Life — July 11, 1918 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This single-panel cartoon satirizes class divisions and exclusionary practices. A woman in elaborate dress and headwrap stands at a gated entrance marked "SHIP YARD KEEP OUT," gesturing dismissively at a working-class man in worn coat and bowler hat who appears to be seeking entry. The satire likely critiques either: labor disputes of the era (restricting workers from shipyards), or more broadly, the absurdity of rigid class barriers—a wealthy or fashionably-dressed woman preventing a common laborer from accessing work. The "Keep Out" sign emphasizes how access was controlled and who was deemed acceptable in industrial spaces. The cartoon's point appears to be mocking either class pretension or the contradictions of labor exclusion policies.