What slim looked like in 1940 – ctd.

Contrarian reader Stan Jones offers further evidence of 21st Century North America's altered perception of weight: Footage of the Benny Goodman Orchestra playing Sing, Sing, Sing in 1937. Those are some skinny musicians. Note especially Harry James, whose solo begins 38 seconds into the tune: (That is, of course, Gene Krupa on drums, and Goodman himself on clarinet.) As a former TV host, Glennie Langille has first hand experience with society's social expectations around weight. She offers a skeptical view of the notion that skinny equals healthful: My first observation is that the original photo of Kennedy makes him appear to have an enormous...