Life, 1927-03-10 · page 7 of 38
Life — March 10, 1927 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page satirizes 1920s social customs, specifically the Princeton Prom controversy. The left article criticizes Princeton University's attempt to cancel their prom due to concerns about dancers' physical contact and "roughness." The satire mocks Princeton men for being overly concerned with propriety while simultaneously suggesting the real issue is controlling young women's behavior. The right cartoon "The Fly" depicts a woman with an umbrella protecting children from a man—likely satirizing anxieties about male predation or improper advances at dances. The dialogue about "good time" and never sitting out suggests commentary on courtship rituals and changing social freedoms. The overall theme critiques upper-class institutions' attempts to regulate youth behavior and dancing during the sexually liberated Jazz Age, portraying such efforts as hypocritical or futile.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Lifre No Princeton Prom? (Extract from a sensational article which, it is understood, will shortly appear in a five-cent weekly magazine.) HE break has to come. It cannot longer be postponed. The Prince- ton Prom, which has been set for March 18- will not be held, be- cause there will be no girls to at- tend it. And there will be no girls because there is a limit to rough dancing, and that limit has been reached. In short, re- Policeman's Son: vores 1 STRIPE FOR EVERY YEAR 1 200, DAD? lations between Princeton and the younger dancing set have been sev- ered. Miss ——, sister of a well-known Harvard football player, has made affidavit that at the last Princeton Prom she and two girl friends, both students of Radcliffe, had their eyes gouged during the Charleston, and that Miss: — bore the imprint of a seal ring on her left shoulder for a week. Charges of “kneeing’ have also been made. As for stepping on their partners’ feet, it is alleged that Princeton men wear spikes on their dancin pumps and do it deliber- ately, when the floor committee isn’t looking. Lest any one in ness is a zine that rough- new trait in Princeton Prom circles, the testimony of Miss —, Harvard Annex, ‘93, is intro- duced. Missy —— in her deposition says: “Thirty odd years ago Princeton dancers were rough. Those were the days of the wasp waist and tight lac- ing, and it was no uncommon thing for a girl to need aromatic ammonia A SERVICE BEEN AT THE ity after a Princeton waltz or two-step. Even in the square dances the risk one took was great. I myself with three other young ladies sustained ! severe during the ‘ladies-in-the-center’ figure of the old lancers.” It is understood that the Princeton Club of New York,awake at last to the crisis, is striv- ing desperately to heal the breach. It has been suggested that an offi- referee be named for the Prom who shall have power to stop the music and force a break- away in any clinch he sees. Princeton —up- perclassmen deny all allega- tions of brutal- “Dancing’s rough game,” said a member of the Prom Committee, “and with the rules as they are it cannot be otherwise. But to say that Princeton men knee or gouge their guests is outrageous. Princeton stands for hard, clean da Arthur HE bruises Unjust Justice Or, No One'll Take Care of the Boys Like Ma AS P 2: Whatsa ter, Kid? Star Kio: Worried. to me there ain't no justice like there was in the good old days, Pete. As Pete: Howzat? Stan Kip: Well, ‘ar I serves a life sen- an’ I no more ’n gets out till I gets sent up two months ago for five years. By all rights I oughter been out three weeks ago. The Plot Foiled H ried to raise my pay, he did, That tricky boss of mine. His treachery could not be hid; 1 understood his line. I met this tempter eve to eve And gave him for his smile a frown, He knows full well how hard I try ‘To keep my income taxes down, Strickland Gillilan. The Fly OPEN-MINDED OLD LADY: Well, now, if you ask me, I think short dresses are nothing but yood common sense. Fraprer: Gosh, somebody has to spoil everything! U MAVE A GOOD TIME AT THE “NO, I NEVER SAT OUT A ONE.’ comicbooks.com