Browse Items (32 total)

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, heated public debates were being waged about the proper place and function of women. Known as the Woman Question, this contest circulated around women's desire for a widening of their sphere. "The…

Sporting cartoon (periodical)

"The Fair Toxophilites" depicts female archers in a non-competitive setting. The title derives from the word, toxophilus, meaning "lover of archery." These sportswomen are "fair," an indication that archery can be an occasion for conspicous display…

This comically-inflected rendering of two rival female archers shows how female competitiveness drives the marriage market and how the marriage market becomes a field for exercising female competitiveness. The caption reads as follows. Constance:…

The bicycle, along with the self-assertive New Woman who was often depicted riding it, is a symbol of women's rights. Experiencing the freedom of greater mobility also led women to push for emancipation in other areas of public life. Such are the…

Sporting cartoon (periodical)

This image of two female fencers who are soon to engage in combat exemplifies how athletic equipment, like their fencing foils, is presented as a tool for female ambition. The figure on the left grips her foil and faces her opponent, "preparing for…

Caption reads: "If men will flirt, instead of paying attention to the game, make hoops of them." Discuss how women are turning the men into equipment here.

Sporting cartoon (periodical)