The controversial "bob" Hair length and the Feminine Mystique

Times and fashions do change and fashion trends at one time could even lose you your job. A woman's hair, up until the flapper era, had been considered her "glory" - the longer and thicker the better. In the 1920s, however, the fashion changed drastically and the "bob" was now the thing. A "bob" was a short blunt cut that actually showed the young woman's neck - although when you think about it, upswept hairdo's had always exposed the neck. The older generation was not impressed and did their best to curtail such goings on.

In the 20s, young nurses in Calgary were swept up by the fashion and quickly discovered the "moral constraints" that nurses were expected to live with. Two students at the Holy Cross Hospital in Calgary went out on a limb and had their hair bobbed. They were immediately dismissed from the school. This precipitated a crisis. In a show of solidarity several of their classmates also cut their hair short and nineteen more young ladies were asked to leave the nursing profession.