Life — August 19, 1920 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "What Next?" - Life Magazine, August 19, 1920 This illustration depicts a fashionably dressed woman in 1920s attire—short skirt, patterned stockings, cloche hat—striking an exaggerated pose atop a cityscape. She appears to be a "flapper," the era's symbol of liberated, modern womanhood. The caption "What Next?" suggests satire about rapidly changing women's roles and fashion. The woman's theatrical posture and precarious perch on buildings convey anxiety about social upheaval. In 1920, women had just gained voting rights (19th Amendment), wore shorter hemlines (scandalous then), and pursued newfound independence—all deeply controversial to conservative society. The cartoon satirizes contemporary moral panic about women's changing social position, suggesting bewilderment about where these transformations might lead.