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Rosie The Riveter Essay

523 Words3 Pages

The 50s’ were a time of affluence if there ever was one in the United States, everything seemed to get larger, the American family, the towns they lived in, the malls the shopped in and the highways they rode in. America was prospering and as a result of this prosperity the American middle class grew not only in size but in wealth as well. This generation could afford to buy sprawling homes in the suburbs and fill them with kids in a way that their parents never could, this affluence enabled women to stay home and take care of their children and their homes and so the nuclear family was born. This family dynamic was cemented into place by the media, that created an image of the perfect post-war family that was content with its suburban lifestyle …show more content…

was fighting in World War II, a war which sent more than 16 million men overseas. Throughout the war women took the place of men in the workforce mostly doing civilian labor in factories and assembly lines. During the war propaganda and advertising became the norm in terms of recruiting upper-middle class women into the labor market. A good example of such propaganda is the image of “Rosie the Riveter” created by Howard Miller. She was represented as the quintessential patriotic American woman that was doing her duty during war time by working in a factory and supporting her country and then at the end of the war returning to domestication as was her rightful place. Rosie was created by a man who drew his inspiration from actual women in the labor force; he then whitewashed them and dolled them up with makeup to make her image more appealing to the legions of non-working women in the US at the time. Her image is an example of the advertising that was present prior to the 50s’ and the message that she sends which says that even women who work are expected to carry on with their duties at home in addition to upstanding a standard of beauty and primness is indicative and revelatory of the decade that lies ahead. This model of advertising which sent messages to the American woman about how she should look and what she should stand for, paved the way for advertising in the 1950s’ where articles and ads in magazines and in television set the stage

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A Film Analysis of Intersectionality and Gender Binary Thinking in The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980) by Connie Field This film study will define the intersectionality of race and gender roles that defined the ability of women to “men’s jobs” during World War II in The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980) by Connie Field. In this film many women from the lower and middle classes tended to work in factories or they have been domestic servants in the home. In Field’s film, women from primarily lower-middle class backgrounds (also unmarried0 found an economic opportunity to get paid higher wages for doing “men’s work” in the production of wartime products, such as airplanes, tanks, and other forms of weaponry. These economic

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So, women and minorities began working in the factories because the men were leaving for the Second World War. The United States of America was changing. To boost morale on the hard day at the factories, the women looked to figures like “ Rosie the Riveter “ and “ Wendy the Welder “ in Document One. They had catchphrases like “ We Can Do It! “ to keep their spirit high and keep working to win the World War Two.

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The second World War resulted in a demand for workers after men began leaving for the war. Due to a lot of the working men in America going overseas as well as the demand for war products, women became a major source of labor. Propaganda began to address women, persuading them that it was their duty to start working for the men. The film The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter gives personal accounts of some of the hardships women faced in the era surrounding WWII, and how the media was used to create a desire for women to work.

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During World War II, women had a stereotype of doing work that didn't “get their hands dirty”. However, the Rosies broke this stereotype, which left a major footprint in United States History. The government's version of Rosie is not the Rosie everyone should believe

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Many took jobs in industries that fueled the war effort. Women, in particular, were encouraged to work in defense industries, with posters describing “Rosie the Riveter,” a fictional character representing the quintessential woman worker, and

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Many men were drafted into the military in order support the war, leaving their families behind to take on the jobs that had to be filled in order to satisfy total war. Women and Minorities took up the jobs drafted men once held in order to support themselves and their families. Rosie the Riveter and Wendy the Welder became symbols for woman in the workplace. Along with slogans like “We can Do It!” these ideas would lead to a change in gender roles permanently, with woman no longer just taking care of the domestic challenges, but were now working in factories and other industry.

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During WWII all of this changed and a revolution in the work force was eventually seen. Numbers of women working outside the home rose exponentially. Women were brought into the factories from their stay-at-home jobs and America saw some of its highest production rates in history.   But not all women wanted to work even with the country’s propaganda ploys.

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Rosie the Riveter Could you imagine not being able to pursue the job you have always dreamed of doing? Rosie the Riveter inspired women during World War Two that they could take the job positions of men who were fighting the fight to save their country. “Rosie the Riveter” was the start of a government campaign that led women towards working during World War Two, and she became known all around the world as the woman with the slogan “we can do it”. To begin with, Rosie the Riveter means being strong mentally and physically.

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The "We Can Do It" poster that was advertised during WWII expressed the ideology that women were just as capable as men of filling in their shoes and having the same occupations. Seeing as most of the men in families went to fight in the war, women needed to find a way to make a living to sustain their family. Ideas such as this poster that rapidly spread across America advocated for women's independence and thier capability in society. Furthermore, due to the war occupations that arose amongst women and the idea of a "professional woman" established itself in society. During this time pink-collar jobs were established which included jobs such as being a teacher, secretary, nurse day care worker, floristm or maid.

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Consequently, she would likely challenge Cox’s description of the role that women played as the subject of advertisements in the 1920s as nothing more than objects whose sole purpose is to be beautiful. She would be more prone to state that instead of this harsh and objectifying image set forth in Cox’s narrative, women as subjects in advertisements during this time period were “the visual representation of a modern cultural consciousness that defined the 1920s” (Rabinovitch-Fox, 374). This is a very drastic contrast to what has been the narrative thus far regarding women’s status in society through the lens of the advertising companies. These companies have either been demeaning them as nothing more than housewives by pandering to that notion in their radio programming or outright objectifying women completely when they make them the subject of an

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During the 1950’s there was a strong sense of uniformity amongst Americans. Both men and women, young and old conformed to the traditional roles of society. Prior to this time period, during World War II, men and women were not bound to certain jobs, but once the war was over the standard roles were reaffirmed. The American Dream was to have the traditional family. This family consisted of a father who supported the family, a mother who acted as a housewife, and multiple children.

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Through multiple form of government propaganda, millions of women worked for the government and other companies producing supplies need for the war. For some women, this was their first time working, other this was an upgrade from the work they were doing. No matter their previous work experience, the war provide women with better jobs with better pay than they received previously. Women were issued social security cards and were able to join unions. The center of the government propaganda was Rosie the Riveter telling women that they could do the jobs that were thought to be for men before the

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More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry. One example is Rosie the Riveter, she was mostly known for helping the United States to recruit women to work. (document 1) She was in newspapers, movies, posters, photographs, and articles. Rosie the Riveter represents the American women who worked in factories and

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With all the men being drafted many jobs needed to be filled so production could continue. Resulting in setting up big opportunities for the women in the communities. Before this time period women spent most of their time at home tending to house chores and their children. Things changed when Rosie the Riveter became a very famous propaganda target proving to women that were showed as strong and confident. Millions of women filled the job titles of men, such as working in factories.

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