Life, 1910-03-03 · page 25 of 80
Life — March 3, 1910 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks the women's suffrage movement by imagining a "reversed" future where women dominate religious institutions as preachers and church leaders, while men become timid congregants. The joke plays on anxieties about gender role reversal: the author facetiously suggests that if women gain power (through suffrage), they'll inevitably take over the church, forcing men to abandon golf and accept nagging "parsonesses" (female pastors). The satire portrays this hypothetical future as absurd—middle-aged women smoking cigars in vestry meetings, men fleeing their homes to avoid pastoral visits. The accompanying illustrations show nuns or religious figures in contemplative poses, reinforcing the religious theme. The underlying message reflects early 20th-century conservative resistance to suffrage: granting women voting rights supposedly threatens traditional male authority in all institutions, including religion. The exaggerated predictions are meant to seem ridiculous, thereby delegitimizing actual suffrage arguments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Reversing the Picture T is said that one of the results of the woman suffrage movement is that the women are beginning to stay away from church, to the despair of the clergy. No doubt in the course of time, when things are completely reversed and we have lady preachers, men will grad- INSPIRATION ually become so timid that they will turn to religlon as a consolation. We shall then have nice men endeavoring to per- suade their give up their golf for just one Sunday and set an example to their children—assuming that there will be any of those little people. And after the thing is over, as we press the hand of some sweet young theo- logical graduate who is on her first call, we can say: “Your good!" Old gentlemen will then be their time knitting slippers and and corset their pastor, Other gentlemen, careful of their repu- tations, will be asking their wives to pro- tect them from the home visits of over- zealous parsonesses. And when the bishopess makes her annual visit all the young men of the family who are in duty bound to put her up for a week will leave their happy home and go on pil- grimages to unknown parts The vestries of the future will consist of respectable middle-aged ladies, who, behind closed doors, will pursue their de- liberations in solemn grandeur as they sip their brandy and soda and smoke their Porto Ricos. The difficulty of getting good sopranos to lead the choir will be more acute than ever. sermon did me so much pass’ afghans covers for beloved comicbooks.com