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The cigarette advertisement of the 1970's “You’ve come a long way, Baby” suggests that women have gained greater freedom and liberty than that posessed by their grandmothers.  Being chaste and modest were seen as positive character traits at the start of the 20th century, while the young 21st century woman is typically independant and sexually active.  Women have indeed come a long way - but not necessarily in the right direction.   
The cigarette advertisement of the 1970's “You’ve come a long way, Baby” suggests that women have gained greater freedom and liberty than that posessed by their grandmothers.  Being chaste and modest were seen as positive character traits at the start of the 20th century, while the young 21st century woman is typically independant and sexually active.  Women have indeed come a long way - but not necessarily in the right direction.   


==Pre-WWI America==
[[Image:Harrods 1909.jpg|right|120px|thumb|Women outside Harrods, London, 1909]]
Prior to WWI, the fashion industry was influenced by Paris designers, and the wealthy European class.  For ladies, the length of her skirt often indicated her age - knee length for pre-teens, ankle length for early teenagers, and floor length for 18+ women.  Innocence and virginity were protected by the community and government, and many adults felt responsible to protect young ladies from premature sexual contact and conduct.  Chaperoning was a common social behavior, and the virginity of the mind was just as important as the virginity of the body.
The moral edge of pre-war fashion was the "Gibson Girl", with bare arms, a low neckline, corset-bound body, and floor length dress.  Yet even the Gibson-style women did not cut or shorten their hair, but advertized long hair by gathering it in a pompadour. 
On the beaches, men and women were either segregated or swam at different times.  Swimwear for women included woolen bloomers and blouse, and black stockings and shoes, and U.S. laws were enforced limiting the exposure of flesh (including the legs).
==1920's: Post-war and pre-depression==
Women in the U.S.A. were granted the right to vote in federal elections in 1920.  Shortly after, the bob haircut gained popularity among women (where the hair was cut short, but a weighted area was left to fall between the ear and chin), as did the 'flapper' style. 
The flapper dress sat on the hips and ended near the knee, and the bust was flattened with a binding to give the woman a boyish look.  Flappers also popularized the use of cigarettes, hard liquor, and the distain for "decent" behaviour among women.  Movie houses gained popularity, and Hollywood stars such as Clara Bow began to influence young people with their styles, firtatious attitude, and use of make-up.
On the beaches, swimsuits now consisted of figure hugging wool knit with a sleeveless tank similar to the men’s swimwear a decade earlier.


==1930's: The great depression==
==1930's: The great depression==
[[Image:278px-Moden1936.jpg|right|120px]]
[[Image:278px-Moden1936.jpg|right|120px]]
The depression of the 1930's saw the return of some more modest fashions, and most skirts were again lengthened to the ankles.  The uncensored and progressively immoral movies of the 1920's, some including nude scenes, were also curtailed by the implementation of the self-regulating Hays Office so that content-controlling federal laws would not be implemented.   
During the depression of the 1930's, most skirts were fashioned to the ankles.   


Hollywood's influence expanded during this time (in 1932 Macy's in New York sold 500,000 replicas of the dress Joan Crawford wore in the movie "Letty Lynton"), and photographs of actresses Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn in trousers helped make pants acceptable for women.  New fabrics were developed during this time, and women's underwear changed from corsets and bindings, to form-fitting garments.  These garments and designs would become the fasionable outwear of later generations.
In Hollywood, the self-regulating Hays Office began censoring movies so that content-controlling federal laws would not be implemented.  Hollywood's influence continued to impact fashion (in 1932 Macy's in New York sold 500,000 replicas of the dress Joan Crawford wore in the movie "Letty Lynton"), and photographs of actresses Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn in trousers helped make pants acceptable for women.  New fabrics were developed during this time, and women's underwear changed from corsets and bindings, to form-fitting garments.  These garments and designs would become the fasionable outwear of later generations.


==World War II==
==World War II==
As war raged across the world, women were encouraged to help their country by working full-time in the factories.  With this change of lifestyle, many children were sent to daycares, and trousers for women (promoted by Hollywood in the 1930s) were integrated into the common-woman's wardrobe.  
As war raged across the world, women were encouraged to help their country by working full-time in the factories.  With this change of lifestyle, many children were sent to daycares, and trousers for women (promoted by Hollywood in the 1930s) were integrated into the working woman's wardrobe.  


Pin-ups became popular for the enlisted men, showing an overall acceptance by the male population of the glorification of the female body.   
Pin-ups became popular for enlisted men, showing an overall acceptance by the male population of the glorification of the female body.   


==1950s==
==1950s==
The typical 1950s American girl wore a wide mid-calf length skirt or a poodle skirt, and a modest top.  In 1957, Brigitte Bardot (who attempted suicide numerous times) wore a bikini in "And God Created Woman" and created a market for the bikini's as swimwear in the United States.  The popularity of wide skirts continued, while the same women now wore bikinis on the beach.  Meanwhile, Hollywood introduced the miniskirt in cinemas (Anne Francis, 1956, Forbidden Planet).  
The typical 1950s American girl wore a wide mid-calf length skirt, and a modest top.  In 1957, Brigitte Bardot (who attempted suicide numerous times) wore a bikini in the movie "And God Created Woman" and created a market for the bikini as swimwear in the United States.  The popularity of wide skirts continued, while the same women now wore bikinis on the beach.  Meanwhile, Hollywood introduced the miniskirt in cinemas (Anne Francis, 1956, Forbidden Planet).  


