ABSTRACT
In the 1920s commentators on both sides of the Atlantic became increasingly concerned with the change in sexual morality. Some United States observers dated increased freedom of sexual behaviour even to before the war. However, it was during the 1920s that the new attitudes became widely discussed. One focal point was the behaviour of young people, with the growth of youth culture and a distinctive style of dress. In the United States the young women had become ‘flappers’, a term coined in England and used to describe those who were assertive, independent, who had casual courtships and possibly granted ‘permissive favours’ to young men.
