"The flapper girls may not have been many in number, but did be-come the face for the great party taking place. "
29 | Ceres Magazine | Oct/Nov 2015
Photo by Lands of Void
"I can’t help but to wonder if I don’t fall into that same category. Always helping someone else enjoy the Party of Life..."
Ceres: What interests you in the Twenties and the flapper girls?
Genae: Ahhhh, the Twenties! Imagine a time period where so much was changing in society for women! From the right to vote, to speaking your mind, to dancing the night away, it was a very exciting time. This is not to completely romanticize that era, but women definitely found their voice. This transcended race and region and socioeconomic status, it was a fervor that took over the country. The flapper girls may not have been many in number, but did become the face for the great party taking place. They hit the hippest clubs, danced the latest moves, pushed the best music, and completely enjoyed their wealth. Then, you move to the Harlem Renaissance and dance down Lennox Avenue with a Jazz club on every corner. It was the African-American surge into new music and art and literature, it was a grand adventure. Truly, it reminds me so much of New Orleans. I would love partying down Bourbon Street, experiencing as many music clubs as I had energy for. However, it’s also the culture and people and love of life that buoys my entire soul. I will never let that go, and certainly never apologize for it. Give me a good party and great music, and I’m a woman on a mission.
Ceres: What's so appealing in the Roaring Twenties for women in general? Is it the women's feel of liberation following a strict Victorian era? Is it the prohibition and the booze? Is it the music and the dances? Do you really think that women were more liberated at that time, or was it all smoke and mirrors?
Genae: I am a feminist at heart. That is definitely something that I admire about those women. They did not allow their gender to be used against them. A time when women asserted their independence: they would smoke, drink, dance, and party, but also took charge over their own sexuality. Sexual Freedom is not to be frowned upon if asserted for noble reasons. That level of freedom can certainly come with its own repercussions, however misogyny is the worst cage a woman can be placed. So, I applaud women of that time period that fought for women’s rights, and equally those that fought for women’s independence.
Ceres: Have you seen the Great Gatsby and what do you think of the movie?
Genae: I’ve read the novel many times (never seen the movies). I think the saddest most poignant point I gleaned from the book was that Gatsby spent all that time and money to make