Bobby soxer (subculture)

For the item of clothing, see Bobby socks.
Bobby soxer
A Bobby-soxer jitterbugging with partner, circa 1945
Years active1940s
CountryUnited States

Bobby soxers were a subculture of young women in the mid-to-late 1940s. Their interests included popular music, in particular that of singer Frank Sinatra, and wearing loose-fitting clothing, notably bobby socks.[1][2] Their manner of dress, which diverged sharply from earlier ideals of feminine beauty, was controversial.[3][4] As a teenager, actress Shirley Temple played a stereotypical bobby soxer in the film The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947).[5]

The presence of bobby soxers signaled a shift in American youth fashion. Businesses and corporations noticed that they were able to profit from the burgeoning consumer power of teenagers—especially among girls—and began to aim products at younger buyers, creating a new subset of American culture.[6][7] Teenagers became more prominent in society as they participated in activities such as dancing and going to the movies.[8][9] Music and dancing grew more popular among teenagers in the 1940s; the most popular types of music were swing and jazz, which were favored by bobby soxers.[10] The increased popularity of music made it a big part of the lives of bobby soxers, as they frequently discussed their favorite musicians with each other and bonded over records.[10]

  1. ^ Green, Jonathan (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Sterling Publishing Company. p. 145. ISBN 9780304366361.
  2. ^ Sickels, Robert (2004). The 1940s (American Popular Culture Through History). ABC-CLIO. p. 36. ISBN 9780313312991. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Bobby-soxers Ruining Tradition of American Beauty, Flagg Moans". Pittsburgh Press. United Press International. May 5, 1946. p. 21. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Griffin, Michael (January 13, 1946). "Bobby-soxers Tell Off Critic Fannie Hurst". Minneapolis Star Tribune. International News Service. p. 11. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Nash, Ilana (2005). American Sweethearts: Teenage Girls in Twentieth-century Popular Culture. Indiana University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-253-21802-5. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  6. ^ Smith, Kathleen E. R. (2015). "Jitterbugs and Bobby-Soxers". God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. pp. 153–159. ISBN 9780813122564.
  7. ^ Smith 2015, p. 153.
  8. ^ Schrum, Kelly (2004). Some Wore Bobby Sox: The Emergence of Teenage Girls' Culture, 1920–1945 (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781349731343.
  9. ^ Schrum 2004, p. 8.
  10. ^ a b Schrum 2004, p. 98.