Judge — February 6, 1926 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Cartoon Analysis This page contains two satirical cartoons from *Judge* magazine critiquing early 20th-century social attitudes. The **top cartoon** shows tourists visiting "Villagers at work"—likely referencing utopian communities or experimental villages popular at the time. The **bottom cartoon**, titled "The Liberty Belle (She's cracked!)," is the primary satire. It depicts a woman holding a sign reading "Down with Inhibitions / Liberate the Libido!" surrounded by onlookers. The caption suggesting she's "cracked" mocks the emerging sexual liberation and Freudian psychology movements gaining traction in 1920s America. The cartoonist ridicules both the activist woman and the new psychological theories about sexual desire and social repression—portraying liberation advocates as mentally unstable rather than serious reformers. This reflects conservative anxieties about changing sexual morality and women's independence during the Jazz Age.