Life, 1914-06-04 · page 18 of 52
Life — June 4, 1914 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes women entering traditionally male occupations during what appears to be WWI era (when men were away fighting). The cartoons mock how women adopting jobs like trash collection, mail delivery, and other labor would need to wear practical clothing—trousers and work gear instead of feminine dresses. The humor targets two audiences: it jokes that women will lose "feminine graces" doing manual labor, while simultaneously mocking the absurdity of expecting them to maintain elegance while hauling garbage or delivering mail. The caption about letter-carriers refusing "bull-dog shoes" and trousers granting "freedom of movement hitherto denied" suggests ironic commentary on both women's practical needs and societal expectations about femininity and propriety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Fashions Chic but inexpensive little tub-frock for street wear It will be interesting to see how many of the feminine graces the truckwomen will retain Of course, some of the new letter-carriers will refuse to wear the old bull-dog shoes affected by With trousers will naturally come much freedom of movement ied the extinct males itherto deni: