The plight of the very maternal woman and the physique of the lifeguard represent extremes of traditional femininity and masculinity that ultimately ridicule the stereotypes that are their source.
http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/femtheory.html: the single panel cartoon depicting a business woman giving dictation to a half-naked ideal of muscular male beauty is presented as a reversal of traditional gender roles, but in actuality the man depicted is still exceedingly "masculine" in the traditional sense, and the woman appears blonde, very thin, and attractive, reinforcing both traditional views.
http://undercoverpunk.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/dressup.jpg: the figure in this cartoon is most likely a boy, given the style of underwear depicted, but the point of this and the surrounding clothes is that...
The figure has its eyes cast downward as though peering at its genitalia, however, suggesting another more subtle interpretation of this cartoon as reinforcing biologically determined gender identity.
http://img.costumecraze.com/images/cat_splash/Splash_Page_American_Culture.jpg: the pictures of
costumes here definitely reinforce traditional gender stereotypes, making princesses and waitresses out of the
women and sports stars (and astronauts) out of the boys/men.
http://www.gutenberg-e.org/gordon/images/cover_04.jpg: another clear image of the perpetuation of gender stereotypes, this time solely and specifically of a girl around the turn of the century occupied at typically feminine tasks even though she appears to be at play
