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Projections of locations to set the scene.

Lighting for different scenes to show time changes.

Recording of girls leaving messages for Scarlett as live footage.

Use of social media platforms

Sound effects for phone notifications and transitions.

Music for dances (later cut out)

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Awareness and research on themes

Research into issues

Research into characters

Budget

Deadline

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The piece we worked on for our final main project was called ‘Girls Like That’. The script can be seen as being based on female empowerment after a girls personal picture is released to the rest of her school, resulting in her being bullied and excluded from her group of ‘friends’. This is then compared to a guy in the same situation but he is seen as a ‘legend’ or a ‘stud’ in the eyes of his peers. This piece is aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of sharing personal information on social media as well as e-safety, bullying and overcoming or dealing with it. The pressures young people deal with daily in today’s age of technology are further compared to the similarities in previous years.

One of our requirements was to be fully aware on the themes that took place in the piece such as gender, equality, diversity and gender roles as well as the situations surrounding bullying and e-safety and how it can be resolved or avoided. I felt by doing this research, as well as basing it off of my personal experiences, I was able to create a completely contrasting St. Helen’s girl character to my monologue character despite being out of my comfort zone with something I had never done before.

Another requirement, mainly aimed towards the people with monologues including myself, were to look at the women and how they were treated in the their time periods (1920’s, 1940’s, 1960‘s and 1980’s). This would allow us to have a better understanding of our characters, so it would create a better and more informed performance. Through doing this research, I found out that despite today’s struggles with social media and the pressures we have to always be ‘pretty’ or ‘popular’, women in the sixties had only just began to fight for their freedom as well as express their rights to equality, meaning that I had to create a character with a strong sense of independence as well as combining this with her other girly characteristics.

One parameter we had was the budget for the production and the props and costume. However, we realised that we had the money left over from our last piece that we did through a fundraiser, so we didn’t have to worry about doing another in case we needed to buy props or costume. We decided on school uniform for our costume, which everyone had at home to bring in, along with the ties that were already provided. For our monologue characters, we would only have a prop or piece of clothing to represent the change in the character. This also worked alongside our decision for a Brechtian style of staging.

The main parameter we had was the short deadline in which to do it, which was originally the 18th of May. However, as a group we decided that we didn’t have enough time to perfect the performance and would rather improve and edit through it than do a longer, less high quality piece. This allowed us the time to work on scenes more thoroughly and in-depth to create a more interesting piece that still managed to convey the themes and messages situated in the script before our later deadline of the 8th of June.

Leading on from this, we decided that each scene should be worked on individually in order to be able to polish it so we could move on to the next scene or dance that needed to be done. That way if it needed to be changed or adjusted in any way, we could do so knowing that it made sense with the transitions and flowed smoothly with the scene before and after. I feel that this worked well as when we did need to adjust some scenes, it still flowed well and by the end made them more interesting and reeled our audience in better than the original idea.

We logged each rehearsal with a logbook that went into our scripts, going over what the main focus was in the rehearsal, who we worked closely with, any notes made for the next rehearsal as well as what needed to be focused on and the feedback and targets we were given in the lesson to work on altogether.

After the production meeting, we had started working on ideas for the PowerPoint for the background as well as the ideas for the sound effects used for the transitions and movement pieces. We also agreed on assigning roles for those who needed production jobs. My role was to help Lee paint the steps as part of our set. There was a miscommunication as when we painted the second set of steps, we did them the wrong colour. I think this was because it was discussed in the meeting but we didn’t clearly hear that they both needed to be painted the same colour so we only realised when the meeting notes were published after we had already done it. Despite this, we managed to get them repainted before our full dress and tech rehearsal so they were able to be used.

