Sunday, February 23, 2020
Friday, February 21, 2020
Male and Female Hair Trends in 1963
This article follows up my previous article Johnny Castle's hair was too long.
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In 2017, the scientific journal Transactions of Computational Imaging published a scientific article titled A Century of Portraits: A Visual Historical Record of American High School Yearbooks. The article explains that computer analysis of high-school yearbook photographs found that the size of young men's and young women's hairdos fluctuated over time from 1930 to 2013.
The scientific article was explained for ordinary readers on The Pudding website, in an article titled The Big Data of Big Hair, written by Elle O'Brien. Her article included an interactive graph, from which I have taken a screen shot that highlights the year 1963.
The above graph shows that in 1963 the sizes of men's and women's hair were just beginning a steep rise -- especially the size of men's hair.
Below is a YouTube video about the scientific article.
Below are two samples from 1963 high-school yearbooks.
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In the below graph I have highlighted the year 1958.
In 1958, the size of women's hair began a rise that lasted 28 years -- until 1986.
Meanwhile, the size of men's hair continued a decline that lasted until 1960. Then the size of men's hair rose steeply until 1979.
In other words, the size of women's hair began to rise in 1958, and the size of men's hair began to rise two years later, in 1960. Because the size of women's hair already had begun to rise, the size of men's hair eventually was allowed to rise too.
Then when the size of men's hair rose steeply during the 1960s and 1970s, the size of women's hair continued to rise even higher. Women display their femininity by displaying their differences from men -- and vice versa.
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As I pointed out in my previous article, before 1964 men's hair was considered to be too long -- too feminine, too sissy -- if it covered any of their foreheads, ears or collars. The Beatles violated those rules.
Johnny Castle likewise violated those rules. In 1963, everyone at Kellerman's resort would have noticed that his hair was too long -- too feminine, almost sissy. However, nobody in the 1987 movie audience noticed that Johnny's hair was too long.
By 1987, the awareness and memory of the rules about men's hair in 1963 had disappeared.
=======
In 2017, the scientific journal Transactions of Computational Imaging published a scientific article titled A Century of Portraits: A Visual Historical Record of American High School Yearbooks. The article explains that computer analysis of high-school yearbook photographs found that the size of young men's and young women's hairdos fluctuated over time from 1930 to 2013.
The scientific article was explained for ordinary readers on The Pudding website, in an article titled The Big Data of Big Hair, written by Elle O'Brien. Her article included an interactive graph, from which I have taken a screen shot that highlights the year 1963.
 |
| The median size of men's and women's hair -- 1930 - 2013 (highlighting 1963) (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
Below is a YouTube video about the scientific article.
=======
In the below graph I have highlighted the year 1958.
 |
| The median size of men's and women's hair -- 1930 - 2013 (highlighting 1958) (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
Meanwhile, the size of men's hair continued a decline that lasted until 1960. Then the size of men's hair rose steeply until 1979.
In other words, the size of women's hair began to rise in 1958, and the size of men's hair began to rise two years later, in 1960. Because the size of women's hair already had begun to rise, the size of men's hair eventually was allowed to rise too.
Then when the size of men's hair rose steeply during the 1960s and 1970s, the size of women's hair continued to rise even higher. Women display their femininity by displaying their differences from men -- and vice versa.
=======
As I pointed out in my previous article, before 1964 men's hair was considered to be too long -- too feminine, too sissy -- if it covered any of their foreheads, ears or collars. The Beatles violated those rules.
Johnny Castle likewise violated those rules. In 1963, everyone at Kellerman's resort would have noticed that his hair was too long -- too feminine, almost sissy. However, nobody in the 1987 movie audience noticed that Johnny's hair was too long.
 |
| The median size of men's and women's hair -- 1930 - 2013 (highlighting 1987) (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Michael Glickman
Michael Glickman, thanks for your many comments. I might respond to some of them.
If you want to submit an article about the movie, contact me at ...
MikeSylwester@gmail.com
If you want to submit an article about the movie, contact me at ...
MikeSylwester@gmail.com
Monday, February 10, 2020
The Development of Lisa's Political Rebellion -- Part 8
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
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Lisa Houseman has been socially conservative. She expects to prosper and to enjoy her life by complying with her society's guidance and conventions. She will create beauty and also will do her fair share to support society's disadvantaged people.
