The Wasp — 1894 — page 73: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical column mocks the Lurline Baths, a San Francisco bathhouse attraction. The text claims management reserved two half-days weekly for exclusive female use, supposedly to preserve "feminine character," but the author suggests this was a transparent excuse—the baths actually needed the revenue from both sexes. The piece ridicules how men and women alike frequent the baths despite the moral pretense. It includes jabs at wealthy bath-goers like "young Blank" and observations about pretentious bathers who adopt affected mannerisms. The cartoons illustrate the absurdity: one shows a woman in a bathing suit; another depicts "Not the Right Brand" (unclear reference). The satire targets San Francisco's wealthy class and their hypocritical attitudes toward public leisure spaces and propriety.