The Wasp — 1893 — page 104: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical page from *The Wasp* critiques women's behavior and social venues through exaggerated cartoon vignettes. The sketches depict: - "Virtuous maidens" and "Friends among" respectable women - "Men and women—Wing-Carouse[d]" showing mixed-gender socializing - "Daily papers sensation sprung" and "Maiden reached, thought fussed" - "Ladies entrance Swell saloon Wine-Eaters Maidens turn" - "Home deserted Maidens fall" - "Foolish journalistic pride Seeds of evil scattered wide" The central figure at bottom—a well-dressed man holding a sign reading "Daily papers Cause of all"—appears to be the "sermon's" subject. The cartoon satirizes newspapers for sensationalizing women's social activities and moral lapses, particularly regarding unsupervised women entering saloons and other establishments through side entrances, presented as a corruption caused by irresponsible journalism.