==1960s & 1970s==
==1960s & 1970s==
The 1950s had produced a comfortable living for many families, and some of children grew up to hate the materialistic ways of their parents.  The popular response to the Vietnam War, with protests and draft-dodging, marked a widespread rebellion of the youth from the "call of duty" that their parents had.  Music became the largest influence in the pop culture, with John Lennon saying that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus".   
The 1950s had produced a comfortable living for many families, and some of children grew up to hate the materialistic ways of their parents.  The popular response to the Vietnam War, with protests and draft-dodging, marked a widespread rebellion of the youth from the "call of duty" that their parents had.  Music became the largest influence in the pop culture, with John Lennon saying that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus".   


All taboos and restraints of the past were erased, and another sexual revolution began that stretched the moral fibers of America much further than their flapper grandmothers of the 1920s with free sex, drugs, and Rock'n'roll.
All taboos and restraints of the past were erased, and another sexual revolution began that stretched the moral fibers of America with free sex, drugs, and Rock'n'roll.


*In 1965 miniskirts became popular.
*In 1965 miniskirts became popular.
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Girls of the 80s and 90s tended to know more about sex than even their mothers. "At this moment in our history, young women develop physically earlier than ever before, but they do so within a society that does not protect or nurture them in ways that were once a hallmark of American life." <ref name="Body Project"> The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls" by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, 1997 Random House Inc., New York </ref>  
Girls of the 80s and 90s tended to know more about sex than even their mothers. "At this moment in our history, young women develop physically earlier than ever before, but they do so within a society that does not protect or nurture them in ways that were once a hallmark of American life." <ref name="Body Project"> The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls" by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, 1997 Random House Inc., New York </ref>  


As capitalism and the economy were doing well, many parents had little time for their families as they pursued the elusive dream of wealth and prestige; as a result, women were allowing others to raise their children in daycare centers.
As capitalism and the economy were doing well, many parents had little time for their families as they pursued the elusive dream of wealth and prestige.
*Celebrity-obsessed magazines showed society's pre-occupation with the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.  
*Celebrity-obsessed magazines showed society's pre-occupation with the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.  
*Multiple partners were considered normal for teenage girls.  
*Multiple partners were considered normal for teenage girls.  
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==21st Century==
==21st Century==
America has become desensitized to sex and exposure, and now nothing shocks them except the suggestion that their "liberty" is immoral.  Hemline tattoos are popular for young women, along with low-rise jeans, vulgar slogans, body piercings and self-mutilation.  Virginity is seen as a sign of weakness, and homosexuality is accepted among teenagers.     
America has become desensitized to sex and exposure, and nothing seems to shock.  Hemline tattoos are popular for young women, along with low-rise jeans, vulgar slogans, body piercings and self-mutilation.  Virginity is seen as a sign of weakness, and homosexuality is accepted among teenagers.     


:''In the past centuries, Christian peoples were often noted for their modesty, and heathen peoples for their immodesty. Today, the line between the professing Christian and the savage tribesman has become increasingly blurred, as more and more "Christian" people resort not only to the pagan practice of scarification, tattoos and body mutilation, but have thrown off the "restraints of modest dress in favor of the trendy and the physically revealing.'' <ref name="Pollard"> "Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America" by Jeff Pollard, 2005, the Vision Forum, Inc., San Antonio, Texas </ref>  
:''In the past centuries, Christian peoples were often noted for their modesty, and heathen peoples for their immodesty. Today, the line between the professing Christian and the savage tribesman has become increasingly blurred, as more and more "Christian" people resort not only to the pagan practice of scarification, tattoos and body mutilation, but have thrown off the "restraints of modest dress in favor of the trendy and the physically revealing.'' <ref name="Pollard"> "Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America" by Jeff Pollard, 2005, the Vision Forum, Inc., San Antonio, Texas </ref>  


In 2007 a woman was awarded a $29,000 settlement from the City of New York for being arrested (and being subject to 12 hours in custody and a psychiatric evaluation) after walking topless in New York City in 2005. <ref name="Topless"> http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/06/18/topless.settlement.ap/index.html </ref> In 2008, Oprah Winfrey introducted the world to Thomas Beatie and his wife.  "Mr." Beatie, formerly a Hawaiian model named Ms. Tracy Lagondin, was artificially inseminated through an anonymous donor, and gave birth naturally to a baby girl.  If Biblical language were used to discribe this situation, it would be a mix of "sodomy" and "prostitution".  However, this new-age family was presented as the new "normal" by the media. <ref name="Man"> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7488894.stm (Caution advised)</ref>
In 2007 a woman was awarded a $29,000 settlement from the City of New York for being arrested (and being subject to 12 hours in custody and a psychiatric evaluation) after walking topless in New York City in 2005. <ref name="Topless"> http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/06/18/topless.settlement.ap/index.html </ref> In 2008, Oprah Winfrey introducted the world to Thomas Beatie and his wife.  "Mr." Beatie, formerly a Hawaiian model named Ms. Tracy Lagondin, was artificially inseminated through an anonymous donor, and gave birth naturally to a baby girl.  If Biblical language were used to discribe this situation, it would be a mix of "sodomy" and "prostitution".  However, this new-age family was presented as the new "normal" by the media. <ref name="Man"> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7488894.stm (Caution strongly advised)</ref>


You wouldn't expect a child raised in the area around Chernobyl (Russia) to grow into a healthy adult, free from the side effects of nuclear radiation.  Likewise, you wouldn't expect a child raised in front of an American television to grow into a mentally healthy adult, free from the side effects of murder, lust and lies.  The "inconvenient truth" of the 21st century is the fallout from the moral pollution of America.
You wouldn't expect a child raised in the area around Chernobyl (Russia) to grow into a healthy adult, free from the side effects of nuclear radiation.  Likewise, you wouldn't expect a child raised in front of an American television to grow into a mentally healthy adult, free from the side effects of murder, lust and lies.  The "inconvenient truth" of the 21st century is the fallout from the moral pollution of America.
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