When the Dirty Dancing story begins in August 1963, nineteen-year-old Lisa has attended a women's college for two years. She has been majoring in Art History (or some similar field), but she does not intend to begin a professional career after she finishes her four-year study. Rather, she intends to marry a professional man, a couple years older, soon after she graduates. She will stay at home and raise their children through at least their high-school years. Then maybe she will begin a career in the arts.
Lisa intends to marry someone like Robbie Gould, who already has graduated from college and is beginning to attend medical school. After she marries him, she soon will become pregnant. Their first years of marriage will be difficult, as he completes his internship and then begins his medical practice, while she becomes a helpmate, housewife and mother.
Lisa's husband will prosper as a doctor, thanks significantly to her support. He will not have to spend much time helping to take care of the household and children. She will socialize with his colleagues' families. She will host parties in their home, which she will make beautiful. His career will rise above his basic medical practice -- into medical administration, teaching and leadership.
When Lisa eventually does begin her career in the arts, she will not do so because of the earnings. Rather, she will do so in order to contribute to the community's appreciation of the arts. She might manage a gallery or serve on an arts council.
======
This is how nineteen-year-old Lisa, in 1963, sees her future. She is following her mother's example, which she has observed and absorbed. Lisa knows how a doctor's wife behaves, socializes and supports. She knows that a doctor's wife too eventually will reap various rewards -- happiness, love, security, status, wealth.
Lisa's political thinking fits within her acceptance of the social order. She wants to the government to keep society stable. Society should change and improve, but should do so carefully and deliberately.
=======
When Lisa meets Robbie at Kellerman's in August 1963, she thinks immediately that he might be "The One". She wants to advance their relationship romantically. Lisa is willing and eager to become gradually more sexual with Robbie, in accordance with the going-steady rules. She foresees that during her three-week vacation at Kellerman's, she and Robbie will advance through sexual "second base".
If their relationship continued after the vacation, then Lisa and Robbie would meet occasionally and enjoy "third base" regularly. Soon she would begin to please his naked penis orally.
As their sexual relationship progressed, Lisa and Robbie would become publicly engaged. They would set a wedding date. They would begin to enjoy sexual intercourse with condoms.
Lisa looks forward to becoming orgasmic. She never has masturbated or experienced orgasm. She foresees that during their time on "third base", he would enjoy many orgasms with her. Lisa would experience a different sexual pleasure -- tingling and arousal -- that would linger hours and even days after her sexual encounters with Robbie.
Lisa would be sincerely satisfied with this sexual progress that she foresees. Sexually, Robbie would be the man, and Lisa would be the woman. They would complement each other. During their life-time marriage, she would experience plenty of sexual pleasure and would feel satisfied, happy and fulfilled.
=====
Lisa imagines that Robbie too would comply with and enjoy the going-steady rules, which are considered to be fair and effective.
Lisa is dismayed and shocked when Robbie, already on their sixth day together, tries to advance to "third base" when they meet at the golf course at night. Furthermore, Robbie is aggressive, rude and insulting while doing so. Lisa bursts into tears, becomes hysterical, and rushes away from the golf course.
Lisa is far away from her girlfriends and cannot consult with any of them about the situation. Lisa certainly cannot tell her mother explicitly about Robbie's actions, because Lisa feares that her mother would advise her to terminate her relationship with Robbie.
When Lisa calms down during the following day, she decides that she would try to salvage her relationship with Robbie. She recognizes that he was a couple years older and more experienced. She recognizes that she herself should act more mature by discussing the golf-course incident with him frankly.
She assures him she was not a prude. She looks forward to becoming much more sexual with him soon. However, she still is a virgin and so wants to advance more slowly than he apparently wants to advance. She is not a slut. He should treat her respectfully.
Lisa does have such a conversation with Robbie, and it succeeds. Robbie apologizes and promises to be more patient with her. He explains that her beauty caused him to lose control of himself. He asks her to "go steady" with him.
======
After they have discussed their sexual relationship, Lisa changes the subject. She asks him about his non-medical interests. Did he play any musical instruments? Did he play any sports? Did he like to visit art museums? Did he read much?