Overall, I feel that the performance went well considering the setbacks that we had which were mainly to do with the dances and whether or not to include them as we didn’t have enough time to choreograph and fit them in before we had to perform. We felt that by doing this that it made the piece more engaging, even though it would have created more of a contrast. We would rather have had a piece that had quality instead of quantity and being of poor or unorganised content. If we were to do this piece again, I would have liked a longer time frame so we could have used the whole script and the dances. This could have made more sense as the whole story will have been covered and everything would have linked together. I could have tried to learn my monologue quicker in order to have it staged and got it out the way in order to help work on other scenes and maybe have gotten included in more. I have learned that communication is key when working on the process as a whole as miscommunication can happen very easily. I have also learned to be more patient with people as it is a long and gruelling process and we can get stressed out very easily, no matter how well it seems to be going.

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Those who didnt have a lesson were included in a production meeting on the 23rd of May, discussing the things that needed to be done with props, set, media and costume.

Production meeting notes:

Set notes-

Blank screen for projection

Chairs

Steps – need painting grey (Holly & Lee) and the wheels fixing (James to do, Michelle to organise time). Possible school logo on side.

Media production

Monologue time-period -1920’s pool, 1940s aeroplane base, 1960s flowers and 1980s office (Monologue people to find own)

Images to make a point (Harriett)

Costume

School uniform- white shirts, black skirts (girls) black trousers (boys), ties, white socks or tights (sourced individually, ties provided by college)

Monologue characters to have an accessory to show character (1920- headband 1940-helmet 1960-flower crown and shawl 1980-shoulder pads)

Props

Phones - Individual

Match Box – Sydney

Microphone

Fake Cigarettes – Coral

Paper Logo – Gaby

Sound effects

Buzz click pop

Jeremy Kyle theme (Esther)

Lighting

Main lighting – changing only for few scenes (monologues and party scene)

We had a miscommunication and ended up painting one of the steps blue, as it was discussed in the meeting and the notes from the meeting werent distributed at the time. However, once we realised that it needed to be done grey too, we were quick on it and had them painted and dried before they needed to be used.

Luckily all of this was sorted on the  before the dress rehearsal so we were able to do a full rehearsal with everything organised before the show that evening.

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This scene was continued on from 19, as the class holds a vigil for Scarlett after finding out that she goes missing.

The original idea was that they were going to be huddled in a group center stage when Emily walks through to do her monologue. However, we thought that if they remained on the steps, the stage would be opened out more, looking less crowded and unorganised.

With the suggestion of our tutor, we thought that during her monologue, the flashback characters should walk out and use a brechtian technique called a tableaux, where we choose a position best used to show our character and stand in a freeze frame. Eg, my character would use a peace symbol to highlight the 60's and her hippy lifestyle or Sydneys character could be stood still with a cigarette to show the boundaries she crossed as a woman in the 1920's.

As she finished, we thought about the characters walking away with attitude offstage. However, as we decided that this would be the end scene of the piece, we stayed in place as Scarlett walks away from the group after ending on "you have my picture to remember me by". This leads to us doing our bows, leaving the audience on a cliffhanger thinking about the meaning of the piece and the themes included.

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This scene was fairly simple to stage, once again using the isolation idea of just the two people interacting, aside from the girls sat on the side, ready to resume the previous scene.

Like the other monologues, she was telling the audience what was happening with her situation until she got to hand papers over to "Stanley" in which he responds by touching her inappropriately. When we staged it, Jamie was sat down whilst having his hand on her waist. This seems uncomfortable for both of them so they proceeded to change it so he walked over to her instead of staying put and only hovering his hand instead of touching her. This allowed them to both comfortably proceed with the rest of the scene.

It stayed the same from there with her explaining what she would do if he didnt stop his inappropriate behaviour, where he immediately stopped and went back to what he was doing whilst she walked away from where the incident happened, still confident.

We didnt think that them interacting one sided like the other monologues would work in this case as despite it being a flash back, it needed a more "hands on" approach to it.

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For this scene, we decided that we would record the section of the girls sending messages for Scarlett as it would look like footage from a news channel, but that it would be over the top and fake as they dont really like her.

We started off by having the girls scattered around the stage until the inspector walked in but we felt it would be better if the boy from McDonalds was in the middle looking ashamed as the girls blame him for the photo going around despite them being the ones who sent it to him as if they had nothing to do with it causing Scarlett going missing, presumed to have committed suicide.

