Abstract

  The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the visual rhetoric employed in anti-suffrage movement caricatures, with a particular focus on two key points. Firstly, it is notable that the representation of suffragettes, which often featured violent imagery of women, was disseminated beyond the boundaries of the nation-state. To this point, this paper presents an analysis of caricatures from a variety of countries that were reprinted in The Review of Reviews. Secondly, the focus will be on the caricatures drawn in the United States, with an analysis of how the “gender reversal” and “women’s issues” were depicted in society following the enfranchisement of women. In this section, particular attention will be paid to the iconography of illustrator Laura Foster, whose works were published in Life magazine. Foster’s satirical drawings appear to reinforce the opposition’s arguments, yet her stance on women’s suffrage remains unclear. This study will examine the ambiguity of Foster’s caricatures and analyze her iconography, which enables the interpretation of the intentions of both supporters and opponents. This approach allows for an understanding of the “range of interpretations” that caricatures can facilitate.