This striking image captures high school girls participating in a posture contest in Chicago, Illinois, in 1943. The girl seated at the front on the left is the winner of the posture competition.
During the 1940s and mid-20th century, posture training and “deportment” were integrated directly into the physical education and etiquette curriculums for young American women. High schools across the United States regularly evaluated students on how they sat, stood, and walked. These lessons were intended to instill physical health, structural alignment, and general discipline.
At the time, good posture was heavily associated with elegance, poise, and social grace. Cultivating proper alignment was viewed by educational institutions as a vital life skill that would boost a young woman’s career opportunities, confidence, and overall social presentation.
Schools hosted competitive events, often in a gymnasium setting like the one shown here, where judges or physical education teachers would grade students on their execution of proper sitting and standing poses. Winners were designated as having the ideal anatomical posture.
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