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Ancient Earth - Women's History

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An Analysis of "Life" Magazine dated November 17, 1958

Lexicoczar (All Hail!)

As you know, the recent discovery of a cache of "magazines" has provided our department with an opportunity to better understand the colorful but largely heretofore-baffling mid-20th century. The graphics and pictures contained in one of the "magazines" entitled "Life" appear to be particularly illustrative of the customs and values that were predominant during this period in Western history. Some sample illustrations, together with this analyst's interpretation of the contents of an issue of a "Life" "magazine" dated November 17, 1958 and their likely functions and purposes as they apply to female gender issues, are provided below.

General Description and Contents of "Magazine."

This copy of "Life" "magazine" is comparable to the other specimens discovered in "gar-[b?]ages" in recent years; this copy, though, is especially well preserved, due in large part to the manner in which it was stored. The owner of this "magazine" apparently believed it to be worthy of careful storage because it was wrapped in several layers of a transparent film-like substance which has been dubbed "plas-tic," pending further analyses of comparable contemporary references to this substance. This type of "magazine" appears to have been intended for an audience of readers with poor vision since it is oversized compared to other "magazines" from this era. Some of the photographs contained in this copy were in full color, while others were in various shades of black, grey and white (the latter are undergoing further analysis to determine their purpose).

Representative samples from the table of contents of this edition of "Life" are reproduced in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Representative Samples from Table of Contents from "Life" "Magazine" dated November 17, 1958.

Section

Description

Page Number

Cover (Shown in Figure 1 below)

On election night, as Nelson Rockefeller beams broadly at the returns that elected him governor of New York, Mrs. Rockefeller stands by dazed but happy

See pages 36-38F

The Week's Events

A shocked reaction to the size of the Democratic landslide

John XXIII receives his tiara; resplendent ceremonies and an eventful month

35

38

Photographic Essay

"Look at what we've got": Mr. And Mrs. Painter have a real reason to be proud.

Education

Coed's wiggle in a wrangle: Purdue majorette does a controversial half-time hula

63

Fashion

Fixed up with false lashes; new eye trick uses easily put on fakes

83

Science

The cat walks upside down; Navy suspends animals by magnets to study disorientation of space flight

A reproduction of the "magazine's" cover is provided in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Copy of "Life" "Magazine" dated November 17, 1958.

Analysis of Images and Content.

The description of the cover from the table of contents was particularly valuable for understanding this picture: "On election night, as Nelson Rockefeller beams broadly at the returns that elected him governor of New York, Mrs. Rockefeller stands by dazed but happy"; therefore, it can reasonably be assumed that the female portrayed above is the male's relative, but the precise relationship remains unclear. Based on evidence of the typical ages of the partners in marital relationships during this period in history, though, it is believed by this researcher that this female is the male's mother, although it should be pointed out that some other members of the staff have suggested it was his daughter, while still others believe it was his wife. Whatever their relationship, it is clear that the female is happy, but the meaning of "dazed" in this context also remains unknown, although it is believed, based on her expression, that it might mean intoxicated or "stoned."

"Mrs. Rockefeller's" attire is reflective of the other images of females found throughout this "magazine," with the notable exception of the "article" on "Education" entitled, "Coed's wiggle in a wrangle: Purdue majorette does a controversial half-time hula." The images in this educational segment at first confounded this researcher, but upon closer examination, it became clear that this female student was participating in some type of ritualistic dance, perhaps intended to arouse or otherwise inspire what appears to be the entire student body of her school in a large gathering place. Unlike her "co[d?]ed" counterparts, this female was attired in clothing made of some type of natural substance that appears to be grass-like; however, in spite of the uncomfortable nature of her garments, the female appeared to be well pleased to be singled out for this honor and her enthusiasm was evident. Reactions from the male attendees at this function suggest that this female, as well as her "majorette" counterparts, were held in high esteem.