Life — June 15, 1905 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Life" Magazine Page 701: Early Automobile Satire This page contains two related satirical pieces about early automobiles and gender roles. The upper cartoon depicts a social gathering where a husband asks his wife if she needs a new hat, to which she responds that she always needs one—then sarcastically asks what use getting a new hat is if she can't go out in an automobile. The lower section, "He Had a Good Reason," shows a conversation between a man and woman about automobile etiquette. The joke centers on the woman's complaint that the man doesn't know basic driving safety (handling a puncture tire), revealing anxieties about women's independence and competence with new automotive technology—a marker of early 20th-century social disruption.