Week 4: The Comic Book

For this week, I read Date with Judy 1956 by Henry Boltinoff. Honestly, I didn't like it for numerous reasons. The depiction of women in this comic made me believe the author was male before I even found out Boltinoff was the author. The time period is obvious to understand from reading the story; it is a time where women were poorly treated and represented in media (more so than today). The way Boltinoff illustrates Judy and Tootsie—the only female characters in the plot—is obviously drawn to represent what women should ideally look like in 1956.

In this comic book, women are portrayed with unrealistically slim waists and large chests. Also, breasts don't interact with clothing like how Judy and Tootsie's drawings demonstrate. The only thing I can offer to this comic is criticism; there is nothing enjoyable about it to me. Not only are the illustrations unnatural, but the way the women act are also unrealistic. Men in this time period viewed women to easily let their temper go and be easily jealous or too focused on getting a guy. This perspective is represented all throughout Boltinoff's work; his view on women is pushed onto his two main female characters. I understand it is all just a gag, but the comic honestly did not age well. However, it is very interesting to get a peek into what life was like many years ago. The way society operated and thought was so different compared to now. It is really fascinating to see the change in how we view ourselves as people and what society deems appropriate to share in media.