Content note: A cartoon labels a woman figure 'Venereal Carrier' and 'Saboteuse' as a warning to servicemen. This object is shown as it was published. Why
Saboteuse
Cartoon sheet: a woman in a dark fur-collared coat leans on a wall holding a cigarette, with the words 'Venereal Carrier' lettered across her collar, while a sailor with a bag walks toward her. The caption 'Saboteuse' is the label; it frames venereal infection as sabotage, a name-calling and fear-appeal tell aimed at servicemen on leave.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- American Social Hygiene Association, cartoon by C.D. Batchelor of the New York Daily News
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- NGO
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Health, War and the military
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
American Social Hygiene Association (cartoon by C.D. Batchelor). National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1656 (NAID 515323).
Text on the object
Venereal Carrier Saboteuse [signature: C.D. Batchelor] CARTOON BY C.D. BATCHELOR OF THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS FOR THE AMERICAN SOCIAL HYGIENE ASSOCIATION, 1790 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N.Y.
