flapper 的詞源

1560年代，“拍打的物体或人”，源自flap（动词）的行为名词。

1889年记录到“非常年轻的女性妓女”的意思，但该词在当代来源中也用于“任何年轻女孩”的意义。最初的建议似乎是年轻女孩习惯佩戴的长辫子或马尾辫（与成年女性的盘发相对），这些本身可以被称为flappers或flaps。

When I first caught sight of the Flapper she was standing on the island in front of the Ritz […] I studied her thoughtfully, the blue serge coat and Peter Pan collar, the familiar sailor hat with the school ribbon round it — I started. Ye gods! Her hair! The customary long chestnut plait had disappeared. Had she in the course of some outrageous prank cut it off? Sacrilege! Struck dumb with horror, I remained glued to the pavement in front of the Ritz. […] It seemed that the Flapper had been allowed — “just for to-day, because it’s so near the end of the holidays” — to do her hair in a door-knocker instead of a plait. [A.E. James, “Trouble with the Flapper” The London Magazine, January 1911.]

当我第一次看到Flapper时，她站在丽兹酒店前的岛上[…]我认真地研究她，蓝色呢子外套和彼得潘领子，熟悉的水手帽上系着校徽——我吃惊了。天哪！她的头发！习惯性的长栗色辫子不见了。她是在某个离谱的恶作剧中把它剪掉的吗？亵渎！我因恐惧而哑口无言，呆呆地站在丽兹酒店前的 pavement 上。[A.E. James, “Trouble with the Flapper” The London Magazine, 1911年1月。]

时尚flapper大约始于1895年，最初指的是一个外向、身材苗条的成年女性，她将头发扎成女孩式的辫子、卷发或马尾辫。早期的采用者往往是运动员和职业舞者。它与伦敦皮卡迪利地区以及曾位于斯特兰德的盖伊剧院有关；但到1914年，《凡尘世界》上的一篇文章戏谑地 lamented “Flapper的消逝”，以支持新的女性风格。然而，这个词仍然用于一般年轻女孩，很快在1916年被应用于短裙的新时尚（类似于年轻女孩传统上穿的，而不是成年女性穿的脚踝长裙），“flapper-length skirt”。

由于皮卡迪利的旧flappers往往是合唱团女孩，这个词在1912年扩展到女演员，到了1917年，它已被用来指任何职业的女工。在英国，这个词在投票权辩论中带上了政治色彩。

"Flapper" is the popular press catch-word for an adult woman worker, aged twenty-one to thirty, when it is a question of giving her the vote under the same conditions as men of the same age. [Punch, Nov. 30, 1927]

“Flapper”是大众媒体对一位21至30岁成年女性工人的流行词，当涉及在同样条件下给予她投票权时。[Punch, 1927年11月30日]

“性放荡女性”的意思在1914年出现，可能源自合唱团女孩/女演员的意义，而非年轻妓女的意义（合唱团女孩以依赖男性爱慕者的经济赠予而闻名）。这是1920年代文本中最常感受到的意义，抨击flapper。

Immodest Dress. - For some strange reason too many of our modern girls seem to enjoy being called flappers. She glories in the lustful looks and vulgar comments which her appearance calls forth on the street. With bobbed hair, three coats of paint and powder, with plucked eyebrows, artificial eyelashes, and carmine lips, with low necked, short sleeved, and generously peekabooed waist, with an abbreviated skirt and rolled down silk hose, just meeting below the knees, and all the rest of it, she blithely pursues her ill fated course. If people turn to stare in horror stricken amazement, her costume is a success; if she passes unnoticed then something must be done. Her sketchy costume cannot fail to arouse the passions of men and boys. To all outward appearances she is attempting to imitate the woman of the streets. And she succeeds. [J.L. Nichols, "Safe Counsel; or, Practical Eugenics" 1927.]

不端的穿着。——出于某种奇怪的原因，我们的许多现代女孩似乎喜欢被称为flappers。她为自己在街上因外貌而引发的欲望目光和粗俗评论感到荣耀。她剪短的头发，三层化妆和粉底，拔掉的眉毛，假睫毛，鲜红的嘴唇，低领短袖，慷慨的透视腰身，缩短的裙子和卷起的丝质长袜，刚好在膝下相遇，以及所有其他的一切，她愉快地追求着她不幸的道路。如果人们因恐怖的惊讶而转身盯着，她的服装就是成功的；如果她毫无注意地经过，那么就必须做些什么。她的粗略服装无法不激起男性和男孩的欲望。从外表来看，她似乎在试图模仿街头女性。而且她成功了。[J.L. Nichols, "Safe Counsel; or, Practical Eugenics" 1927年。]

值得注意的是，上述描述来自一本科学教科书。