Life — November 24, 1921 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Uses of Obesity" by Homer Croy This satirical essay mocks the commercialization of weight and appearance in early 20th-century America. Croy criticizes how obesity has become a "valuable literary asset"—writers exploit their own struggles with weight for magazine articles and book deals. He notes the irony that while magazines profit from weight-loss advice, obesity remains fashionable in high society. The cartoon above depicts a fashionable Parisian salon scene, illustrating the essay's opening: that excessive flesh was becoming a desirable status symbol among the wealthy elite. The dialogue references Paris fashion trends, suggesting Americans are imitating European excess. Croy argues that obesity has become simultaneously profitable to write about and socially acceptable to possess—a contradiction he finds absurd.