They would then go to either side of the stage and place themselves on the steps, showing one or two of them talking to the inspector about her, before they departed for the recording to be played.

This lead into the monologue with the Girl with shoulder pads, with the girls placed at the back of the steps watching as if seeing a flashback.

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In this scene, we agreed on the girls walking in monotonously in a well formed line as they explained that they were getting ready for the party and going through their routine before attending the party in which the mood lifted when Jason runs in shouting "Welcome to my pimps 'n ho's party!". We went through a few formations that we all contributed (arrow shape on a diagonal, scatter within a group walking from the line and scatter on the diagonal) when we agreed the scatter in the center was the most convenient one to use when they break out for the beginning of the party where they take selfies and look like they're enjoying their time. That is until the boys call them names. Our first idea was that they got more aggravated with each word but instead worked on a motif of movements for each word used, giving it more of a change in dynamics right before Rosie "slaps" Jason for using the party theme as an excuse to call the girls out on the way they are dressed.

This is led to Harriett walking away from the group, asking about the "space in between" whilst everyone is in a freeze frame and as she rejoins them, Jay/Jamie suggests taking a trip to McDonalds.

This is where they recognise Scarlett after she was excluded from St. Margaret's. We decided it would be best to be situated in a diagonal line across the stage which could once again symbolise the "pecking order" as well as creating a build up when they repeatedly call for her and back up their "friend" when they cant find the picture of her.

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In this scene, we took the idea of what we did with the flapper dress monologue originally and implemented it into my scene. This was to have it just me and Lee isolated instead of having the girl dancing and the group of people in the distance. This created an empty yet effective spin on what could be seen as a controversial piece. The idea of him speaking to me as if he was in the flashback and me telling it to the audience in real time caught on. It also shows how were both immersed in our own thoughts and sides of the story.

However, when it came to show week, it had occurred to us that it seemed a bit dull just wandering on the stage and not making use of the stairs. So instead we started off on the steps initiating the line "sitting in a park" until I started daydreaming and wandering in my own mind, to which I started to move around the stage whilst he was still talking to "me" on the steps. This left me to tell the audience my thoughts as well as adding some sort of comedy with the lines "and hes still talking", implying that the thing that made her fall in love with him is the reason why she fell out of love with him.

When she tells him straight out that she can make her own decisions, the sense of her independence is shown when she walks away from him and takes center stage, later referring back to the girl dancing who makes her feel better about her decision as she says "Us girls need to stick together" and as she finishes, she walks away with a sense of pride in herself, leading into the party scene.

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With this scene, we decided it would be interesting about the girls vlogging at the beginning showing the importance of social media to this generation and a big part it plays in our lives. We were originally going to have them standing up front, ready to continue but thought it would be more effective if they were behind each other, showing the continuation of the vlog as if it was still the one person doing it, but from different points of views.

For the next part of the scene, we thought of using an idea of having them re-enact the fight scene as the others watched through a cinema screen. However, we feel this didnt work as there werent many opportunities to use levels. Once we figured out that we were using the steps, we had the idea of using them as seating of a crowd which lead to the idea of doing a spin-off of Jeremy Kyle and the disagreements that often happen on the show.

We took the idea of the slow motion and over-dramatized reactions from the cinema into this part of the scene where a crowd would react to a live-action fight in front of them instead on a television screen, getting the audience drawn into the real time of the situation.

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This scene didnt change at all from first staging it as it worked really well as it was as well as providing dynamic contrast to the rest of the piece.

The group started off in a diagonal line, facing one another on each side, and as each person said their line, they stepped forward to the front of the stage. This allowed us to tell the audience the events as they were happening. Like in scene 4, they all react over the top when Coral mentions "Chickens and Cocks" and make their silent emotions more evident to the audience.

This lead into a "swirling" transition as everyone was included into the crowded group when Scarlett shows up to class. The turns of the head were used to show her exclusion from the group, despite her not really being fazed about it, shown by her response of "sure", even though she knows that it will only make the situation worse.

