Primary Source
Film: “A Busy Day” (originally titled The Militant Suffragette), 1914
A Busy Day. Director: Mack Sennett. Performer: Charlie Chaplin. Keystone, 1914.
Era: Suffrage Era | Media: Video
A Busy Day (1914) is Charlie Chaplin’s first female impersonation film. In this short film, Chaplin plays a “militant suffragette” who is jealous of her husband’s flirting with another woman […] Read More
Secondary Source
Thesis: Changes in Newspaper Portrayals of Women, 1900-1960
Laurel Wilson. Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Western Kentucky University, Paper 328, 2011.
Era: Post-Suffrage Era | Media: Academic Paper
This undergraduate thesis shows how mainstream newspapers depicted women in the first half of the 20th century, and how these portrayals changed along with society’s views of women during this […] Read More
Secondary Source
The Suffrage Roots of Wonder Woman
Jill Lepore. The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Alfred A. Knopf, 2014.
Era: Post-Suffrage Era | Media: Book-Non-Fiction, Cartoons, Magazines, Radio/Audio
As Jill Lepore explained in a 2014 interview on the NPR program “Fresh Air,” her book, The Secret History of Wonder Woman, chronicles the iconic superheroine’s suffragist roots. Lepore’s exploration of Wonder Woman creator William […] Read More
Secondary Source
C-SPAN Video: The Role of the Media in Women’s Suffrage
C-SPAN, National Press Club, March 3, 2013
Era: Post-Suffrage Era | Media: Newspapers, Television, Video
C-Span offers the video and a transcript of this event. The video is also embedded below. A panel of journalists, authors, and academics gathered at the National Press Club in […] Read More
Secondary Source
Historical Connections: The Weird Familiarity of 100-Year-Old Feminism Memes
"The Weird Familiarity of 100-Year-Old Feminism Memes." Adrienne LaFrance. The Atlantic, October 26, 2016.
Era: Post-Suffrage Era | Media: Commentary, Essay, Leaflets, Magazines, Pamphlets
This 2016 Atlantic article by Adrienne LaFrance links today’s political memes to suffrage and anti-suffrage propaganda imagery from the early 20th century. LaFrance argues that politics often clashes with gender norms, particularly when […] Read More
Primary Source
Cartoon Against Women’s Suffrage
Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand (Ministry for Culture and Heritage).
Era: Suffrage Era | Media: Cartoons, Commentary, Illustration, Sketches
This cartoon from the New Zealand History government website contains typical anti-suffrage imagery, warning how changing gender roles could harm society. In it, a harrassed and brow-beaten husband wears women’s […] Read More