No. VI. — Something More of Bloomerism.(Behind the counter there is one of the "inferior animals.") — Drawn by John Leech. Punch 1886. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
There was much opposition at this time to the wearing of "bloomers" for cycling and to the whole idea of women wearing clothes more convenient for the new active lifestyles to which many aspired. Here, the women are disporting themselves like men, sitting inelegantly, smoking (the older woman is even smoking a pipe) and being served by the man behind the counter as if by a member of the (now) inferior sex. It is easy to see how men felt threatened by the new development in costume!
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Scanned image and text Jacqueline Banerjee [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Leech, John. John Leech's Pictures of Life and Character. Vol. 1 (of 3). London: Bradbury, Agnew & Co., 1886. Project Gutenberg. Web. 1 January 2019.
Created 1 January 2019
Last modified 9 November 2021