A Different Sort Of Swimsuit Contest – 1929

We tend to think of bathing beauty contests as being ogling-fests for men.

But not always.

Sometimes the ladies would be judging the men.

As the roaring twenties drew to a conclusion, this role reversal contest was held in Venice, California on May 20, 1929.

The news slug reads:

MALE BATHING BEAUTY CONTEST
VENICE, CA – Venice’s famous burlesque on girl beauty parades was held on the beach with mere men portraying the role of “bathing beauties” in jocular style. Girl judges picked Thomas Faye as being the epitome of male pulchritude.

The judges view the physical symmetry of the contestants. Faye, the winner, is at the left. photo 5/22/1929 King Features Syndicate

The photograph is poorly captioned because standing to the left of Faye is another contestant. Faye of Santa Monica, CA, is in the foreground with the number 5 around his wrist. As the winner, Faye received a $75 prize. Ina different photograph running in many newspapers, Faye is seen standing next to Lillian Copeland, Miss California in 1927.

The ladies appear to be enjoying their work checking out the guys. Though it is not mentioned in the photo caption, other newspaper accounts claim the female judges are “film stars,”  however no newspaper bothers to identify any of the judges.