Did ‘sawing a woman in half’ catch on because people were angry about women getting the vote?

P. T. Selbit was the first magician to ‘saw through a woman’ in 1921.
Hear all about this and more on Cunningcast: A History of Stage Magic 🪄🎩 Tony Robinson chats magic history and magic secrets with Paul Kieve and Laura London.
Selbit’s illusion was called ‘Sawing through a Woman’. His effect was to saw through the box (and seemingly the woman) and when the box was separated she was shown to still be miraculously unharmed. The effect played on imagination - the woman (fully contained in the rough crate) was seemingly held tight by ropes attached to head and feet fed through the box and held by members of the audience. It was Horace Goldin shortly after who presented ‘Sawing a woman into Halves’ and it was this version that showed the head and feet protruding from the box. ‘Alive at both ends’ as he declared! This is the recognisable image we know today. The two illusions literally became the hottest thing in showbiz and subsequently led to hugely publicised claims of originality and numerous law suits! The first woman to be ‘sawn’ Jan Glenrose at the Finsbury Park Empire in 1921 (version shown in photo).
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