The Wasp — 1896 — page 59: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical comic mocks the "New Woman" of the late 19th century—specifically women adopting bloomers (loose-fitting trousers under short skirts) and bicycles. The sequential panels show a woman cyclist experiencing increasingly chaotic mishaps: she struggles to mount her bicycle, crashes into logs while riding, loses control spectacularly, and finally wipes out completely in the bottom panel, scattered among debris. The satire targets both women's fashion reform and their independence. The bloomer outfit, designed for athletic practicality, was controversial and ridiculed as unfeminine. By depicting the cyclist as comically unable to control either her clothing or her bicycle, the cartoon suggests women (particularly those embracing progressive fashion and mobility) are inherently reckless and unsuited for independence—a common anti-suffrage and anti-reform argument of the era.