Robbie tells Lisa about the best book he ever had read -- Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. Immediately, Lisa genuinely feels intrigued, because Robbie tells her the novel is about a talented architect's struggle to design buildings that featured Modern Architecture. Lisa never has imagined that there was a novel about a struggling architect. Lisa tells Robbie about her own passionate interest in Modern Art and Modern Architecture. Robbie tells Lisa that the novel also explains a lot of philosophy.
Lisa tells Robbie that she would love to read that novel. Robbie said that he happens to have the novel in his room and that he will lend it to her. The only problem is that he had annotated the novel heavily -- underlining words, marking paragraphs and writing notes in the margins. Lisa is delighted; she wants to look at Robbie's annotations!
Soon after that conversation, Robbie brings the book to Lisa. She is dismayed by the book's size. She never has read such a long book. However, she is eager to read all of it and to discuss it with Robbie.
======
Continued in Part 9
======
=======
Lisa Houseman has been socially conservative. She expects to prosper and to enjoy her life by complying with her society's guidance and conventions. She will create beauty and also will do her fair share to support society's disadvantaged people.
When the Dirty Dancing story begins in August 1963, nineteen-year-old Lisa has attended a women's college for two years. She has been majoring in Art History (or some similar field), but she does not intend to begin a professional career after she finishes her four-year study. Rather, she intends to marry a professional man, a couple years older, soon after she graduates. She will stay at home and raise their children through at least their high-school years. Then maybe she will begin a career in the arts.
Lisa intends to marry someone like Robbie Gould, who already has graduated from college and is beginning to attend medical school. After she marries him, she soon will become pregnant. Their first years of marriage will be difficult, as he completes his internship and then begins his medical practice, while she becomes a helpmate, housewife and mother.
Lisa's husband will prosper as a doctor, thanks significantly to her support. He will not have to spend much time helping to take care of the household and children. She will socialize with his colleagues' families. She will host parties in their home, which she will make beautiful. His career will rise above his basic medical practice -- into medical administration, teaching and leadership.
When Lisa eventually does begin her career in the arts, she will not do so because of the earnings. Rather, she will do so in order to contribute to the community's appreciation of the arts. She might manage a gallery or serve on an arts council.
======
This is how nineteen-year-old Lisa, in 1963, sees her future. She is following her mother's example, which she has observed and absorbed. Lisa knows how a doctor's wife behaves, socializes and supports. She knows that a doctor's wife too eventually will reap various rewards -- happiness, love, security, status, wealth.
Lisa's political thinking fits within her acceptance of the social order. She wants to the government to keep society stable. Society should change and improve, but should do so carefully and deliberately.
=======
When Lisa meets Robbie at Kellerman's in August 1963, she thinks immediately that he might be "The One". She wants to advance their relationship romantically. Lisa is willing and eager to become gradually more sexual with Robbie, in accordance with the going-steady rules. She foresees that during her three-week vacation at Kellerman's, she and Robbie will advance through sexual "second base".
First base = kissing, including open-mouth (or French) kissingThey might, in the vacation's last few days, even reach "third base". They would pet each other's clothed crotches, and he would ultimately "dry-hump" her and would orgasm in his pants. Lisa gladly would allow Robbie to do so during the last days of her three-week vacation.
Second base = petting above the waist, including touching, feeling, and fondling the chest, breasts, and nipples
Third base = petting or orally stimulating below the waist, including touching, feeling, and fondling the vagina, clitoris, penis, or testicles
Home base = sexual intercourse
If their relationship continued after the vacation, then Lisa and Robbie would meet occasionally and enjoy "third base" regularly. Soon she would begin to please his naked penis orally.
As their sexual relationship progressed, Lisa and Robbie would become publicly engaged. They would set a wedding date. They would begin to enjoy sexual intercourse with condoms.
Lisa looks forward to becoming orgasmic. She never has masturbated or experienced orgasm. She foresees that during their time on "third base", he would enjoy many orgasms with her. Lisa would experience a different sexual pleasure -- tingling and arousal -- that would linger hours and even days after her sexual encounters with Robbie.
Lisa would be sincerely satisfied with this sexual progress that she foresees. Sexually, Robbie would be the man, and Lisa would be the woman. They would complement each other. During their life-time marriage, she would experience plenty of sexual pleasure and would feel satisfied, happy and fulfilled.
=====
Lisa imagines that Robbie too would comply with and enjoy the going-steady rules, which are considered to be fair and effective.
