Fat-ten-U-Foods
When I was in grad school, my friends and I would do a poetry workshop in a cafe where one of the tables was decorated with this poster from the 1890s. Start your week off right, and check it out.
So why suffer horrible tortures with inferior mechanical devices that artifically fatten? Don’t look like the poor unfortunate on the left above, who, shorn of her artificial inflationary devices & pads must, in the confines of her bedroom, through shame, try to cover her poor thin figure from the gaze of her beloved spouse…
Poor thin girls!
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advertising, Fat Positive, Old Timey
Oh, girl. Those skinny sisters took up Grecian dancing and got leading roles in local productions after they gained 39 pounds. And doesn’t the After picture look awesome, with the hot girl all striding into the horizon, her hair flowing out behind her and her belly leading the way? Love it.
While doing research for my thesis, I always enjoyed reading the tearful letters from “thin girls” who wrote in to Ladies’ Home Journal for weight gain advice.
Before the turn of the 20th century, fat was viewed as a symbol of wealth and beauty. Weighing in at more than 200 pounds, actress Lillian Russell was a reigning sex goddess, while slender Sarah Bernhardt was actually ostracized for her thinness.
Multiple reasons caused the shift from fat as a symbol of beauty into a sign of grotesqueness, but the rise of industrial cities, with its influx of immigration and increased technology, did the most to seal the deal. If anyone is interested in reading more, I recommend Fat History by Peter Stearn.
Very nice poster.
So, that was printed before they invented the Twinkie, right? I am seriously tempted to buy a print.
Rachel – What is your thesis about? It sounds interesting. Back in high school when I had to do research at the main library I’d always be sure to swing by the old magazine section and flip through the funny ads in the Seventeen magazines from the 60’s. It makes me wonder what our descendants will think of modern advertising.
PastaQueen: My thesis revolves around the social history and psychology of food in 20th century America, with particular emphasis on how such food-related trends have impacted women’s thoughts, attitudes, and actions.
My thesis is laid out in a decade-type approach – starting from the turn of the century in which fat was celebrated, to the 1920s when diet products began to emerge, as well as prefabricated clothing. During the WWII year, food was politicized as being patriotic and then you have all these great gadgets and new food products in the 1950s that encouraged women to spend even more time in the kitchen. I’ve completed most of my research throughout 1960, and am working on the rest.
People tend to look at me oddly when I first tell them what I’m researching, but when you really get into it, it’s incredibly fascinating. Food is the one common denominator, cutting across ethnicity and class lines and at its heart, it’s power, in its most tangible form.
I so love that ad and I am so buying a print!
Once again bfd give me lots to think about, laugh about and celebrate.
Also, I am so happy to see Rachel of The F Word leaving a comment here. I am huge fan.
Thank you!
I would have been SUCH a hit back then!
Rachel, I love your thesis very much.
so does this mean back then I would have been normal even hot??? nahhh lol
One of my close friends is from India originally. She is very slender. Her father keeps going on and on about how nobody will think he can afford to feed his family if she doesn’t fatten up.
Of course, he LOVES when I come to visit b/c then he can feed someone who actually likes to pack it away!