The Wasp — 1895 — page 425: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising** for San Francisco businesses, with one satirical cartoon at the top. The cartoon titled "Thought It a New Woman" depicts a man (labeled "Mr. Wayback") meeting a woman in what appears to be fashionable or unconventional dress. His comment—"I'll be switched, Samantha, if that there New Woman ain't got whiskers!"—satirizes the "New Woman" movement of the early 1900s. The joke conflates feminist ideals with masculine characteristics, suggesting that women seeking independence or equality were being mocked as unfeminine or gender-transgressive. The cartoon reflects contemporary anxieties about women's changing social roles, presenting the concept as absurd or ridiculous to conservative audiences.