Life, 1907-08-15 · page 19 of 28
Life — August 15, 1907 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical essay with an accompanying cartoon titled "Without Prejudice." The piece ironically defends overweight women against society's criticism of their weight. The cartoon shows a well-dressed man on a bench encountering two women with a baby carriage—presumably a "fat girl" and her companion. The essay's satire operates through exaggeration: it argues fat girls are superior romantic partners because they're content, require less anxious care than thin girls, and could literally sustain a man if stranded on a desert island. Thin girls, by contrast, are portrayed as neurotic eaters who constantly demand food and attention. The humor lies in inverting conventional 1907 beauty standards (which favored thinness) by presenting absurdist "practical" reasons to prefer heavier women. The title "Without Prejudice" signals the ironic reversal—the author claims objectivity while making deliberately ridiculous arguments about women's bodies as economic resources. This reflects early 20th-century attitudes toward female bodies and courtship, presented through exaggerated logic.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Copyrtdhe, 1007, by Tare Fevusemes Convey WITHOUT PREJUDICE Fat Girls HERE is a class of ladies whose constant occupation in life is trying to reduce their flesh by every method, secret or otherwise, known to human invention. And if one wishes to learn how far human scorn can reach, and just how much wrath a single feminine cye can hold, he has but to allude, in the presence of one of these ladies, to the fact that she is gaining in weight. Why is avoirdupois considered so reprehensible, and why should a young lady of otherwise charming disposition and refined temperament be looked upon with so much sym- pathy if she tip the scale at more than the average for her weight ? There are, of course, certain advantages in thin girls which must not be overlooked. For one thing, a thin girl can be easily lifted up and placed on one’s lap and held thus for hours without personal inconvenience, when a fat girl would be simply unendurable to any one but a professional strong man. But, admitting this, every other point is against her. Thin girls are notorious eaters. Not only do they absorb enormous quantities of expensive food, but one feels a per- sonal responsibility about seeing that they are well fed. The anxiety expended over a thin girl for fear she will get too thin is a great strain on any lover. The fat girl, on the other hand, never arouses the slightest thought of uneasiness. She eats sparingly, and indeed one has the comfortable feeling that if cast away with her on a desert island, she could subsist upon herself for an indefinite time; or at any rate until relief came. In contrast, imagine the predicament of any man cast away on a desert island with a thin girl. She would be constantly calling for food, even when there was none obtainable, thus turning a téte-A-téte with every other possibility of enjoyment into a constant irritation. Thin girls are almost sure to be anxious about themselves. They have been brought up to be afraid of sitting in a draught, and as their nervous systems are not so thoroughly covered, they are always more irritable. A thin girl who has a good disposition has acquired it only by main force; one never knows when it is going back on her—it requires a constant effort to keep it up. On the other hand, did any one ever see a genuine fat girl with a peevish disposition? There is, indeed, no better bul- wark against melancholy Unless he has actually tried it, nobody knows the real com fort, the solid sense of security, the quiet tranquillity of joy that comes by loving a fat girl. In the first place, one has the delight of knowing that he is getting good measure—that, if anything, he has more than his share; then, again, the very fact that you have had the good sense and the fine discrimina- tion to select her in preference to any girl who is thin gives you an added feeling of comradeship, And, as you nestle beside her and make a manly effort to put your arm around her waist, you realize for the first time just how much you have to be thankful for. T. L, M. comicbooks.com