When Charles Dana Gibson published In politics as one of his celebrated pen-and-ink illustrations, he tapped into a national conversation about women's roles in American public life at the turn of the twentieth century. Gibson's "Gibson Girl" had become an icon of modern femininity, and his satirical cartoons often appeared in popular magazines like Life and Harper's Weekly. The precise date of this drawing remains uncertain, but its subject—women entering the male-dominated sphere of politics—sparked both laughter and debate among contemporary viewers.

The work stands as a snapshot of a society on the cusp of change, just as the suffrage movement was gathering momentum. The scene captures a group of elegantly dressed women seated around a table, engaged in animated discussion, their postures and expressions mirroring those of traditional male politicians. Papers, pens, and a gavel lie scattered, signaling the businesslike seriousness of their meeting. Gibson’s deft linework exaggerates the contrast between the women's fashionable attire—hats, gloves, and high collars—and the gravity of their political engagement.

This reversal of gender roles was both comic and pointed: by placing women in a familiar setting of male authority, Gibson invites viewers to reconsider the boundaries of public life. Unlike the more earnest suffrage portraits by artists such as Mary Cassatt, Gibson’s approach is laced with irony, using humor to probe social anxieties. As with many of Gibson’s works, In politics was likely reproduced widely in magazines and print portfolios, reaching a broad audience rather than residing in a single institution. The original drawing’s whereabouts are not clearly documented, a common fate for periodical illustrations of the era.

Today, the image survives in reprints and digital archives, a testament to the enduring influence of the "Gibson Girl" and her creator. For Charles Dana Gibson, works like this marked the height of his fame in the 1890s and early 1900s, shaping public perceptions of gender and modernity in the Gilded Age.