Carrie Nation and Mary Walker Willebrandt
Other reformers, like Carrie Nation who was actually a part of the WCTU, were not peaceful and used extremely violent tactics to get their point across. Nicknamed the "Hatchet Granny" , Carrie Nation used a hatchet to destroy a significant number of saloons and businesses as a form of protest against prohibition and was arrested over 30 times within her life. On one occasion she was even attacked by the saloon keeper's wife after completely demolishing a saloon. Another activist, Mary Walker Willebrandt worked to stop the bootlegging system starting from the top smugglers and even the coast guard. She also worked to investigate corrupt politicians and charged certain business managers with tax evasion. While this was a big stride in prohibition itself, many women depended on bootlegging for income and work, this led many of the women to dislike these activists and rebel, which proved the movement a little counter-productive.
Opposition and Rebellion
Although the removal of alcohol was meant to give women more respect within society,most women did not see it that way and expressed opposition towards the movement. Many women saw this as an opportunity to rebel against societal norms regarding femininity through fashion and speakeasies. During this time period it was very uncommon for women to engage in activities such as drinking, partying and smoking as they were expected to keep a modest and feminine image and such activities were seen as masculine or unlady-like. This norm was broken with the creation of speakeasies as there was no enforcement of the gender separation and in turn women gradually became more accepted within these spaces.Women also took on jobs as bootleggers and speakeasy owners, making huge salaries straight out of their own homes. This is significant as on some occasions female bootleggers and speakeasy owners made more money then even men did at the time, giving them a sense of equality even among the ginormous wage gap between men and women.
Flappers and societal norms
Flapper fashion such as short bobs, short dresses and dark makeup also emerged during this time as a form of self expression and rebellion as well as a turn away from the modesty people were used to at the time. By pushing these boundaries women were able to break out of the box society forced them into and began to create a more active presence, especially with the ratification of the 19th amendment which ultimately led to women in the United States gaining more freedom
