for good. I thought then she might fulfil her dream of becoming a librarian since she has a degree in that as well and loves books and the library, but she didn’t.

        I tried being a receptionist once and it was keeping up with the phone that did me in! To this day I don’t like talking on the phone!

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  19. A book of short stories. How cool is that? Congratulations. My mom was a telephone operator in the late 30s and early 40s. She loved Lilly Tomlin as the telephone operator on Laugh-in. Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Go easy on the green beer.

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  22. I have photos of my grandmother and her friends thoroughly their 20s along with the world’s. She was an accomplished seamstress, but never got paid more than a token amount for her work. Not much has improved for women in similar jobs today I’m afraid. (K)

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    1. That kind of work is so underrated, Kerfe. I used to make all my own clothes. People would want me to sew for them, because they had the strange idea that it would be cheaper than buying clothes. They didn’t take into consideration paying the seamstress. Eventually it became so difficult to get nice clothing fabric at all (let alone at a price that wasn’t outrageous) that I stopped making my clothes.
      Thanks for visiting. Hugs on the wing.

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      1. That’s so true Teagan. Fabric is so expensive now–even patterns cost a fortune. I think the last clothing I sewed was baby clothes for my oldest daughter. I don’t even have a sewing machine any more.

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  23. I enjoyed the photos, Teagan. Gotta wonder how all those women were recruited in the 30s. Especially when you consider the fact that for all purposes there was only one phone company. Happy St Paddy’s Day

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    1. That does seem like a huge number. I guess they included the overall position, not just at the phone company. Large and medium sized companies, hospitals, hotels… lots of companies had a switchboard. It still seems like a lot though.
      Happy St Patrick’s back to you. Hugs on the wing.

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        1. Ugh! I’m sneezing my head off just inside. Right now it’s just tree pollen (although I’m very allergic to that). I’ll really be crying when the weeds get in on the act. I imagine Lucy and Twiggy have some comments about your mask. 😀 😉

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  24. This is a wonderful post, Teagan. Not only did you bring us some lovely doors, those of us that appreciate history got a bonus. I have to add that my mother was a switchboard operator, and I have memories of her working in a room like that (not quite as big). There wasn’t much of a career path, although she did rise to the position of supervisor, but it was an incredibly important position. I’ve been meaning to explain this. Maybe I’ll drag that post out of my drafts folder. We owe so much to women throughout history, is a shame they have to fight for recognition.

    I just finished Dead of Winter Journey-13 and I will soon start Pip’s Other Stories ( I love Pip stories).

    Have a great day!

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  25. Reblogged this on Just Olga and commented:
    Teagan Geneviene​ brings us a new book, great offers, and some fantastic doors and historical pics of women to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and to mark Dan Antion​’s popular Thursday Doors! Come and visit!

    Liked by 3 people

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  26. Congratulations on your book of short stories of the 1920s, Teagan! I know it is a historical period you’re very fond of, and all your followers love Pip as well, so this is a treat. I love your doors and the fantastic images. Coco Chanel looks very stylish, and the telephone operators… yes, they do look trapped. Good luck and happy St. Patrick’s Day, Teagan!

    Liked by 3 people

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