Lisa is dismayed and shocked when Robbie, already on their sixth day together, tries to advance to "third base" when they meet at the golf course at night. Furthermore, Robbie is aggressive, rude and insulting while doing so. Lisa bursts into tears, becomes hysterical, and rushes away from the golf course.
Lisa is far away from her girlfriends and cannot consult with any of them about the situation. Lisa certainly cannot tell her mother explicitly about Robbie's actions, because Lisa feares that her mother would advise her to terminate her relationship with Robbie.
When Lisa calms down during the following day, she decides that she would try to salvage her relationship with Robbie. She recognizes that he was a couple years older and more experienced. She recognizes that she herself should act more mature by discussing the golf-course incident with him frankly.
She assures him she was not a prude. She looks forward to becoming much more sexual with him soon. However, she still is a virgin and so wants to advance more slowly than he apparently wants to advance. She is not a slut. He should treat her respectfully.
Lisa does have such a conversation with Robbie, and it succeeds. Robbie apologizes and promises to be more patient with her. He explains that her beauty caused him to lose control of himself. He asks her to "go steady" with him.
======
After they have discussed their sexual relationship, Lisa changes the subject. She asks him about his non-medical interests. Did he play any musical instruments? Did he play any sports? Did he like to visit art museums? Did he read much?
Robbie tells Lisa about the best book he ever had read -- Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. Immediately, Lisa genuinely feels intrigued, because Robbie tells her the novel is about a talented architect's struggle to design buildings that featured Modern Architecture. Lisa never has imagined that there was a novel about a struggling architect. Lisa tells Robbie about her own passionate interest in Modern Art and Modern Architecture. Robbie tells Lisa that the novel also explains a lot of philosophy.
Lisa tells Robbie that she would love to read that novel. Robbie said that he happens to have the novel in his room and that he will lend it to her. The only problem is that he had annotated the novel heavily -- underlining words, marking paragraphs and writing notes in the margins. Lisa is delighted; she wants to look at Robbie's annotations!
Soon after that conversation, Robbie brings the book to Lisa. She is dismayed by the book's size. She never has read such a long book. However, she is eager to read all of it and to discuss it with Robbie.
======
Continued in Part 9
======
Sunday, February 9, 2020
The Houseman Daughters' Use of Sanitary Napkins
In the July 1986 script, in the opening scene inside the Houseman family's car, Lisa is using "a Kotex sanitary napkin" to control her hair.
Later in that car scene, Lisa and Baby throw the sanitary napkin around.
This opening scene was filmed thus with a sanitary napkin, but was replaced by a scene without the sanitary napkin. Lisa does not wear a sanitary napkin in her hair, but she throws it at Baby, who throws it back at Lisa.
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I did not find a good picture of a sanitary pad manufactured by the Kotex company in the early 1960s, but I did find the below picture of a pad manufactured by the Modess company.
The script mentions "a garter belt", and that object might have been a garter belt that went around the woman's waist and held up the sanitary napkin inside her panties.
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Tampons were available in 1963, but the insertion tube was relatively wide. Many virgins felt that inserting such a wide tube into the vaginas spoiled their vaginal virginity.
Such virgins therefore continued to use sanitary napkins; they did not switch to tampons.
That was basically the situation in 1963 and was the reason why the Houseman daughters continued to use sanitary napkins.
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In 1966 -- three years after the Dirty Dancing story -- the Kotams company introduced a new tampon that was inserted by means of a stick. This inserted contraption was significantly narrower than the previous tube. The stick tampon was packaged in an envelope that compared favorably the narrower stick inserter to the wider tube inserter.
The narrower stick surely persuaded many virgins to switch from sanitary napkins to tampons.
However, this Kotams product was rather complicated, and the sticks bent easily when women carried spare tampons of this type around in their purses.
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Screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein's original intention to show sanitary napkins (and a garter belt?) in the opening scene was an interesting prop for the movie's period setting. However, I think this sanitary napkin indeed should have been removed from the movie. Most of the movie's audience in 1987 and afterwards would not have recognized the sanitary napkin or understood its connotations.
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LISA HOUSEMAN, a pretty nineteen year old girl, is peering in a hand mirror, curling her eyelashes. Around her head is a Kotex sanitary napkin with her bangs smoothed over it, held in place by setting lotion.