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Esther was the main character in this monologue. Due to unforeseen situations outside of college, we as a group couldn't work on the monologue as a collective so relied on her independent work at home to learn it as well as learn the northern accent so she could come in and integrate it with the piece. As a group, we knew we didn't have enough time to stage it before the performance so agreed that she would be telling the audience what was happening in her situation. This seemed to work well as the attention was drawn to her, highlighting the comedy in her piece.

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With the prank call scene, we first thought about sitting around a table making the calls to Scarlett as we would all be seen, but we thought that with only half the class doing it, the stage looked bare. This is was when we decided to use the steps as our set. Once we had established that, we thought it would be better to use the whole class to be in the scene, even if they were just reacting to the comments said by the others. On my line, where I list a political magazine in the list of explicit ones, only Harriett was going to react to me and put me in my place. Even though this worked, we thought that having everyone else stare would belittle my character and make her feel ditsy in that moment of fun and charisma which gave the scene a comedic moment. This allowed a smooth transition into the second part of the scene where the girls gossip about the latest celebrity news. This was originally staged as a huddled group but left the stage bare and the group was messy so we resorted to a scattered formation with two people clustered together as well as people standing on their own. Each girl wants to be the center of attention of the group so as they step forward in whichever way to say their lines, they somehow draw attention to themselves, whilst each of them secretly try to hide their hatred towards each other. This is until they receive the picture of Russell, in which the girls completely synchronise with the use of "oh my god" leaving us to walk off in a fluster over the picture.

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With this scene, the boys went off and did the "lads" section by themselves using the lines in the script, which we later added when we had staged and blocked the girls section to the scene.

With the girls section, the idea was to be grouped around Emily, pointing at her as they picked out her imperfection. However, there was an issue with pointing out the features as there are lines about intimate areas which felt awkward to do. So instead we decided on looking straight ahead as if grouped around the photo and pointing it out there instead whilst Emily slowly become more and more insecure throughout the section.

Two of the girls then split either side after mockingly shooing her offstage talking about the rumours that were going around about Scarlett and conversations with the school nurse, readying them to part off in groups of three, either side of the stage, looking over on the boys scene and judging them based on their actions and behaviour.

Lined up as if they are by lockers, the girls continue as Scarlett re-enters as she tries to get their attention after they turn away going towards the group of boys. They overreact as Russell makes a snide comment towards her walking over causing her to run away when the girls turn back to the boys and say "boys can be such dicks" as if they had nothing to do with making her storm away. The more they went over the scene, the more it made sense and progressed, therefore it didn't need any developments or changes.

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At first, we worked on the stage combat that is included in the scene where Jason slaps Sydney after calling she starts laughing with the other girls. We did this first in order to get it out of the way so we could add it straight into the scene when we were developing it.

Originally we were going to stage it where it was just Sydney on stage telling the audience what was happening and Jason entering and acting it out as if it had happened on the night.

However, we all decided that the stage looked bare so got everyone involved to create more of a buzz like a 1920's pool party would be.

Instead of just standing there smoking and drinking, a few of us decided to create some simple choreography in the style of the Charleston and the waltz like the popular dance styles in the 1920's. We found that in doing this, it created a more busy scene but enough that Sydney was still center of attention with her monologue. This was enhanced when we used slow motion on Jason's entrance into the scene and speeding back up for my entrance.

Although this worked, as a further development, we used the slow motion throughout the scene to create more emphasis that we were in a flashback until the monologue reached its climax when Jason says to me " People will mistake you for an ordinary whore", in which the scene is back in real time and the laughing and reactions to the slap show the audience that we are at that pool party instead of looking back on it.

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The students are sat as If In a classroom, bored on their phones when they receive the picture one at a time in the class in which they react with each other after receiving it.

We used this scene as an example to work on characterisation of our characters. We did this by using every mention of the chickens to go over the top with acting bored and sinking into our chairs whilst conversing with one another to show that the scene isn't completely dull and setting the background whilst the lines are being delivered.

