Life, 1910-07-28 · page 23 of 40
Life — July 28, 1910 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a satirical essay titled "The Truth About Woman" that critiques male hypocrisy regarding women. **The Argument:** The text argues that men cannot objectively discuss women because of sexual bias. It notes that men alternate between two extremes: either idealizing individual women in their lives (mothers, sweethearts, wives) while simultaneously claiming women are generally "characterless, unmoral," petty, and intellectually inferior. **The Satire:** The piece exposes a fundamental male contradiction: men claim women lack judgment and are incapable of serious friendship, yet they consistently recognize exceptional qualities in the specific women closest to them—without recognizing this contradicts their general misogyny. **The Cartoon:** The bottom illustration shows two cricket-like figures labeled "JERUSALEM CRICKETS"—likely a visual pun emphasizing the absurdity of these contradictory male attitudes. **Context:** Published during an era of rigid gender stereotypes, this represents an unusually progressive critique of misogyny for early 20th-century American satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NEW LIGHT ON quality in which Mr. Locke makes unconventional play with a tional plot Tiiicf of Virtue, by Eden Phillpotts guessed secret, mental _human nature picturesquely presented. The Twisted Foot, by Henry Milner Rideout. See above The Voice in the Rice, by Gouverneur Mortis. A cleverly con trived excursion into the unlikely. Why 1 Am a Socialist, by Charles Edward Russell, statement, always forceful and often_illuminative. r Olive, by the author of The Inner 3 The story of an un- A personal hrine (Basil Kin The Truth About Woman N are not capable of telling the truth about women, or of understanding what the truth is, because they are handicapped by their sex. The few men who have managed to forget the sex part have gone to the other extreme and have damned women unduly with loud curses, as, for example, Schopenhauer and Weininger. To tell the exact truth about women is impossible for any man. There is always a chance that, while you are attempting this im- possible trick, you may fall in love with the No woman is so homely that this might not come to pass. Ugly women and old women have been loved by young and old men since the world began. It is impossible to account for all of the eccentricities of human passion If a man is questioned about women in general he will tell you in confidence that he despises them in gencral They are characterless, unmoral if you will, and incapable of that sturdy kind of friendship or comradeship which men feel woman. AN OLD SUBJECT for each other. To argue with them on any subject would be ridiculous. They are pett -between you and me, says the man—the: anatomical standpoint. That is about wha in strict confidence. But this man always knows one woman who is different This particular woman is capable of any sacrifice. Her charity is unlimited. Her nursing power is marvelous. Her practical judgment is inevitable. Her forgiveness is unbounded and her taste is perfect This woman is always the man’s mother, often his sweet heart, and sometimes his wife. , mean, below man in stature, a are ugly, from any man will tell you ILLUSTRATED EXCLAMATION ! “ JERUSALEM CRICKETS !