Final answer:
Flappers were young women in the 1920s who challenged traditional gender roles and expressed their independence through fashion and behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
Flappers were young women in the 1920s who sought to express their independence from traditional gender roles. They embraced new fashions and lifestyles, such as wearing shorter and looser dresses, applying darker makeup, and engaging in behaviors previously considered 'unfeminine,' like smoking. Flappers challenged Victorian notions of femininity and sought to assert their own views about sexuality.