We later added in movement pieces to a clock tick sound effect during the "Forward, tweet, poke, send..."which we later changed to notification sound effects, making it seem realistic and making the scene come more alive and become more interesting for the audience to watch. However, the last and longer sequence was to a clock tick as it was harder to keep in time and synchronised with each other. It was evident that we needed more time to go over and perfect this, but we could do that when it came to doing the scene again when we had the sound effects ready to use.

At the end of the scene, as Coral carries on talking about the chickens, everyone goes over the top with their boredom and walk off stage with their chairs in pairs muttering to one another or themselves until only Coral is left on stage when she realises everyone has left.

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The girls are scattered as if on a playground in nursery. Eg. Coral "by the water tub", Sophie "on the carpet" and Amelia "by the sandbox" whilst the other girls move about the stage/stay stationary playing with one another.
They then move into a formation showing the hierarchy of the girls (Harriett at the top, Amelia in the middle, Emily at the bottom).
They then form a semi-circle for "circle time"  in the centre of the stage.

We decided on show week that this was a bit dull and needed to be picked up to draw our audience in as well as show the "pecking order" between the girls as Coral is talking about the chickens. The small group of girls (Emma, Serena, Gaby and Emily) end up playing a game of tag around the playground into the hierarchy line with Emily/Scarlett at the very end. Sophie and Amelia then spin around with each other into their place in the line with Harriett sooner joining the line just before Coral finishes the section about the chickens. As they talk about the pecking order, a few girls are shoved around into their correct places showing that they know it well.

Then as before, they join each other in a semi-circle for carpet time, but this time connecting hands and swinging their arms playfully. We found this looked more interesting and engaging for our audience and worked for our transition into the next scene.

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Scene 1: Opening scene- Triangular formation
Scene 3: Nursery
Scene 4: History Class
Scene 6: Girl in flapper dress monologue
Scene 7: Girls picking out Scarlett's imperfections and Lads scene
Scene 9: Prank call scene, celebrity gossip and arrival of naked Russell Photo
Scene 11: Girl with aviator helmet and goggles
Scene 12: Corridor scene into group
Scene 14: Vlogging into Jeremy Kyle fight scene
Scene 16: Girl with flowers in her hair monologue
Scene 17: Party scene and Mcdonalds scene
Scene 19: Scarlett goes missing
Scene 21: Girl with shoulder pads monologue
Scene 22: Scarlett's monologue

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As a group, we looked at different ways of delivering the lines as well as the formations. We thought of either being scattered across the stage, in a line with Scarlett in front or the triangular formation with Scarlett in the middle.

We are all decided on a triangular formation facing inwards to Scarlett who is placed in the middle.

It seemed dull just being in the line as it was predictable on who was speaking next and didn't really create a tension build up.

We also found the scatter didn't work either as we weren't sure about who would be speaking next and it wasn't as affective at showing us aiming the words towards Scarlett.

We eventually decided on taking a step in with each word we say, taking it in turns bouncing off each other in a zig zag across the triangle.

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Powerpoint first draft of background images

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Powerpoint first draft of background images

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One of the issues explored was sexual orientation. This is shown through the "lads" scene where they call Jay "gay jay". He tries to fit in with the group, despite being the more sensitive and anxious person in the goup of boys, saying inappropriate lad-ish comments like "I'd tap it" after being made fun of for not looking at the picture of Scarlett. It made us realise that "gay" is a common insult used among people if they seem too effeminate or dont take on the typical masculine stereotype of the male despite it only being a word used to describe someones sexual orientation. However, we are lucky that in this generation, we are more educated on sexual orientations as a whole and are the ones less likely to use it as a derogatory term.

Another issue we discussed was about disability included in the "fight" scene between Scarlett and the other girl where she says "are you a retarded mute or something?" The use of the word "retarded" is a sensitive, negative word, used to describe someone who has a mental disability such as autism, tourettes ect. In most schools, I have heard children use the word to describe someone who is seen as "stupid" or slow" and is a very demeaning term to use.

As these are very sensitive subjects to be using, we as a class need to approach these themes with sensibility as if its done wrong, it can be upsetting or triggering for some people who may be in the audience.

