Judge — November 26, 1921 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge cartoon satirizes early 20th-century courtship customs and gender dynamics. Miss Sportleigh, a fashionable woman in athletic attire, drags an elderly Colonel on an exhausting outdoor excursion. She's exhilarated by the "glorious" air and physical activity, while he's literally breathless and struggling to keep pace. The satire targets the "New Woman"—the emerging independent female figure of the era who rejected Victorian passivity for sports, hiking, and active pursuits. The Colonel represents old-fashioned masculinity unable to match her vigor. His pun about becoming "intoxicated" by fresh air suggests anxiety about losing control in this newly assertive female presence. The cartoon mocks both the Colonel's physical decline and outdated gender assumptions, while gently poking fun at the New Woman's relentless athleticism.