Judge — July 6, 1912 — page 24: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily a **tobacco advertisement** rather than political satire. The ad features a woman saying "I wish I were a man!" — a statement reflecting early 20th-century gender dynamics. The joke relies on the sexist premise that men enjoy superior pleasures unavailable to women, specifically high-quality tobacco smoking. The ad suggests that only men can properly appreciate Velvet's "smoothest tobacco," while women are positioned as envious outsiders to this masculine experience. The imagery shows a woman watching a man contentedly smoking, emphasizing her exclusion. The ad then offers a compromise: women can still enjoy Velvet's flavor vicariously ("She" will like the flavor too), implying secondary, derivative enjoyment rather than direct participation in male privilege. This reflects historical attitudes restricting women's public smoking and consumer choices, using gender envy as a marketing hook.