Judge — October 5, 1907 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This illustration by the renowned artist Flagg depicts a woman in fashionable early 1900s dress—puffy sleeves, fitted waist, elaborate skirt—posed confidently with flowers and a butterfly nearby. The title "A Man-Trap" suggests satirical commentary on female attractiveness as a deliberate snare for male attention. The cartoon likely reflects contemporary anxieties about "the New Woman"—increasingly independent females engaging in public social life. The idealized, well-dressed figure represents both the appeal and the perceived danger this posed to traditional male authority. The trap metaphor implies women strategically used beauty and fashion to capture men's romantic interest, inverting traditional power dynamics in courtship.