Cambridge Companion to Women in Music Since 1900

"At the start of the twentieth century throughout much of the United States and Europe, fuelled by the enduring image of the 'new woman', 'femme nouvelle', and 'neuer Frau', there were wide-spread media discussions about women's roles in society and culture - what these roles were and what they should be. The debates took place as more and more women of all classes and nationalities, refusing any longer to accept subservient, domestic positions, were moving into many different areas of public life with increasing confidence, independence, and determination"--