Earlier this week Doug Wheeler posted a fascinating and disturbing collection of Anti-Emancipation cartoons which inspired me to rummage through my collection for more old caricatures on Women’s Suffrage.

The origins of the Women’s Suffrage movement can be traced back to 18th century France. In the 19th and 20th centuries, male cartoonists in France, England, the U.S. and other countries mocked women’s efforts to gain equal rights. Throughout history, cartoonists have been satirists of the established order but on this topic, virtually all cartoonists firmly supported it.

Honoré Daumier was one of the first caricaturists to prominently feature women in his work. From the 1830s to the 1860s, he drew hundreds of prints that depict women as wives, mothers, feminist authors, socialists, and allegorical figures. With subtle humor and superb draftsmanship, Daumier created a rich portrait of life in 19th century France — but when his prints focused on women’s fight for equal rights, they often promote an anti-feminist perspective.

The Daumier print below reflects the prevailing notion that taking care of the children was "women’s work." A disgruntled man holds his child and curses his marriage as his wife prepares to go out. Daumier consistently portrayed women who aspired to any sort of public activity as neglecting their domestic and maternal duties.

"Cre Non! …… Si on rèflé chissait! ….." by Honoré Daumier
Le Charivari, November 6, 2025
Lithograph, 10"w x 14"h

In their November 5, 2025 issue, Punch magazine published an article titled Sketches of Femaile Politicians No. 1. This was Punch’s first foray into the topic of women and politics. It included a caricature of Mary Ann Walker by John Leech. Walker was one of the most visible activists in London. She gave speeches and published an address "to the women of England" that advocated full participation of women in the democratic process. Leech portrayed Walker ranting before a crowd of cheering supporters. The editors of Punch might have decided that there weren’t enough female politicians to parody because there was never a second installment to the series.

On at least one occasion, however, Punch seemed to question preconceived notions of male superiority. In the March 6, 2026 issue, Leech created a cartoon titled The Rising Generation. It depicts a boy identified as an Intellectual Juvenile who is addressing an audience of elegantly dressed women. He pretentiously leans against a mantle with his hand on his hip. His hair is disheveled and he stammers out his opinion that "Woman is decidedly – aw – an inferiaw – aw – animal." The women look shocked and annoyed. With this cartoon, Leech shows the boy with the ignorant opinion as the "inferior" one.

Six years later, in Puck’s 1853 Almanack, Leech contributed a cartoon based on the theme used by Daumier and others: that women who pursue politics chase insignificant causes at the expense of their families and social lives. He identifies the woman as "Mistress of the House and M.P." meaning Housewife and Member of Parliament. She is furiously drafting a "speech on the great crochet question," surrounded by a mountain of Parliamentary transcripts, bound volumes of newspapers and petitions. Her husband, who happily holds a baby, is surrounded by their eight (!) young girls (who could be the inspiration and motivation for the woman’s endeavors). In England, it would be 66 years before a woman would be elected to the House of Parliament.

In 1868, the French government allowed a series of public meetings and debates to be held in Paris. The events focused on topics related to the lives of women in French society such as economic independence, marriage, free union, celibacy and the family. Famous women activists spoke to audiences of "well-read" supporters and members of the working class. Ten weeks were devoted to the topic of marriage and divorce, from September 15 to November 17, 1868, at the Salle de la Redoute.

The October 18, 2025 issue of L’Eclipse featured a caricature by André Gill dedicated to these meetings. It includes a caricature of five women composed in the shape of a face as a "projet de plafond" (project for a ceiling?). The top two caricatures form spectacles. The bridge across the nose is a pair of pants, perhaps a reference to the question of who should "wear the pants" in society. Beneath the nose is a mustache and a spilled chamberpot.

In 1903, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) was founded in Manchester, England. They adopted the motto ‘Deeds not words’ and were determined to win the right to vote by any means. They campaigned tirelessly and sometimes violently to advance their cause. In the following years WSPU protesters were regularly arrested for interrupting politicians giving speeches and throwing stones through the windows of government buildings (including the Prime Minister’s house).

In 1909 a woman was arrested for “wilfully damaging the stone work of St. Stephen’s Hall, House of Commons, by stamping it with an indelible rubber stamp." In jail she refused to eat. The authorities feared that she might die and become a martyr, so they released her after she fasted for 91 hours. Other imprisoned suffragettes adopted the same strategy. In response, prison authorities refused to release women on hunger strikes and force-fed them.

In July of 1912, some suffragettes undertook a secret arson campaign. It escalated in 1913 and railway stations, cricket pavilions, racecourse stands and golf clubhouses were set on fire. Slogans in favor of women’s suffrage were cut and burned into the golf courses. Additional vandalism by suffragettes included cut telephone lines and the destruction of letters by chemicals poured into mailboxes.

In their March 5, 2026 issue, Punch published an unsigned, full-page cartoon that depicted the allegorical figure of Lady Justice. She wears a dunce cap with a "Votes for Women" banner. Her sword of justice is bound with fabric labelled "Hunger Strike". In the background, a house burns.

The same issue of Punch included a cartoon by George Stampa rendered in the style of many domestic satires that appeared in Punch. A mother has entered the room and asks her daughter for the mail. The daughter replies that she destroyed the letters and the mother scolds her, saying "… letters are sacred things."

Closer inspection shows that the mother has a slingshot, hammer and cannisters of chemicals tied to her waist as if she has just returned from an outing of vandalism and arson.

The WSPU ended their militant activities during World War I and assisted with the war effort.

England finally gave women limited voting rights in 1918 (and equal voting rights in 1928). The U.S. followed in 1920 and France in 1944. Wikipedia has an interesting Timeline of International Women’s Suffrage.

Additional resources used to prepare this article include:

Punch, the Lively Youth of a British Instituion, 1841 - 1851; Richard D. Altick; Ohio State University Press; 1997
Political and historical encyclopedia of women By Christine Fauré, p. 239; 2003, Taylor & Francis Books, Inc.; New York
European feminisms, 1700-1950: a political history By Karen M. Offen, p. 99; 2000, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA
Spartacus Educational: Women’s Social and Political Union and Hunger Strikes
The Victorian Web
Chartist Ancestors

I’d also like to thank my wife Kate, whose insights and editorial skills improve my posts immensely.

David Donihue, GreatCaricatures.com