On the Sidelines of the Sketches
This site discusses the colorful and animated careers of three male cartoonists and how their drawings affected the public opinion of mainly male politicians. Now, its time to talk about women. The role women played in cartooning and how they were often included in the editorial drawings may not be obvious to the amateur decoder. In the cartoons below, we'll look at many different depictions of woman that reflect their supposed role in society during the period in which they were drawn. It is important to recognize that men created these cartoons and women had very little say on how they appeared in ink. Where women protested for better labor conditions, debated improved health and living standards, fought for women's suffrage, and demanded sexual and economic autonomy across the decades of these cartoons, their efforts are hardly showcased in the 19th century and early 20th century doodled platform.
Nast and Gender
Gibson, Charles Dana, Artist. The weaker sex. II. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2010716170/
Berryman and Gender
Du Bois, W. E. B. , Collector, photographer by Askew, Thomas E., 1850?-1914. Four African American women seated on steps of building at Atlanta University, Georgia. [or 1900] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/95507126/>.
Block and Gender
President John F. Kennedy Receives Final Report of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, October 11, 1963, AR40 JFKWHP