Special Collections offers a unique experience of looking at primary resources in a convenient area-Hillman Library. Despite the numerous times studying there and working at the library, this was my first time going to special collections. Primary sources are undoubtedly very important and offer vital information on the growth of the arts, both visually and internally. However, it is not that often that primary sources are genuinely interesting and eye-catching. When looking at the station full of comics, I was overwhelmed by the colors and art displayed on the covers. I was surprised to find that the comics were not what I typically thought them to be. I expected comics full of superheroes, but I found a wide range of love stories. This drew me in immediately and I found myself caught up in knowing whether Jennifer could find love again and that it wasn’t just a rebound, or how the poor bride finds out about her own sister kissing her soon to be husband. 

    Aside from the colors and art, the comics were bound together with paper that felt delicate but not fragile. The pages were thin, but I had less fears about tearing the pages accidentally. They both did not look aged or super worn, making me forget that these are in fact primary sources. It was interesting to see that for one of the ads, the mailing card was cut out. It reminded me once again what I was actually holding in my hands. Both of these comics must have been massed produced and sent through the mail to readers. I noted that the Just Married comic was 5 cents more expensive than the Falling in Love one. 

    For both of the comics, the intended audience was young girls. Having stories of finding love and heartbreak play on the stereotype of what girls must be interested in. Just Married focuses on the idea of dealing with heartbreak and if the main character’s blooming relationship is meaningful or just a means to cope with all the emotions. Ideas of what an ideal man is constantly expressed (strong, handsome, masculine), perpetuating gender norms. The women are often driven by finding relationships, their agency tied to this age-old belief that marrying a man is the peak of their existence. Falling in Love shows two sisters who are supposedly ‘different’. One is beautiful and perfect, the other is ‘ugly’ and living in the shadow of her sister. The idea that the one sister is apparently not as good as her sister is hilarious considering her appearance is still a skinny white woman.

    Besides the stories, the ads that were present in the magazines were also very clear in their goal to make readers insecure about their body and hair and buy into their products. There were products to get rid of pimples, longer nails, skinnier legs, skinnier waist, and wigs. Seeing these comics full of women who are beautiful, the ads help push young girls into becoming like the art. If Jennifer could find love and the sister could find a husband, why couldn’t they? All they had to do was buy into these products and they’d be just like them. I think this ties in perfectly with today, the idea that things like teas will make your stomach flat or that eating a gummy bear will magically give you luscious long hair is targeted to young girls to make them think that this is normal. Most of the time, the people posting these ads, just like the women in the comics, are not actually realistic in their appearance. The women in these comics are drawn to show an ideal that is often not expressed realistically. 

Something I noticed about these comics is the abundant whiteness. The lack of representation is not surprising, especially considering the times they were published, but it struck me how these ideals for beauty is often Eurocentric and Anglo-saxan features are considered to be the standard. It’s also not surprising that these ideas are still very present today, but there is now a push to recognize the lack of representation as well as destroying the idea that white women and men are the epitome of beauty that we all must strive for. Looking back, I retract my statement that these comics are for young girls. They’re for young white girls.

    In the context of this class, I think these comics show how young women are often targeted through ideas like love and their vulnerability with their bodies. Adolescence is a time of turmoil because our bodies are changing and seeing ads or comics full of women who look nothing like you can be damaging. Seeing ads telling you that you need to have skinnier legs or a wig to achieve a certain look is damaging. It is so easy to be influenced by what you see constantly, and not seeing someone who looks like you can affect self-esteem. It can change the way you see yourself and how you must change and alter not only your body, but who you are.  These primary sources show how long these ideals for women have been going on, as well as the idea of what women must be interested in. It also gives insight on the whiteness of representation, further damaging young girls of color who cannot find themselves in any form or medium. These comics capture what is still true for adolescent girls today, a constant reminder of what they must be and what is expected of them. 

Nicholas, Charles. Just Married.No. 87, Charlton Comics. 1958. 

Falling in Love. No.117, National Romance Group.

-Maham Ahmed