Life — March 23, 1916 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "When Women Do the Fighting" This 1916 *Life* magazine cartoon satirizes women's military participation during World War I. The image shows a woman soldier in uniform flirting with a male soldier while holding a rifle, with military encampments visible in the background. The satire mocks the notion of female combatants by depicting the woman as more interested in romance (she wears a tutu-like skirt and strikes a coquettish pose) than serious soldiering. The title suggests skepticism about women's combat effectiveness. This reflects early-20th-century attitudes dismissing female military service as inherently frivolous. Some nations did employ women in combat roles during WWI, but American popular culture often trivialized their contributions through gendered stereotypes about women's proper domestic roles versus military duty.