Sample Solution

Before 1943, the musical theatre world was rife with oppressive attitudes towards women which can be seen in popular shows of the time, such as in Follies, Sally (1920), and The Gingham Girl (1922), (Barnes, 2015, P.14). One of the biggest sources of opportunity women had in the early 20th century came along in the form of Ziegfeld’s Follies. However, the criteria to be employed as a performer in the Follies was quite strict, in a quote from Ziegfeld he lists the specific ways the girls should look in order to be hired, finishing his statement with ‘The eyes should be large and expressive. A regular profile is a decided asset…The legs must be shapely… the proportions of the figure must be perfect.’ (Kantor and Andrews, 2004, n/a). This quote shows the unattainably high expectations men had for women in the 20s and the objectification of them in the roles of chorus girls. This is important because it shows that women weren’t highly respected before the 1940s. It could very well be argued that the system of Ziegfeld’s hiring process and the glorification of those chosen to perform ‘set the stage for modern sexual objectification’ (Norman, 2018, para.1).

This can be further exemplified in descriptions of the Follies performances. The women are described as ‘glaringly indecent’, (Mates, 1987, p.129), showing the extent of the attention on their bodies. In fact, Ziegfeld’s shows only proved to get more provocative each year, ‘He went from the suggestive to the explicit over time however never quite crossing the line to full nudity.’ (Legacy.com, 2018, para.7). This adds additional evidence to show the contrast of how women were represented before 1943.

On the other hand, it could be argued that Follies gave women a sense of self confidence t