She's humming along happily to the bouncy rhythm. The back seat is strewn with her cosmetic equipment -- hair rollers, lipsticks, hair brushes, blusher, setting lotion, a garter belt, several mirrors to see front and back.
 |
| Page 2 of the July 1986 Script (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
Lisa is carefully lifting her fluffed bang off the sanitary pad and singing along with the radio. ....
Baby stares at Lisa thoughtfully. The sanitary pad lands in Baby's lap.
 |
| Page 4 of the July 1986 Script (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
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I did not find a good picture of a sanitary pad manufactured by the Kotex company in the early 1960s, but I did find the below picture of a pad manufactured by the Modess company.
 |
| Sanitary napkin, manufactured by Modess in the early 1960s (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
 |
| Garter belt for sanitary napkin |
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| Garter belt for sanitary napkin |
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| Garter belt for sanitary napkin |
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Tampons were available in 1963, but the insertion tube was relatively wide. Many virgins felt that inserting such a wide tube into the vaginas spoiled their vaginal virginity.
 |
| Kotam tampon insertion tube, 1955 |
That was basically the situation in 1963 and was the reason why the Houseman daughters continued to use sanitary napkins.
=======
In 1966 -- three years after the Dirty Dancing story -- the Kotams company introduced a new tampon that was inserted by means of a stick. This inserted contraption was significantly narrower than the previous tube. The stick tampon was packaged in an envelope that compared favorably the narrower stick inserter to the wider tube inserter.
 |
| Stick inserter pictured on the envelope's left side. Tube inserter pictured on the envelope's right side. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
 |
| Advertisement illustrating the narrow insertion stick |
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| Instructions for the Kotams stick-insertion tampon (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
Screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein's original intention to show sanitary napkins (and a garter belt?) in the opening scene was an interesting prop for the movie's period setting. However, I think this sanitary napkin indeed should have been removed from the movie. Most of the movie's audience in 1987 and afterwards would not have recognized the sanitary napkin or understood its connotations.
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Episodes 1 - 3
YouTube will remove these videos soon. If you still haven't watched them, watch them now.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Interruption of This Blog
I suffered a heart attack on January 27 and so have been in a hospital until today, February 4.
I expect that I will need several more days to catch up with various requirements in my life, before I resume blogging.
In the meantime, you might find something to read or watch from the following lists.
=========
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
I expect that I will need several more days to catch up with various requirements in my life, before I resume blogging.
In the meantime, you might find something to read or watch from the following lists.
=========
Part 1
Previous Milestones=========
The Movie's Genre
The Movie's Dance Theme
The Movie's Morality Theme
The Movie's Daughter-Father Theme
The Movie's Jewish Subtext
The Story's Chronology
The Producer Linda Gottlieb
The Screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein
The Development of the Story and Script
The Actor Patrick Swayze
The Actress Jennifer Grey
The Actress Cynthia Rhodes
The Choreographer Kenny Ortega
Part 2
Baby Houseman=========
Baby Houseman and Lisa Houseman
Johnny Castle
Baby Houseman and Johnny Castle
Johnny Castle and Jake Houseman
Baby Houseman and Neil Kellerman
Baby Houseman and Neil Kellerman
Lisa Houseman and Robbie Gould
Penny Johnson
Baby Houseman and Penny Johnson
Penny Johnson and Robbie Gould
Billy Kostecki
Vivian Pressman
Miscellaneous Characters
The Movie's Locations
The Movie's Time Period
Part 3
Miscellaneous Moments in the Movie=========
Deleted Scenes
Mistakes and Absurdities
Clothing, Hair and Appearance
Legal Issues in the Story
Books About the Movie
Other People's Reviews and Essays
Fan Fiction
Part 4
The Movie's Sexuality=========
Miscellaneous People and Characters
The Movie's Music
The Movie's Songs
Part 5
Vestron and the Initial Marketing=========
Derivative Songs
The Stage Musical
The 1988-1989 TV Series
The ABC Original Movie
Various Derivative Productions
Part 6
The Best and Worst Videos=========
GIFs and Video Clips
Photographs
Illustrations
Arts and Crafts
Poems
Foods
Part 7
Other Movies
Alternative Treatments
Cartoons
Instrumentals
Instructional Dance Videos
Instructional Music Videos
Monologues
The Filming
Skating
Flash Mobs
Revues
Odds and Ends
Videos That Were Good But Are Gone