It's Valentine's Day! Though at The Lady Finger we typically write about love as a very gendered thing, today we're shedding the cynicism to focus on love as a "many splendored thing" in the words of Frank Sinatra. To start off, the New York Times has a delightful article about personal ads in the Victorian age culled from old editions of the New York Herald. The sweetest, dated January 19, 1862, reads: "If the young lady wearing the pink dress, spotted fur cape and muff, had light hair, light complexion and blue eyes, who was in company with a lady dressed in black, that I passed about 5 o’clock on Friday evening in South Seventh Street, between First and Second, Williamsburg, L.I., will address a line to Waldo, Williamsburg Post Office, she will make the acquaintance of a fine young man."
Back in 2010, Jezebel asks readers for their ideal Valentine's Day playlist, after lambasting Billboard's list, which is topped by Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical." (By the way, check out the insane accompanying video, in which Olivia beats up a flabby guy at the gym).
The San Francisco Chronicle details a minor win for gender equity on Valentine's Day: the fact that it's the only day of the year that men purchase more chocolate than women. The publication also has a good history of the holiday, noting that the tradition of exchanging hand-written cards started in Europe and followed the English colonists to America.
But, if you're too lazy to write your own card, visit SomeECards.com for spot-on Valentine's Day messages such as this one: "Sorry the only ring you're wearing this Valentine's Day is a contraceptive in your vagina." -TLF
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