Visual Feminization of America: A Study of How Revolutionary-Era Political Cartoons Portrayed Women and Politics
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program through the U.S. Department of Education under Award No. P217A180181.
Presentation Date
7-2022
Abstract
This paper explores how American and British cartoonists visualized women in political cartoons during the American Revolution. It asserts that Paul Revere and Mary and Matthew Darly used women as representations of freedom and analyzes how these cartoons reflected the ideas of liberty, equality, and tyranny. Using women as embodiments of independence while denying them political equality reveals the inherent contradiction between the images and American values. This essay examines how visual media is a cultural tool to understand societal attitudes toward women. It argues that these images illustrate how women played a major role in shaping the Revolutionary political status quo.
Visual Feminization of America: A Study of How Revolutionary-Era Political Cartoons Portrayed Women and Politics
This paper explores how American and British cartoonists visualized women in political cartoons during the American Revolution. It asserts that Paul Revere and Mary and Matthew Darly used women as representations of freedom and analyzes how these cartoons reflected the ideas of liberty, equality, and tyranny. Using women as embodiments of independence while denying them political equality reveals the inherent contradiction between the images and American values. This essay examines how visual media is a cultural tool to understand societal attitudes toward women. It argues that these images illustrate how women played a major role in shaping the Revolutionary political status quo.