How Did Howard Christy Convey Femininity In World War I?

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Howard Chandler Christy used females in most of his propaganda posters for World War 1. Howard Christy was a committee artist for the Department of Pictorial Publicity which was a section of the Committee on Public Information. The Committee on Public Information was started by President Woodrow Wilson in order to gain the support needed from the American people to enter World War 1. During the United States involvement in World War 1, the United States published approximately 2500 posters. According to Creel, the Department of Pictorial Publicity created about 700, which was nearly ⅓. The different social functions on Men and Women are evident in Howard Chandler Christy's artwork. How did Howard Chandler Christy convey femininity in his war posters?
In the first image “fight or buy bonds” the purpose was to recruit the entire nation into a war effort focusing on the Third Liberty Loan. The main focus is of a beautiful young woman. She looks similar to how the Greek and Roman Goddesses were portrayed. She is carrying the American Flag. She serves to …show more content…

Once again the main focus in this poster is a Woman dressed in uniform. The two words that are most emphasized are Fight and Marine. Once again, the young woman in the poster is a beautiful lady who is not part of the fighting action. The bottom left side portrays Marines running into battle. The young lady and the Marines are in two separate realms. The lady is dressed in a Marine Officer Uniform with her sword on her hip. Her hand is positioned on the handle of the sword showing that she is ready to fight. The woman in this poster has a proud stance as if she is proud to be an American. This poster is trying to tell men that they need to assert their masculinity and go fight with the Marines. Howard Chandler Christy portrayed a woman in a power position in this poster to draw on a mans need to feel