Advertisements from the Duluth Public Library Nostalgic Newsstand Sale: Frigidaire

Ah, yes. When convincing MY husband to buy me a refrigerator, making the "Woman Next Door take notice" is definitely one of my shopping criteria. So much pleasure.

I am torn. The racism and sexism in some of these ads would be hilarious, were there not people still alive today who were alive when this was a legit sales pitch. It's within the formative memories of people I pass at the grocer.

Is there a single item, a lone topic, one relic of time itself that can be seen and even commented upon without it being run through your very clouded Guilt Glasses? Is anything at all safe from Willie Wokie?

The Knob is sounding awfully defensive. At a time when the rights of women and minorities are under assault, what's the problem with commenting on historic abuses? Old writing sometimes reflects the sexism and bigotry of the past, and present-day people-of-conscience often show concern for social justice when quoting it. So what? I understand the desire for flippant good fun, but if your rights to control your own body had been recently stripped away, would you still be so offended by a passing feminist comment? And how did a little-used term for social and racial justice become a derogatory catchword for the right?

Chester: can one read these ads uncomplicated by political or social values as they have changed over time? Yes. Read the original post. 

Want to discuss the images, including these questions of political or social values? Read the comments. 

It’s pretty uncomplicated. If you are asking “why are people allowed to discuss things I don’t want to discuss?” I’m not sure I can help you.

Pretty tough to read ads like these without commenting on the culture that produced them. That's half the fun.

Rejoining this "party" late- if that ad is from the 1920's like I think it is, no one is still alive that clearly remembers that time. But yes, those attitudes persisted for decades (and are still with us in some ways). I will still make fun of them, though. Humor focuses attention on topics and sometimes takes away some of the power of the bad stuff.