A personality quiz dating back to the 1930s has entertained many online, as the questions demonstrate just how much taboos have changed in under 100 years.
London tour guide and historian @kdraperlondon, who has over 500,000 followers on TikTok, found the quiz in a book but was inspired to share it online after seeing a similar viral video. Draper's video, which can be seen here, has over 400,000 views and left users shocked at the type of questions included.
The original video Draper stitched her video to featured a book from the '80s, with a personality test inquiring about the taboo subject of tattoos at the time.
Draper's book, however, had far more surprising taboos in comparison to modern day, ranging from women wearing pants to "efficient women."
"That creator has a personality quiz book from the '80s and there's a question in it like 'would you dare to get a tattoo??' You know, symbol of a different time and all that," explained Draper.
"But I have a personality quiz book from the 1930s," she continued.
Draper listed off the questions, each one featuring a different judgment which would not appear out of the ordinary today.
The book asked readers: "Do you believe that women who smoke and paint are vulgar?" with paint meaning makeup, according to Draper.
@jdraperlondon #stitch with @writer_wade This book was VERY confusing to me as a kid #learnontiktok #1930s #1940s #personalitytest #vintagestylenotvintagevalues
♬ original sound - J. Draper
"If you were introduced to a young woman in trousers, would you be painfully conscious of their garb?" asked the book. According to Britannica, pants didn't become "appropriate" clothing options for women in public until into the '60s and '70s, spurred on by the women's rights movement.
The book continued to ask: "Assuming that your daughter's happiness depended on it, would you consent to her marrying a man of a different nationality than your own?"
It was then followed by a question about female reproductive rights, asking: "Do you believe a wife has the right to decide how many children she will have?"
Draper introduced the final question as "the weirdest one," with it asking: "Do you like efficient women with a masculine outlook?"
For Draper, the term "efficient women" was possibly a code word for lesbians, but viewers felt it could have meant something different. Some suggested it could simply mean "self sufficient," referring to "someone that doesn't want to be a housewife even before marriage."
Personality tests first originated before the 1930s and were actually created by Columbia professor Robert Sessions Woodworth during World War I.
As reported by Smithsonian Magazine, around 1,727,000 would-be soldiers in the U.S. received a psychological evaluation, some of which completed a questionnaire of yes-no questions. The personality test aimed to decide which draftees were likely to suffer shell shock during and after the war.
Now, personality tests are commonplace across the world, ranging from the workplace environment to the center page of magazines.
This constant of personality tests is something highlighted by viewers of Draper's viral video, with one user joking: "I love that we've always been taking Buzzfeed quizzes."
"I wonder how many people in 2110 would be reading such texts from today," added another.
One TikTok user concluded: "I am so glad things have changed, still a long way to go."
