What did it mean being a woman in Paris during the 19th century? How are the gender roles represented in art and are these representations accurate? The most interesting illustrations of Parisian life are the lithographic posters of advertisements attributed to Jules Cheret, the father of the poster. The 'real world' of bourgeois society had a clear distinction between genders and their roles in public and private spaces. Men had freedom to appear equally in both public and private areas, whereas women were subjected to a domestic and private role. It is of no surprise then to see women in the spotlight of most of the posters to feed the hunger of the male dominated voyeuristic public eye.
So, why do we see an equal number of men and women in this Jules Cheret poster? Still we need to notice that the prominent figure giving a squeakish smirk is female! Well, the French would understand from the title that this was an illustration for a book about people living in the fast lane written by Felicien Champsaur titled 'La Gomme' or a scam and le gommeux referring to swells or a cheap dandy... Well the dandies here are in their top hats frolicking around with women attached to their waists (prostitutes?), but who is deceiving who? That fiery redheaded female, tipping her feather hat, so much cleavage she could easily expose herself....but does she want to "expose" herself? We will never know unless we read the book!!!
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