In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

MALE VS. FEMALE
Heinrich Mann rather likes the fashion of bobbed hair: "Everyone
knows that bobbed hair is not only attractive, but also practical" (Mann,
300). If only it hadn't been invented in America! [see Center vs. Periphery,
Americans in Paris] The association between bobbed hair and the
image of the "American girl" triggers fears of cultural decay which
European intellectuals fight with brave attempts at self-persuasion: "It is
not yet completely clear whether we Europeans are doomed to head
toward the American kind of derailment. We have old habits that can be
revived. The younger generation, however, not only has a right to emphasize
the physical aspects of life, but fulfills, in doing so, the higher
mission of our time-and this is true above all for women. By playing
tennis, they help reinvigorate-as they ought to-a formerly dominant
continent. The women's task is an essentially romantic one, perfectly
worthy of them" (Mann, 309). Fashion-conscious women wear short
hair and short skirts because-at least according to the current interpretation-they
have come to share with men the burden of physical labor
and the joy of physical exercise. [see Present vs. Past] Girls look almost
like boys-and this hardly ever creates difficulties in making distinctions.
For better or for worse, the new closeness of the sexes reduces rather
than increases the tensions between them. In such an atmosphere, sexual
attraction can no longer be taken for granted, and it is indeed often
replaced by friendship. "These girls dress much the way boys do; their
hair is just as short. Since they also move and think alike, both sexes will
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