Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote for the young male audience, Ebbie. Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, and various other spectacular tales of derring-do. They're great adventure books to read when you're about 14 or 15. I don't think he envisioned Dejah Thoris being quite as skimpily clad as she is now depicted...although fairly close to that, perhaps. I doubt he would have illustrated her bare-breasted. Barsoomian (Martian) women tended to dress in a combination of jewelery and fetching garments, revealing a fair bit, but not looking like an act at the local strip club, I don't think. And Dejah was a princess. Royalty has to come up to a certain mark of dignity and public respect.

The books were marvelously imaginative, but they are badly dated now. They reflect social attitudes from a bygone era, when the great British Empire was still the premier power in the world, and beautiful women swooned at the least excuse, and lay panting and disheveled on the decks of pirate ships and in the dank courtyards of lost cities, waiting, hoping against hope, for their bronzed, tall, dark hero to leap over the rail and slaughter the vile despicable criminally insane wretches who were at that very moment closing in on them, grinning evily, licking their lips, and contemplating forcing their unspeakable intentions upon the fair white palpitating skin of...

(you get the idea...?)

Dejah was pretty feisty, though. She was Barsoomian after all, and Barsoomian princesses can use a sword.