The world we live in now is very different from the world of a few decades ago. Over time, many things in life have changed, which has led to big changes. Now, most of us have the freedom to make our own choices, wear the clothes we want, and go after what we want.
But the world wasn’t always so easygoing and accepting. Not too long ago, wearing a miniskirt or swimsuit in public was thought wrong, and people couldn’t always do what they really wanted. Changing the way things were done often caused chaos. In this collection, we want to show you some pictures that show how the world was back then.
Scroll down to see these pictures and think about how they compare to today. Of course, don’t forget to tell us what you think!
1. The first woman to run the Boston Marathon was Kathrine Switzer in 1967. Before women were allowed to take part, it went on for 5 years. In this shot, she is being tried to be taken away by an organizer.
#2: Jean Shrimpton, an English beauty, is wearing a minidress to the races in Melbourne. In 1965, her outfit really upset the other guests.
#3: These two girls in Capetown, South Africa, wore miniskirts in 1965.
4. Maud Wagner was the first woman known to have done tattoos. She also got tattoos on her own body. (1907).
5. These girls are riding their bikes home to change their clothes because their school banned tight-fitting slacks, plaid-pushers, and shorts. It was 1953 in West Berlin.
6. People in the British women’s suffrage movement fought hard for women to be able to vote. (Londres, 1906).
7. In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent “gave” ladies tuxedos, which are usually worn by men. It was against the rules for his popular models to wear pantsuits into restaurants. This kind of outfit was taken as a clear challenge.
8. Annette Kellermann poses in a swimsuit. She is a skilled swimmer, a movie actress, and a writer. In 1907, she was jailed and charged with being a lewd person.
#9. In the United States, there was a special group of moralists who pushed against swimsuits that were too revealing. In this picture from the 1920s, actress Lila Lee is in a classic swimming suit.
10. This woman is going to jail because she was wearing a costume and didn’t cover her legs. (1922, in Chicago).
11. Elizabeth Eckford was one of a group of African-American students who were the first black people to ever go to school. This picture was taken in 1957, right after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that putting kids in separate schools was against the law.
12. Billie Jean King was a professional tennis player who set a record for most wins at Wimbledon and started a group to make sure that men and women in tennis had the same rights.
#13: An Italian woman named Maria Teresa de Filippis was a race car driver. She was the first woman to compete in Formula One.
14. Senda Berenson was an American athlete who started women’s basketball. She also changed the rules for men’s basketball, which were made up in 1891.
15. Hedy Lamarr was an American actress and engineer. She broke stereotypes about how beautiful women and scientists are thought to be. We can talk on our phones now because she came up with the idea.
16. Women from the “Women’s Organization to the War on Styles” protested longer skirts and padded hips by picketing a dress shop. (Los Angeles, 1947).
17. Rosa Parks was arrested because she refused to move to the back of a bus “for white people” (Alabama, 1956). After her arrest, her fingerprints were taken.
18. Author unknown/Imgur #18. Mary Quant was a designer who gave women the miniskirt, which started a fashion change.
#19. French fashion designer Paul Poiret freed women from corsets.
