Life, 1928-10-05 · page 13 of 48
Life — October 5, 1928 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon satirizes dating advice and gender dynamics of the era. The illustration shows fashionably dressed women, with one's exaggerated leg emphasized—likely mocking contemporary fashion trends and the objectification of women's bodies. The dialogue presents a cynical male perspective: he claims to despise "trivial girls" and their tactics, asserting he's too intelligent to be manipulated. However, the woman's calm responses expose his hypocrisy—she's unmoved by his self-importance and simply arranges their next date without ceremony. The satire targets men who pride themselves on being "too clever" to fall for women's charms while simultaneously being easily manipulated by those same women. The joke undercuts masculine pretension about superior reasoning.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“I think that colts are just too comical—they seem to be all legs.” He Was Too Clever to Be Taken in by a Girl of That Type Sut: | hear you're the strong and indif'- rent type. | mean I've been dying to meet you because I've always craved to meet a man who was really indif’rent to girls. He: Well, I don’t know about that. Who told you I was? Sut: Oh, don’t try to get out of it, my éaar! I know you never give any girls any time because you think most girls are Just poisonous flirts and shimmy-fluffers, don't you? He: Well, | must say I don’t think very many girls are worth while. Su: Well, I think you're perfectly nght, and I admire you terribly for it be- cuse I think the whole trouble with girls towadays fs just that they're consecrated 0a friv'lous things and simoly haven't any Srious side to them, sort of, do you know vhat I mean? He: Yeah — that’s the whole point. You've hit it exactly. Sut: Well, I'm terribly glad you think so, my dear, because I've actually thought a lot about the situation and I honestly think if more men were like you and didn’t give those sort of trivial girls any time just because they make a dead set) for you and all, it would really improve conditions or something a tremendous Jot, don’t you think it would? He: You've certainly got the right dope. You see, it isn’t that I dislike wom- en or anything but I just don’t think the average type of girl nowadays is worth bothering with. Sue: Isn't it true, my dear? Actually, I think it’s the most revolting spectacle to see these septic females deliberately trying to make themselves atsractive to ev'ry man they meet just so’s they can annex another beau to their string, do you know what I mean? He: That's the type I loathe. Sue: Well, I actually think you're splendid because any girl who tried that game on you would soon see it wasn’t getting her anywhere, because I mean you're too clever to be taken in by a girl of that type, do you know what I mean? He: I certainly do and I'm certainly glad to find there's one girl who doesn’t pull that stuff. Let's get together and do something some evening before long, what do you say? Sue: Any time, my dear. I'm always free as the air! He: Well, how about Thursday night? Sue: Gosh, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm doing something every single night this week; but I tell you what—you call me up, will you? He (supinely): Yes, I certainly will. Lloyd Mayer. THE EXAMPLE “Wuy were you late to school this morning?” “We were playing Government, and I was Mayor Walker.” Capratn or Bustness Scoot Foot- BALL Team (on the five-yard line): Come on, men! Only one more installment and the game is ours! comicbooks.com