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The 1960s saw a big rise in the number of jobs available to young, single women. More girls went on to higher education. Having lived away from home, and with greater intellectual and financial independence, many women could now have aspirations beyond being a wife or mother, which is what women were for. Feminism began to find a voice in society, with movements like Women’s Lib demanding equal pay and opportunity as well as the introduction of the first contraceptive pill. If you fell pregnant, your employer had all rights to fire you, so you could stay at home and become a housewife and mother. By the end of the Sixties, more than 80 percent of wives of childbearing age were using contraception after the approval from the federal government. This freed many women from unwanted pregnancy and gave them many more choices, and freedom, in their personal lives.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/07/living/sixties-women-5-things/index.html
https://www.bl.uk/sisterhood/timeline

Big events in 1968 (the year that changed history):

Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee

Robert F. Kennedy assassinated in Los Angeles

Boeing introduces the first 747 "Jumbo Jet

U.S. athletes take a stand against racial discrimination at the Summer Olympics

Apollo 8 is the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon

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"Girls like that" explores the pressures that the younger generation have to face today with modern technology and social media. This play's main issue that is focused on is about a girl named Scarlett who finds herself in the center of (negative) attention after a naked picture of her is sent around the school to her peers. This is compared to a classmate Russell who ends up in the same situation but instead he's seen as a stud and a legend. The history of females in her family is also widely explored and how they had to deal with the pressures and bias towards them in their times as well as their change of position in their social hierarchy. In todays society, social media has affected the way information is conveyed to one another, therefore more precautions are needed to keep people safe, especially young children when it comes to online safety. This is because its very easy for bullies to hide behind fake profiles, and can even extend to grooming or obtaining indecent images of a minor.

The play is quite controversial as some could say that the situation could have been avoided if she didnt send the photo. However, it is evident that she wanted to fit in or be noticed which is down to the pressures of this generation that were forced upon her, making her feel that being "pretty" is important.

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Character profile for girl with flowers in her hair.

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Character profile for girl with flowers in her hair.

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Name: Rainbeau Foster
Age: 16  (only 16, but I feel a century)

Backstory:

Her mother was one of the few female ATA pilots that helped fly and deliver planes for maintenance during world war II. She took on her mothers strong stance for equality between genders and found out about the first contraceptive that was released. She decided to stand and march for women's rights such as abortions and decisions over their own bodies. She didn't believe in women having to be a housewife and catering to the mans needs. She decided to use her own voice and situation to spread awareness of the importance of individuality and independence. Shes a free spirit and a girly girl at heart but despite this stands by her beliefs and does not let anyone control what she can or cannot do except from her mother who she looks up to. She is described as "having her hair in braids sometimes and had lots of sex" The script says no one judged her for it except for her mother as she had her at a young age and didn't want her making the mistake she did as she wasn't ready.

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Name: Fleur Jane Carter
Age: 17

Backstory:

She was always a bright child. Her parents found out about her gifts for school at the age of 3 and decided that she should go to a private school that would accommodate her intelligence and test her skills. That school would be St. Helens school for girls.
She is the youngest of 4 children which consists of 3 older brothers called Jack, Adam and Louis and Fleur being the only girl. She is used to being bullied by her brothers and her peers, so has to have a strong outer shell to help her cope with the taunts as she is the "nerd" of the class, but when she is annoyed or made fun of, she can be just as spiteful as the other girls are towards her. She can be seen as ditsy at times (shown by when she says "What, I saw my dad read it once" after listing a political magazine in a list of explicit, adult ones) and the others tend to try and put her down for it, but the act of embarrassment doesnt last for too long.

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E-safety is guidelines and precautions that are put in place to protect children and young people on not only the internet, but other forms of communication including mobiles and the apps that are available to use. The aim of promoting e-safety is to protect young people from the consequences of access or use of electronic media, including from bullying, inappropriate sexualised behaviour or exploitation.

Cyber-bullying, including sexual bullying.

Safe use of social networking, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, X-Box Live, messaging – SnapChat, Instagram, Vine, WhatsApp etc.

Pornography and violent images – accessibility and inappropriate use by young people. ***This is one of the themes mainly explored in Girls Like That***

Grooming by strangers and known contacts, including trusted adults.

