Life, 1916-03-02 · page 10 of 44
Life — March 2, 1916 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American men adopting European fashion styles, specifically facial hair trends associated with women's suffrage activism. The top article mocks "suffragettes' husbands" and their various mustache styles—the "half-mast," "slimony-sweep," and "goatee"—suggesting these men have become effeminate or weak by supporting their wives' political activism. The bottom cartoon, captioned "IS THIS THE EVOLUTION OF A HYPHENATED AMERICAN CITIZEN?", shows five male faces progressing from stern, traditionally masculine mustaches on the left to increasingly exaggerated styles, ending with a woman's face on the right. This anti-suffrage cartoon ridicules male suffrage supporters as unmanly, implying they're becoming feminized by association with the women's movement. The satire reflects early 20th-century opposition to women's voting rights.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
382 Modes in Whiskers for Suffra- gettes’ Husbands OME very pretty little whiskers are being shown upon the faces of suffragettes’ husbands. They come in a variety of styles, cach style being cu- riously significant of the state of mind of its wearer. For the suffragette’s hus- band who is contented in his niche we see the chic little curled mustache with its up-turned ends. This mustache gives to the face a lively, hopeful expression. For the suffragette’s husband whose do- mestic lot is not happy we see the dainty ear-fobs which tell their own pathetic story. There are many phases of the ear-fob. For instance, there is a mode known as the “half-mast” and it be- trays to the initiated the fact that its wearer's cross is very heavy to bear. The “half-mast” is procured by brush- ing the fobs downward till they as- sume a weepy droop. A deadening pomade is used on the “half-mast” which robs it of lustre and renders it lifeless in appearance. For mourning we have the abbrevi- ated, black-dyed chin-drop. It is de- cidedly funereal in aspect and suggests a bunch of crape. The chin-drop may be cut pointed, round or square. Many semi-men affect the square cut as in- dicative of strength of purpose and brevity of action—characteristics alien to the nature of the suffragette’s hus- band, and therefore coveted by him. The ever alluring goatee comes slightly modified for the suffragette’s husband. It usually denotes that the wearer possesses some property in his own right and casts his vote in accord- Ay ed Jgayty nis AT AFTER READING THOSE FASHION PAPERS ance with his own conscience. The goatee is not worn singly as it has the moral support of waxed mustaches, There is an_ aggressive, flamboyant whisker called the “alimony-sweep.” It extends round the lower part of the face, from ear to ear, is closely cropped at the sides and pointed at the chin, the point standing out at an acute angle. The “alimony-sweep” is dis- tinctly militant in appearance and sig- nifies that its wearer has gone through the divorce court as defendant. It dif- fers somewhat from the vandyke, so popular with doctors and clothiers, in that it is closely akin to bristles. Favorite colors for suffragettes’ hus- bands’ whiskers are militant red, fem- inist yellow and ashes of Cupid. Graham Clark. The Basic Difficulty Vo BLUMER: How are all our girls going to manage without European clothes? Dimpteton: That isn’t the real trouble. How are all the American men going to manage without seeing the American girls in European clothes? 1S THIS THE EVOLUTION OF A HYPHENATED AMERICAN CITIZEN?