Judge, 1916-07-22 · page 7 of 28
Judge — July 22, 1916 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes changing attitudes about women's swimwear and propriety in the early 20th century. A father objects to his daughters' "indecently short" beach dresses—likely referring to the gradually shorter hemlines that scandalized conservative society. The satire lies in the father's contradictory "good judgment": he shames his daughters for their modern beach attire while simultaneously offering to teach "that Thornhill person" (apparently a woman) to swim, which would require close physical contact and informal interaction—behavior arguably more improper than wearing shorter dresses. The cartoon mocks Victorian hypocrisy about morality and decorum, suggesting the father's objections are inconsistent or self-serving rather than genuinely principled.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HIS GOOD JUDGMENT “Mother, just look! Father claims our dresses are indecently short and that he’s ashamed to be seen on the beach with us, and now he’s promised to teach that Thornhill person to swim!”