"I want a man who is my master!"
I love old Romance and "good girl" comics. Adore them. All my best friends know that. At any given comic convention, after I've hunted down the porn comics and 70s and 80s undergrounds, the next thing is to wheel and deal for some old Romance comics. I can't get enough.
I was reading through an issue of TORCHY from 1949 tonight, and I read this page and my eyes pretty much bugged right out of my head. I had to scan it for you guys. Check this out:
Haha. WOW! Who says the 1940s weren't as kinky as fuck? Who says it was a simpler, more innocent time? Bull.
You see a lot of that kinda stuff in them, but not usually that overt. Usually the lesson drummed into the head of the reader time and time again is: Girls, don't ever EVER question your husband when you get married! He's always right no matter what, and his wants and his career always come first! Even after you graduate college you'll still be a silly little girl who is ruled by emotion, and you must look to him for guidance. He is your rock. He is your new father-figure. Stay true to him.
One old Charleton issue of JUST MARRIED I have from the late 60s has a girls father (who is portrayed as calm and wise) telling his son-in-law (who is also portrayed as calm and wise) to put his new bride (his daughter!) over the ol' knee for a spanking when she gets too naggy. Then they toss both the daughter and the mother (who are depicted as hysterical, overbearing, and deserving of abuse) into the pool! WTF? Remember, the core audience for this story are 10 to 18 year old girls. A very interesting message for them, no?
My theory? I've probably mentioned this before, but I really think it was the all-male staff of these comics appointing themselves as teachers of "good values" for the young girls of America. The 60s suddenly had all these long-haired groovy drug addicts with their psychedelic rock music threatening to spirit their children away. I'm sure these suburban pipe-smokers saw themselves as valiantly fighting back by conditioning their budding young female audience with traditional middle-American male-first, female-last gender politics. In other words: STAY IN THE KITCHEN, LITTLE BITCHES.
Haha! it was a losing battle, wasn't it you old bastards?!
And according to this comic, apparently "apache dancing" is when you rough a chick up in public? Really? Haha, that is gonna be my new catch phrase. Brings new meaning to this classic:
I was reading through an issue of TORCHY from 1949 tonight, and I read this page and my eyes pretty much bugged right out of my head. I had to scan it for you guys. Check this out:
Haha. WOW! Who says the 1940s weren't as kinky as fuck? Who says it was a simpler, more innocent time? Bull.
You see a lot of that kinda stuff in them, but not usually that overt. Usually the lesson drummed into the head of the reader time and time again is: Girls, don't ever EVER question your husband when you get married! He's always right no matter what, and his wants and his career always come first! Even after you graduate college you'll still be a silly little girl who is ruled by emotion, and you must look to him for guidance. He is your rock. He is your new father-figure. Stay true to him.
One old Charleton issue of JUST MARRIED I have from the late 60s has a girls father (who is portrayed as calm and wise) telling his son-in-law (who is also portrayed as calm and wise) to put his new bride (his daughter!) over the ol' knee for a spanking when she gets too naggy. Then they toss both the daughter and the mother (who are depicted as hysterical, overbearing, and deserving of abuse) into the pool! WTF? Remember, the core audience for this story are 10 to 18 year old girls. A very interesting message for them, no?
My theory? I've probably mentioned this before, but I really think it was the all-male staff of these comics appointing themselves as teachers of "good values" for the young girls of America. The 60s suddenly had all these long-haired groovy drug addicts with their psychedelic rock music threatening to spirit their children away. I'm sure these suburban pipe-smokers saw themselves as valiantly fighting back by conditioning their budding young female audience with traditional middle-American male-first, female-last gender politics. In other words: STAY IN THE KITCHEN, LITTLE BITCHES.
Haha! it was a losing battle, wasn't it you old bastards?!
And according to this comic, apparently "apache dancing" is when you rough a chick up in public? Really? Haha, that is gonna be my new catch phrase. Brings new meaning to this classic:
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