Real time communications including texts, e.g. ‘sexting’, chat rooms, email, instant messaging, video chat etc. ***This is one of the themes mainly explored in Girls Like That*** (https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/sexting/)

Support for parents and carers and their role and responsibilities.

Support for young people, particularly the more vulnerable; and, ensuring that young people are aware of the risks and do not endanger their ‘online reputation’ by their activity.

http://www.childnet.com/
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/

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Gender Roles and how they have changed since the 1920's

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Gender Roles and how they have changed since the 1920's

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Gender roles are a set of norms in society that dictate the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual or perceived sex.

Typical gender roles from the 1920's up until the 1950-1960's were fairly simple. Men were the bread-winners of the household, they went out and worked for the income for the family whereas women would stay at home, care for the children and do the cooking, cleaning and other "womanly" household chores as well as pleasing and catering to their husbands needs. They, as well as children, were expected to be seen and not heard.

Gender roles are passed on through generations. From the age of three, children are able to start becoming aware of the differences between girls and boys based on the actions of the parents and the nature of their environment. They begin to learn what is expected and appropriate of their gender in their society.

The behavior is reinforced when the parents praise or reward their children for their actions. They can also be punished and challenged to change, if it's considered inappropriate. Eg. Girls are praised when they cook/clean as it will be seen as expected of them in the future. Boys if they cry will be told not to as its not a familiar trait that is reinforced in their gender.

In the 1920's women could rarely find themselves in a job. It didn't matter anyway, because the day they got married, they would be fired and be forced to take on the role of a traditional homemaker. Women wouldn't get many choices for jobs; they only could get 'traditional' jobs like domestic servants, secretaries, nurses or teachers. And if they did get a better job, then they wouldn't get much business; no man would put his business affairs in the hands of a female lawyer nor would they go to a lady doctor, despite the condition they were in as they were seen as less superior than a male and therefore they wouldnt be able to do a better job than a man as they are too fragile or sensitive.

The differences between the 1920's, the 1950's and now are huge. However, there are a few similarities between them as well. Back then women didn't have one thing: choices. They didn't have the choice to get an education, therefore they couldn't get a job in the future. So they had to get married as that would be the only way to get the money from their husbands to take care of themselves. When women got married, all their property automatically went to their husband, so if they got a divorce, they would have absolutely nothing. Another change was with clothing. Women weren't allowed to wear pants, short skirts, and they couldn't show any leg. They always had to wear proper clothing, and they never were able to just throw on a pair of sweats and relax. This is demonstrated with the monologue including the girl in the flapper dress shown by "The girls suits were dazzling".

Today, women have much more freedom. They are able to work in jobs that were seen as obscene for a woman to be doing such as mechanics, sales, entrepreneurial and more. We have come a long way since the 1920's. We have more equality between genders in the workplace as well as having the right to vote and even living on their own or even being a single parent which was commonly looked down on. Men and women commonly share roles today which could have been seen as impossible to do back then, such has having a househusband and the wife being the bread-winner of the family. However, we still have a long way to go.

This links to Girls Like That through the monologues looking back on Scarlett's female family history. With the girl in the flapper dress, she defied her gender norms and attended a "scandalous" party. She wore a bathing suit as well as many of the other girls that were also smoking, going against her brothers wishes as it was looked down upon. In the aviator monologue, its clearly explained as wrong for a woman to fly a plane as it was seen as a mans job when the male co-pilot says "...we got some lass flyin' planes". In my monologue, the girl with flowers in her hair, she's fallen pregnant at a young age and isnt ready to start a family. In the 60's women only started to be able to make their own decisions when it came to a family, especially with the introduction of contraception in 1960 with the first contraceptive pill. And in the final monologue with the girl in the shoulder pads, she is sexually assaulted/inappropriately approached by her boss and ends up resolving the situation with confidence and professionalism, showing the growing strength and individuality that has grown for females throughout the years.

http://edu.glogster.com/glog/1920s-role-of-women-and-men/1mol1ak60lh