Blog # 9

1. Jacob Riis intended to shock comfortable Americans with his images of the slums. What might
contemporaries have found most disturbing about his representations of immigrant women and
girls? Why?

Jacob Riis's, images of woman and girls in the slums were of harsh conditions of desperate wife’s and mothers and girls struggling to make a living to keep their families and loved ones fed. The pictures speak louder than words and for the Contemporaries it must have been a shock since they were not aware of the immigrant’s lives being overly drastic. What the Contemporaries found most disturbing is the fact that they were not aware of such issues and also because of the pictures displaying an immigrant women or girls life in the slums facing harsh conditions. In the photos young girls were shown working in the factories with long hours and under uncomfortable conditions. Moreover, young girls joined factories in pursuit of “the American dream” but little did they know they would find no such thing there. Instead they became prostitutes and some even committed suicide due to no hope of better conditions. Jacob Riis opened the eyes of many people including contemporaries with his pictures of women and girls day to day life in his pictures and this stunned many people due to not being aware or not caring.

2. How does the symbolic use of female figures in late nineteenth-century political cartoons (Figures
6.11 and 6.12) contrast with the depictions of women in cartoons meant to amuse (Figures 6.1-
6.10)?

Women’s involvement in politics during the 1900’s gave way for mockery on women during a time where women were seen as degrading their true womanhood by participating in jobs outside the home. Women became a main target in cartoons and many who were politically involved were in the spotlight of being mocked. Women shown in the cartoons were strong, educated, and politically active. They were finally getting recognition; although, it was more of a joke. Women were finally making something out of them selves and getting out of that social norm where women only participate in domestic house work and instead of getting the recognition the deserved they were being poked at and being laughed at. Often people make a joke out of what they are afraid of, and to me it seems like the men were using cartoons and mocking women who ere politically active because they were afraid of women’s progress and finally they were rising to their level and probably thought by putting women down by mockery that they would be less active; although, I think this gave women more motivation to stand up for themselves and show the world what they are capable of.