This essay concerns with how and why the feminist icon Rosie the Riveter is reworked on a feminist t-shirt. The original image from a propaganda poster is recognized as an embodiment of women's empowerment, which I was preciously convinced of. However, there are a few people criticizing it for not being the true representative of feminism. This t-shirt has reworked the image in some intriguing ways, backing the claim that Rosie the Riveter is not precise nor adequate in describing diverse aspects of feminism today.…
The rusty factory doors were left hanging on their hinges. The empty building would bring a stop in production, a crash of the economy. Employers were devasted, and the government was in desperate straits, needing to supply for the men at war, and the women, children, and immigrants at home. The women, the immigrants! The doors were suddenly banging open and closed as several immigrants and women fled into the factories, being inspired by propoganda, and posters, to encourage them in their patriotic duty.…
Before the war, it was unheard of for women to be working long hours and getting paid good money for it. (HIST 222 lecture, 19 OCT 10) This era was the beginning of women working permanently. (HIST 222 lecture, 28 OCT 10) It was also unheard of for Negros to have jobs and make money. With both of these groups working, there was more money to be spent on products. These new women began to become more political. They cut their hair short, smoked in public, and discussed Freud in public. (HIST 222 lecture, 19 OCT 10) Although women or blacks were still not treated fairly, and were definitely not treated as well as white men, they were treated better than they had been before. It was a step in the right direction, and a step which lead to the Women’s Rights Movements and the Civil Rights…
The visual that is presented by J Howard Miller, “ROSIE THE RIVETER” is a poster representing a young woman rolling her sleeves up and making a fist. There is a dialogue box above expressing the phrase “We Can Do It!”. With that being said, up to this time women were given the stereotypes of being at home mothers or housekeepers. Shortly after the war started and the subsequent 16 million men enlisting to join the military between 1941 and 1945, a large gap in the industrial labor force appeared, which caused greater opportunities for women to expand their duties. By around 1940, there was a huge percent of women entering the workforce of which, many worked for military production, while others became single parents, homemakers, breadwinners,…
Before War, women were treated as a baby producing machine and a caretaker, because women were only “allowed” to do jobs such as cooking, cleaning, feeding and taking care of the kids. During WWII, when country really needed workers, women were portrayed as cooperative, confident and tough as they took the role of a men and eventually help to win the war. In the image shown in the propaganda “We Can Do It!,” it shows that women are capable of being strong and have the ability to work like men. By looking at the Rosie the Riveter (which was made…
Aside from becoming part of the military, many women were also entering the workforce. These strong, independent women were becoming employed after many openings were left because of men leaving to join the military, Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent and the number of women working rose from 11,970,000 in 1940 to 18,610,000 in 1945 alone. These working women were inspired by posters and campaigns aiming to recruit female workers. ‘Rosie the Riveter’ was one of the most iconic images. It featured a women with rolled up sleeves and the words “We can do it.” The image of strong working women became very common in the media. By the end of the war one in every four wives…
The First World War created massive growth opportunities on the economic front in America when she joined the war in 1916. The need for industrial production on a massive scale to provide arms for the war effort, gave rise equally to employment. With most able bodied men away at the war in Europe, it fell to women and African Americans to fill those jobs and meet the rising demands. (As a direct result of this, Wilson, president of USA during this period, recommended and supported that woman be given the right to vote). With all the work opportunities, “African American’s” and woman flooded to the cities.…
Women joined the industrial workforce in great numbers during the WW2, enjoying new measure of economic independence and job satisfaction. However, as the war came to an end, many left their jobs as the returning soldiers reclaimed their jobs.…
One social movement that has significantly affected public opinion of gender issues but tends to be overlooked occurred when America entered World War II. History classes often focus on the political and military aspects of World War II, and therefore disregard the efforts made by women in the United States during this time (Anderson, 1988). In 1942, the federal government created a fictional character, known as "Rosie the Riveter" to encourage women to take part in the war effort by joining the labor force and taking jobs that were usually held by men (Henry, 2005). By the end of the war, six million women had entered the work force for the first time (Ivy & Backlund, 2008). Women could be found doing anything from clerical jobs in war-related industries to factory jobs as welders, riveters, assemblers, or inspectors. Therefore, the number of occupations open to women and minorities significantly increased when there were not enough white males around to fill these positions. Another positive effect of women joining these occupations is that as discrimination in the work place went down, women 's wages rose substantially (Kaufman, 2002). According to Anderson (1988), as this movement took women from their homes and placed them in the work force, it "dramatically altered the roles of status of women, placing…
“From 1940-1945, the female labor force grew by 50% and female employment in defense industries grew by 462%” due to the shortage caused by men heading off to fight in World War II. This also shifted cultural attitudes, making it okay for middle class women to work, where previously it had been taboo.…
The start of World War II tested these ideas. Everyone agreed that workers were greatly needed. They also agreed that having women work in the war industries would only be temporary. They promoted the fictional character of “Rosie the Riveter” as the ideal woman worker: loyal, efficient, patriotic, and pretty.…
As the Great Depression ended, World War II emerged and so did women's opportunity to work. Patriotism for women consisted of joining the Red Cross and the idea of “Rosie the Riveter” was born. Activities that were once forbidden for women are now acceptable and patriotic. World War II was a crucial time for women because it opened the door to countless opportunities for them to become more independent, join unions and fight for their rights.…
Prior to World War II, the female’s role in a male driven society was to be a wife and mother, to stay at home and care for the house and children, and to provide emotional support to her husband. Although there were some exceptions for some women who were teachers, nurses, librarians or secretaries, married or single. When the United States entered into World War II, the American women population shifted and entered the workforce while a widespread of men left to enlist in the war. The departure of so many men left gaps to be filled in the industrial work. The government began a campaign aimed to recruit women to fill these gaps in the industry. The main iconic symbol portrayed a female in a work shirt flexing her muscles thinking to herself, “We Can Do It.” This image later became known as Rosie the Riveter. Women decided to leave their kitchens and quickly learned new skills to become successful.…
For black women, the situation was even worse than for black men. Few black women were able to get even the insecure foothold in industry that black men achieved during World War I. And the little ground they gained then, they lost when the war was over. In the 1920s, huge numbers of white women together with recent European immigrants – were moving into decent jobs as office workers or clerks. Yet only a small segment of black women were able to obtain such jobs and almost completely in businesses owned by blacks. Into the 1940s, the largest fraction of black women continued to work as…
When the war began, quickie marriages became the norm, as teenagers married their sweethearts before their men went overseas. As the men fought abroad, women on the Home Front worked in defense plants and volunteered for war-related organizations, in addition to managing their households. In New Orleans, as the demand for public transportation grew, women even became streetcar “conductorettes” for the first time. When men left, women “became proficient cooks and housekeepers, managed the finances, learned to fix the car, worked in a defense plant, and wrote letters to their soldier husbands that were consistently upbeat.” (Stephen Ambrose, D-Day, 488) Rosie the Riveter helped assure that the Allies would have the war materials they needed to defeat the Axis.…