American History: Rosie the Riveter Essay

The chapter, From Rosie to Lucy, by James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle, is about how the feminine mystique changed drastically from the era of WWII to the era of the baby boom. The shift was attributed to men’s influence on the women through fashion trends, magazines, and TV shows. The main purpose of the chapter is to show that the propaganda through TV and society affected individuals, and more specifically the feminine mystique.

Rosie the Riveter was a propaganda poster from World War Two. She was a fictional person and became the main figure of women empowerment. She is still largely known by Americans. As the U.S Department of Labor states, “Rosie the Riveter is still considered the most successful government advertising campaign in history”. This statement shows that Rosie was extremely popular and affective amongst the women and young girls of the country.

During World War II, approximately 350,000 women served in the United States Armed Forces. There are many women that people still think of today that is inspiring to them, but many of them know the main person that was popular on the poster board and films which is Rosie The Riveter.

The first visual image of Rosie was seen on the front of the May 29, 1943 edition of the Saturday Evening Post. Painted by Norman Rockwell, she was depicted as a larger woman and the

Before the war women had to fit into a stereotype of “the perfect family” (“A Change in”). Prior to 1941 only 30% of women worked for 10 years and only 50% worked for 5 years (Discovery Education). Women were encouraged not to work, because it broke “the perfect family” stereotype (“The Women of”) (“A Change in”). Even husbands did not want their

Rosie the Riveter was a symbol for these women. This propaganda influenced the idea of

Rosie the Riveter was a lady that brought the female numbers up in rank inside the workplace. She was showing people that not only men can be in the workforce. So she got a job and she wanted to show people that women can be in the workforce too. According to History.com “Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. “Rosie the Riveter,” star of a government campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for the munitions industry, became perhaps the most iconic image of working women during the war”(Riveter).

The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their

“Rosie The Riveter”- The propaganda made during WW2 was a symbolic icon for women on the home front to take up jobs to help support the war going on in Europe. These women would take up new jobs that they possibly have never done before. That is why Rosie is showing her bicep, to honor the strength of the women on the home front. Rosie is also used as a symbol of women’s economic power and feminism.

Women in World War II were very successful because they were very helpful in the war. This is true because Rosie Riveter was a women who was in the factories grabbing other women’s attention by making them work harder. However, their life and fame were shaped by their hard working and dedication.

worked in factories expanding industrial output, and helped raise money in the community. The women are what helped keep the country running. When women filled jobs that were traditionally men’s, this aided the country as a whole because while men fought in the war, women were able to keep the country moving. Women not only worked in factories and offices, but working in the community played an immense role in helping the soldiers fighting. Women raised money for the war, collected blood, rolled bandages, aided in civil defense, tended Victory Gardens, and hosted troops. Some women still worked at home centering their work around what the soldiers needed. They recycled aluminum foil and other materials that were scarce, they raised children as usual, and mourned for the soldier that had died. Women were assisting the troops with all that they could in order to make life easier for them.

Graphic artist J. Howard Miller drew a woman wearing a red and white polka dot bandana, rolled up sleeves with her right arm bend and hand in the shape of a fist. The words above her, printed boldly in white, read “We Can Do This.” Even with the aggressive scowl on her face, it is hard to miss her feminine qualities such as her brightly painted fingernails, contoured eyebrows, and bright colored lipstick. The bold colors used in the photo combined with the glamorized image of a woman thriving a man’s world were intended to grab women’s attention and it proved to be very

Rosie the Riveter was a female icon created in a time of global war during the 1940s; she symbolized women who built ships and planes, and produced munitions (Ellis 478). She was created to be a reminder to everyone to try new things, test limits, and believe in each other. (Mather-Thrift). She also represents any woman defense worker (Harvey). The women influenced by her became ambulance drivers, delivered airplanes, and decoded messages (Ellis 478).

Rosie the Riveter is considered a feminist icon in the US. During the nineteenth and twentieth century feminism grew big they fought for the equal rights of women, against domestic violence and abortion rights. More than a poster Rosie the Riveter was known to represent a real woman. According to the Encyclopedia of American Women Rosie relates the closest To Rose Will Monroe who worked as a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft factory in Michigan and build airplanes such as the Boeing 29 also known as B-29 and B-24 bombers for the Us Army Air force. As hard as she tried to achieve her dreams and accomplished them Rosie became Rosie the Riveter and was an ideal for many. Not only does this poster stand up for women but it’s important because it increased the number of women working, 22 million in 1941 that’s a 57% increase. Another organization was the ninety-nines, an international association of

It gave them a taste of what was out in the world and got them to think of themselves as workers instead of just homebodies. At first they were hesitant because it was a new domain, but once they grew accustomed to this new role they weren’t about to evacuate and instead embraced their new power with Rosie the Riveter, the new face of activism. Rosie stood for everything these women fought for and was a symbol of hope and persistence. Her famous words echoed through the streets of the United States, “We Can Do It!” Some of the more daring women wanted to help even more, so they enlisted to go fight alongside the men of their country. These brave women were now soldiers and proved that they could enter dangerous situations and do the job right. For the women of this time there was no going back to the docile housewife of the past. From this point on they were looking for a future outside of the house. Then, in 1945 the war drew to a close and men who had been away began to file home. They were anticipating returning to their old jobs that women had occupied when they were away, however women were resisting to leave.