1914 Vermont State Fair Poster
From the Library of Congress (via Weetabix) comes this poster, advertising a “human curiosities” sideshow from the 1914 Vermont State Fair: Ruth the Acrobat.
Not only is the image interesting, so are the (many many) comments, ranging from the neutral:
it looks like she doesnt have bones
To the naughty:
This would give some interesting options in the bedroom. ;)
To the predictable:
This must have been before Atkins, then.
Where did that cheese burger go?!
To the somewhat inexplicable.
Of course the fat chick has to have ballet flats!! YUCKNESS!!!!
If someone could explain the ballet flats thing, that would be helpful. And speaking of interesting images, I also loved this Adipositivity swimming pool image (nudity, potentially NSFW) from a couple of days ago. I’m sad that their website doesn’t have prints for sale!
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Art, Fat Positive, Fatism, NSFW, Old Timey
YAAAYYY!!
I was quoted! My life now has meaning!
The only thing I can think of with the ballet flats is that fat women can’t wear heels? I know I have a harder time with it as I’ve gained weight, and so I wear flats much more than I did when younger/thinner. But I can’t tell if that’s a “hey, she’s definitely a gross fatty if she’s wearing flats” or “how stereotypical to show a fat woman in flats” sort of comment.
It was a bit of both, actually.
I wouldn’t think a thin “acrobat” or contortionist or whatever would be wearing heels, though, so that’s why that didn’t make sense, to me.
I LOVE THIS, i want it for my bedroom wall
I want to embroider a wall hanging of this! It would be the greatest excuse I have to learn about crayon tinting. I just do not have the patience for fill stitches. So freaking awesome!
I, too, want to embroider a wall hanging of this!
Or just buy a poster…
Don’t you love the typical responses? “This must have been before Atkins, then” – nevermind that Atkins actually floods your body with toxins and is extremely unhealthy. “Where did that cheese burger go” – a cheeseburger cooked right is actually a healthy, 350-400 calorie meal. Pisses me off when byotches like Meme Roth claim their negativity is motivated by their need to HELP people, and how they care about HEALTH and yadda-yadda… Time to come up with some new stereotypes. Srsly.
I’m a fat chick who wears ballet flats.
1 – I like ‘em
2 – They are easy to slip on and off
3 – They are comfortable
4 – They are classic
If you don’t like it, tough cookies. They were good enough for Audrey Hepburn, so they’ll be good enough for me.
As for the image, I saw it years ago in a book my grandmother had about collectibles. Apparently, the original is worth a lot of money.
PS – Those shoes look like standard acrobat costume fare.
I find that fat women tend to wear Ballet Flats because they weigh too much to wear heals and their other options are very limited. Also the fatter they are the less likely they are to wear heels and inverse is true as well.
Regarding the ballet flats comment and the idea that fat women wear them, maybe fat women who have learned to accept themselves are just more OK with not conforming to every harmful trend that comes along.
Though, of course, we are all forgetting that being a contortionist could not possibly imply a certain level of fitness.
Ugh…Ballet flats are now another thing I have to add to my list of “Things Rei doesn’t Wear because She Doesn’t Want to be the Sterotypical Fat Chick”?
Damnit! I love my ballet flats! They’re comfortable and good for all the walking I have to do.
Also…if I wear high heels I’m at least three inches taller than my husband! (which is the real reason that I rarely break out my patent leather four inch heel boots…that and I don’t go to the club anymore).
Maybe I’ll just deal with the sterotype and be the fat chick in ballet flats.
Oh!
Fer Chrissake’s!! Just wear some cute and comfortable sneaker or sandals ANYTHING but HIDEOUS ballet flats!!
They don’t look good on stick thin girls, either, u can see their feet bones!
Goodness. You have some issues with the ballet flats!
I can’t wear sneakers with nice dresses!
In conclusion, Iizfamous has issues. On we go.
I like ballet flats, because they look more put-together than sneakers or (shudder) Crocs with a lot of outfits. I’m fat, yes, but I also broke my right foot rather spectacularly at one point and wearing heels for any length of time is exceedingly problematic.
I don’t know why they’re stereotyped as a “fat thing” — I’ve seen all sorts of women wearing them.
I don’t wear ballet flats because I think they make my feet look funny. But they’re all my brother’s gf ever wears, and she rocks them. To each their own….
I’m with the “she doesn’t have bones” commenter. Every time I see acrobats and contortionists doing their thing, my mind explodes. (not really)
While I can certainly appreciate the desire to cast this image as a positive one denoting the flexibility and agility of this woman I must, as an art historian that is especially concerned with contemporary permutations of 19th century spectacle imagery, say that the very curiousness this image is addressing is not only that of her ability to contort her body, but also her body itself. To think that this is merely a celebration of Ruth’s extraordinarily elastic limbs would, in my opinion, be naive. Freak shows and sideshows were fascinating in there blatant othering of human bodies. Ruth’s “portrait” is a glaring example of this.
Just something I thought should be mentioned.
Edited to add: in my rush I made a cardinal grammatical mistake… “in THEIR blatant othering…” is what I meant.