Woman and cigarretes: representations of womanhood in the 1920's

This study aims to investigate the smoking habit among women at the beginning of the 20th century, especially between 1910 and 1920, as a privileged way of contemplating different forms of building femininity. From a Cultural History perspective, the observation of cigarette usage by women might unveil relevant aspects of women's transformational process inside the society, shedding light on the balance between traditional moral codes and the desire of freedom and gender equality. In the accelerated era of metropolitan life, the spread of habits until then socially condemned rouses a reflection upon the construction of the 'modern women' archetype and its social role amid consumerism, industrialization, and mass media growth.