Judge — July 3, 1926 — page 21: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page collects vaudeville and theatrical jokes satirizing 1920s social attitudes about gender and fashion. **Top panel**: A woman discusses "checking bloomers" on the Rialto (Broadway theater district), noting men now wear hats indoors while women don't wear bloomers—inverting traditional gender norms around clothing and modesty. **Middle panels**: Jokes about a foolish man buying a bride at a garden party; a woman's appearance after a "horse ran away"; and a man kissing his wife despite not having "to" anymore—suggesting changing marital dynamics where affection is no longer obligatory. **Bottom panels**: References to forgetting someone, and a comment about the "North Pole" and "number"—likely theatrical references now unclear. The satire targets anxiety about rapidly shifting gender roles and fashion in the 1920s, when women's clothing (shorter dresses, no bloomers) and social behavior were liberalizing. The humor assumes readers shared conservative concerns about these changes.