I’ve been sharing quite a bit lately about fat-shaming in romance comics, but now it’s time for something a little different—fat-shaming (of a sort) in a non-romance comic. “Chubby, But Oh My!” appeared in My Little Margie #18 (Dec 1957).

My Little Margie was based on a TV sitcom that ran from 1952-1955, which means I should have no first-hand memory of it, but it was still in reruns when I was a kid. I have no idea whether the characters of Sonya and Dimples ever appeared in the original series, but based on IMDb, I suspect they were created for the comic.

As the story begins, Sonya is digging into an ice cream sundae—but Dimples passes on one because she hopes to lose weight in order to beat Sonya in a beauty contest.

Sonya disses Dimples, saying that her friend is too chubby to win, and will never lose weight. Instead of overturning that sundae on Sonya’s head as some of us might have done, Dimples simply insists that from now on, she “won’t eat a single fattening thing.”

And so begin’s Sonya’s sabotage, which includes popping over with boxes of fried chicken while Dimples is trying to do homework …

… and in one surreal moment, decorating a rose bush with what appear to be pork chops and turkey legs.

Well, the day of the beauty contest arrives, and thanks to the way her “friend” derailed her attempts to diet, Dimples discovers she’s actually gained weight. But she doesn’t let that stand in the way of her dreams, and takes part in the pageant anyway.

Both girls get cheered by the crowd, but one of the judges seems a bit confused by Dimples, saying “She’s just like … oh, my!”

She’s just like what, judge? What? WHAT?

That’s a mystery which won’t get solved until the final panel of this five-page story, because after the judges try to give the crown to Sonya, they end up getting pelted with tomatoes and yanked off stage.

Their decision overruled by unseen forces, the judges name the winner—Dimples!

So why did Dimples win? Because the wives of the judges—who after all, the judges would have to live with once the contest was over—made it so.

Oh, so THAT’S who Dimples is just like!

I’m not entirely sure what the moral of this story is, though I doubt it’s one that can be summed by the Oscar Wilde quote, “All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his.” One moral which might suit is, “If your friend don’t support you, get yourself a better friend!”

So how does this story compare with the four others I’ve shared? Well, though Dimples does want to conform to society’s ideas of a suitable body type, she’s doing it to win a contest, not because she appears to have internalized guilt and shame. She’s cheerful, and confident, and has no qualms about wearing a bathing suit in public.

And at story’s end, she wears a crown. And is happy!

So regardless of whatever subtext may be hiding here, I’ll take it. Yay, Dimples!