The Weimar Republic was a period of cultural creativity amongst the environment of hyper-inflation and depression, but Berlin drew the talent and energies of the rest of Germany towards its enticing cabaret performances and sex tourism. This cultural creativity included a newly liberated female population in which films began to present their female characters in sexual ways. The whole period of the Weimar Republic was a time of sexual liberation. My research question for my paper is, how did sexuality during the Weimar Republic effect women? To answer this question I will discuss gender roles, the new women era, cinema, and night life which were aspects that had a huge influence on women at the time. I will lastly discuss the controversy with
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Cinema during this period was typically misogynistic, many of the films underlined the objectification of women. Images of women were portrayed in advertising, magazines, and films which highlighted symbols of a lighthearted, glamour, liberated lifestyle for women. Women in these films were considered femme fatales and were the leading attraction for the audience. An example is in the film Titanic directed by Herbert Selpin, the upper-class women were wearing high fashion gowns, glistening jewelry, and beautiful makeup which ultimately depicted their glamourous lifestyles. Also shown in the Titanic is the cabaret performer that lures a crowd that fills the room to view her perform. This is interesting because the film really displayed how prevalent cabarets and sexual entertainment was, it even appeared while traveling on ships. The new liberated woman used their body as a way of openly portraying her freedom and sexuality. This includes the way she dressed, wearing more revealing or sexy clothing, drinking, smoking, promiscuous behavior and pursing sexual satisfaction which is what was often shown in the films. The stereotypical sexualized woman is portrayed throughout the film The Blue Angel directed by Josef von Sternberg, Lola Lola is always shown in the film as carefree, fully embracing her sexuality while luring men. Lola captivates her male audience singing songs and dancing, she puts on a show …show more content…
“Later on in the Weimar Republic, resent grew for the government for offering a glimmer of freedom but discontinuing the promises made toward women’s equality” (Gardner 4). The desire to go back toward the gender norms was wanted more when men saw women trying to prosper. The New Women and liberation caused a lot of debate because it was seen as challenging male authority and the very structure of patriarchy. With the increasingly amount of men that died in war and the decreasing birth rate, women were the dominate gender. Men saw the aspects of women being the dominate gender and expressing their independence as a threat and were willing to do anything possible to end it. The New Women figure wounded the male’s masculinity and ego causing men to resent the independent woman. The willingness to end the liberated women was specifically introduced with the passing of the “Law on the Legal Position of Female Public Servants’ in 1932 which legally permitted the civil service to dismiss married female workers” (Bohan, 4) If a woman had a husband she was expected to return back to place as a housewife. This law principally restored men as providers and emphasized their traditional patriarchal
Cinema during this period was typically misogynistic, many of the films underlined the objectification of women. Images of women were portrayed in advertising, magazines, and films which highlighted symbols of a lighthearted, glamour, liberated lifestyle for women. Women in these films were considered femme fatales and were the leading attraction for the audience. An example is in the film Titanic directed by Herbert Selpin, the upper-class women were wearing high fashion gowns, glistening jewelry, and beautiful makeup which ultimately depicted their glamourous lifestyles. Also shown in the Titanic is the cabaret performer that lures a crowd that fills the room to view her perform. This is interesting because the film really displayed how prevalent cabarets and sexual entertainment was, it even appeared while traveling on ships. The new liberated woman used their body as a way of openly portraying her freedom and sexuality. This includes the way she dressed, wearing more revealing or sexy clothing, drinking, smoking, promiscuous behavior and pursing sexual satisfaction which is what was often shown in the films. The stereotypical sexualized woman is portrayed throughout the film The Blue Angel directed by Josef von Sternberg, Lola Lola is always shown in the film as carefree, fully embracing her sexuality while luring men. Lola captivates her male audience singing songs and dancing, she puts on a show …show more content…
“Later on in the Weimar Republic, resent grew for the government for offering a glimmer of freedom but discontinuing the promises made toward women’s equality” (Gardner 4). The desire to go back toward the gender norms was wanted more when men saw women trying to prosper. The New Women and liberation caused a lot of debate because it was seen as challenging male authority and the very structure of patriarchy. With the increasingly amount of men that died in war and the decreasing birth rate, women were the dominate gender. Men saw the aspects of women being the dominate gender and expressing their independence as a threat and were willing to do anything possible to end it. The New Women figure wounded the male’s masculinity and ego causing men to resent the independent woman. The willingness to end the liberated women was specifically introduced with the passing of the “Law on the Legal Position of Female Public Servants’ in 1932 which legally permitted the civil service to dismiss married female workers” (Bohan, 4) If a woman had a husband she was expected to return back to place as a housewife. This law principally restored men as providers and emphasized their traditional patriarchal