Judge — July 20, 1918 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cover satirizes romantic indecision through the daisy-plucking game "She Loves Me; She Loves Me Not." Twelve young women in 1918 fashions (short skirts, bobbed hair) are arranged in a flower pattern around a black circle, each in different poses suggesting various emotional states or romantic situations. The satire likely targets the social disruption of WWI-era dating customs. With many men overseas, women had increased independence and dating freedom, creating romantic uncertainty. The "perpetual smileage book" subtitle suggests women's changing social roles and expressions were subjects of masculine anxiety or mockery in this period. The design playfully presents feminine romantic ambivalence as a contemporary cultural phenomenon worthy of humorous treatment.