Judge — February 9, 1924 — page 18: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine satirical cartoon subverts the nursery rhyme "What Are Little Boys Made Of?" (snips and snails and puppy dog tails). The humor contrasts boys' supposedly natural composition with girls' construction from artificial components. The illustration shows a fashionably dressed woman with fur stole and cigarette alongside a figure in underwear and heels, labeled with foundation garments (brassiere, satin girdles) and cosmetics (lipstick). The satire targets 1920s-era concerns about women's "artificiality"—mocking both the elaborate undergarments required by fashion and the growing use of makeup. The phrase "start at the foundation" plays on construction language, suggesting women are entirely manufactured rather than naturally formed. This reflects period anxieties about changing gender roles and women's increasing visibility in public life through fashion and cosmetics consumption.