The Wasp — 1896 — page 379: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a satirical poem titled "Farmer Hobo on the New Woman Question" with accompanying illustrations of a woman on a bicycle. The poem mocks the "New Woman" of the 1890s—the emerging independent woman who rode bicycles, wore bloomers (loose pants), and challenged Victorian gender norms. The farmer character ridicules women's fashion choices and independence, using rustic dialect humor. His complaints about "breeches" and women wearing "men's pants 'n' jackets" reflect actual anxieties about women's changing social roles and dress reformers of this era. The right page features The Wasp's masthead and Susan B. Anthony commentary on women's suffrage, alongside advertisements, providing context for the magazine's focus on women's rights debates during this period.