TOW #1- Visual Text

The following visual text is a political cartoon from the first women’s rights convention, Seneca Falls, in 1848.  This movement was a big step in creating equality between men and women of the time, one of the most relevant fights was the freedom to vote.  The first thing that I realized while viewing this image is that the woman is raveled up in ribbon.  The ribbon binds her legs, arms, torso, and mouth so she is unable to move or speak.  This depiction of the woman is shown as a metaphor, in order to show viewers all of the ways that she is being constrained just for being female.  She feels trapped both physically from all of the laws and customs that suppress her, but she also feels as though she is mute; while she may be capable of talking, it is of no use when nobody is listening.  The interesting part of the ribbon is that it consists of words like “VOTELESS, LIMITATIONS, PREJUDICE and CUSTOM”.  Words like this are meant to evoke emotion inside the viewer, who may not understand what it is like to feel unequal, to show the weakness that many of these women felt while trying to fight for the upper-hand.  

The body language that the woman is portraying also appeals to pathos, and is used to explain what the women were fighting against at the Seneca Falls Convention.  She is leaning forwards, towards the man, with hunched shoulders.  Universally, a tall stance with shoulders back usually represents confidence and independence, which is something that these women did not yet have.  Another component of this visual text that expresses women’s oppression is the placement of the man over the woman.  He is standing on a stage, making himself appear taller than the woman.  This creates a sense of superiority over the woman, displaying the custom of the time that men had authority over female figures.

Overall, this cartoon is a clear representation of what the women of the 1840’s were trying to stop: women’s inequality. The image is simple, yet conveys the message that is needed in order to express the feeling of a woman’s fight.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/420734790165008912/