Check out these vintage erm "funny" political cartoons from the early 1900s.
On May 21st, 1919 - that's right - 100 YEARS AGO TODAY - the women's right to vote was passed by the House of Representatives. It would take until August of 1920 for it to be ratified to become part of the constitution but this is a MAJOR step and it happened 100 years ago today.
WOW.
WOW.
WOW.
Let that sink in - think of the suffragettes 100 years ago who fought for this right to vote we all enjoy.
There are so many ways that we are similar to those suffragettes. Just as pussyhats were in political cartoons around the world (some amazing, some annoying), take a peek at some of these infuriating blowbacks suffragettes persisted through - all so we could VOTE:
Look how condescending that man is, "Did I save my country for this!" he exclaims, as "annoying" "nagging" women shake their fist at him. Is his dismissive reaction familiar as we fight for body autonomy, our freedom of expression, our right to health care? Suffragettes back then dealt with these dismissals on the regular. These brave women prevailed, and so will we.
This vintage-cruel image "What I would do with suffragettes" is akin to twitter trolls and gamergate men who threaten to kill, rape, and maim women who dare to want to advocate for themselves and others.
If you are the victim of this type of online/verbal abuse I am so sorry, and perhaps take comfort in knowing that you are not alone - women from 100 years ago experienced the same thing!
I put the above political cartoons side by side to show that the patriarchal playbook hasn't changed much - on the left the cartoonist infantilizes women who are campaigning for the right to vote "Nobody loves me - guess I'll be a suffragette." On the right, the cartoonist sexualizes female activists with a woman in a red dress accosting a businessman with a kiss with the caption "Suffragette Vote-Getting the Easiest Way." If you've ever been infantilized and sexualized, raise your hand --- oh boy, I see a LAWT of hands. 😳
Here's a classic ageist cheap shot. It's called "Origin and Development of a Suffragette" but I think it might as well be called "Patriarchal Insults at Every Age." We're infantilized as girls, sexualized as young adults, berated if we're not married as adults, and totally disrespected post-menopause!
Lastly, I know there are quite a few men on my mailing list - and I wanna say THANK YOU for not being like THIS annoying guy (both the guy pictured and the guy who drew this). Here is the fear that women will somehow TAKE OVER and make men into women and force them to do WOMEN'S ROLES yikes! The horror!
Part of equality is that we need to create a world where not only can girls dress up as Batman and play baseball, boys can dress up as princesses and crochet and IT'S OKAY. Perhaps not even noteworthy.
And we need to demolish the idea that feminism is against men - feminism benefits EVERYBODY and is about equality.
As a modern-day aside, I love this tweet here: Huey writes "Why are white people scared about becoming a minority in the 2040's? Are minorities treated badly in America or something?"
HA!
I reference this tweet, because that "washerwoman man" political cartoon is so demoralized doing the work of a woman - why? Are women treated badly in America or something?
As a nod to the pussyhat being a fashion item as well as a political-art item, I wanted to include this annoying cartoon that reads, "How can she vote, when the fashions are so wide, and the voting booths are so narrow?" Har har.
I hope that these political cartoons from the past give you a good laugh because it's funny how AWFUL they are, and in all honesty, I think they are cathartic in that you will realize that the challenges you face today are not just yours - they belong to all of us, present, past, and future. There are millions of cracks in the glass ceiling, we will get there yet.
A modern day political cartoon to end on:
Drawn by Daryl Cagle, he writes, "My wife is busy knitting pussyhats for herself and my daughter. Since Liberty and Justice are the most important women in government, they should march with Pussyhats too. The idea of knitting as a protest makes me smile." I LOVE how Daryl has drawn the pussyhat OVER the eyes of Lady Justice - because Justice is blind!
Happy 100 Year Anniversary of the 19th Amendment passing the House! I have all sorts of fun stuff planned for next year when we celebrate the 100 Year Anniversary of the 19th Amendment being ratified! Stay tuned!
XOXO
P.S. My Patreon supporters got early access to these resources and get a sneak peek of my plans for August 2020 when we celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the women's right to vote! Join us for as low as $3 a month to tap into your creativity. I would love to see you there. Thank you!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment