Life, 1919-07-17 · page 16 of 40
Life — July 17, 1919 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains social satire typical of early 20th-century Life magazine. The main article defends "sensational bathing suits" against summer resort complaints, arguing that critics are simply unattractive people envious of youth and beauty. The satire mocks prudish moralists by suggesting their real grievance is that attractive people look good regardless of what they wear. The cartoon labeled "Anguish" jokes about a woman with a worn face, suggesting her suffering comes from squeezing size-four feet into size-two shoes—a dig at women's fashion vanity. The bottom cartoon shows a man taking out an unattractive woman to dinner, captioned as "unfortunate." "The Science of Mayinoting" appears to be nonsense satire defining "mayinoters" as affected, pretentious people who last about a decade before becoming obsolete—likely mocking a contemporary social trend or personality type Life's readers would recognize.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: Concerning Sensational Bathing Suits NUMBER of summer resorts have started the annual outcry against sensational bathing suits. Almost everybody sympathizes deeply with the people who start these outcries, for they are always people who don’t look well in bathing suits and wouldn't look well in bath- ing suits fashioned by the craftiest of Pari- sian tailors. And goodness knows that it is a source of deep regret to everyone that all bathers don’t look well in’ bathing suits, mae ometimes it is very hard to look at some of the spectacles which appear on beaches and not froth at the mouth with anguish, On the other hand, the people who wear the sensational bathing suits are always very to look at, and very restful to the eye. They are easy to Jook at and restful to the eye, no matter what they wear. And the chances are a thousand to one that any bathing suits which they put on would seem sensational to some- body. That is the chief reason why everybody sympathizes. so deeply with the people who raise a rumpus about sen- sational bathing suits. What these people are really fight- ing is youth and beauty and vivacity and charm, Youth and beauty and vivacity and charm will never cease to antagonize persons who are unattractive and stodgy and prudish and uninteresting and old. It is a very. pitiful thing to see persons confess their status by warring against sensational bathing suits. Anguish “QHE has such an interesting face. She looks like a woman who has lived and suffered.” “T fancy she has. For years she has managed to squeeze a number four foot into a number two shoe.” Bicotey is the crusade of the dead against the living. yyy yop THE STILL SMALL VOICE Uf Wy Ze. Uff YY Uys Pi, The Science of Mayinoting )] VIMEAY AYINOTING first came into yl i] vogue about the year 1org. Since . then it has grown so that it extends over a large part of Europe and Asia Mayinoters are never seen in groups or pairs, but when alone are usually attended by one or more satellites When mayinoting they are silent and thoughtful. At other times they utter lofty sounds which often convey an appearance of practical reality. Mayinoters are not hardy. They last from eight to ten years, gradually be- SASSER coming obsolete. Mayinoting, however, can be prac- ticed by anyone for a short time with considerable success. While matricu- lating it is only necessary to remove UNFORTUNATELY THIS IS THE GIRL HE LS GOING TO TAKE OUT TO DINNER from one's vicinity people with a sus- AND THE THEATRE THIS EVENING picion of intelligence. comicbooks.