Life — September 6, 1929 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Tiller Girl" — Life Magazine, September 6, 1929 This cover depicts a young woman in 1920s athletic wear performing a golf swing, titled "The Tiller Girl." The image satirizes the modern "flapper" phenomenon—young women who embraced sports, shorter skirts, and independent lifestyles that shocked conservative society. The cartoon celebrates this cultural shift with humor. "Tiller" likely references John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s famous golf club, making the joke about women entering traditionally male-dominated recreational spaces. The energetic pose and athletic confidence embody the "New Woman" of the Jazz Age who rejected Victorian restrictions. Published just weeks before the 1929 stock market crash, this cover captures the optimistic, boundary-pushing spirit of the Roaring Twenties before economic collapse.