World War II brought about many changes on the home front, one being the need for additional workers. Many factories or companies already had contracts with the government to build war equipment. As the need for production of the war equipment increased, the need for workers increased as well. Since so many men were in the service, it fell to the women to fill this void. This led to the development of the government’s “propaganda campaign” known as Rosie the Riveter. Rosie the Riveter was a fictional character featured in the propaganda campaign created by the U.S. government to encourage white middle class women to work outside the home during World War II (Lowen, n.d.). Norman Rockwell developed an image of Rosie and it was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in May of 1943. There were two “real-life” Rosies. The first was Rose Will Monroe. She was found working in Ford Motor Company aircraft assembly plant by Hollywood star Walter Pidgeon. She starred as herself in a government film that promoted the war efforts. A second “real-life” Rosie was Rose Hicker from the Eastern Aircraft Company in New York. The media pictured her with her partner. They drove a record number of rivets into the wing of a bomber plane. As time went on, many Rosies were found around the country and used in the propaganda.
A more feminine and glamorous portrayal of Rosie with her wearing a red bandana and the words “We Can Do It!” came about by artist J. Howard Miller. This image was commissioned by the U.S. was Production Coordination Committee and became the icon associated with Rosie the Riveter (Lowen, n.d.). As Lowen desribes what she obtained from the National Parks Service, the propaganda campaign focused on several themes in order to lure women to work outside the home. The themes were patriotic duty, high earnings, glamour of work, similar to housework, and spousal pride. Each theme gave reasons as to why women should work during the war.
As history shows, Rosie the Riveter gained greater importance through the years and far exceeded her original purpose of representing the ideal female worker and helping to fill temporary labor shortages caused by the war. She was not meant to promote change or build up the role of women in society. It was just understood that “Rosie” would resume her original role as a homemaker when the men came home from the war. Although most women returned home to care for their families, society had been forever changed. The idea of Rosie continued into the future. She paved the way for equality and increasing gains for women throughout our history.
A more feminine and glamorous portrayal of Rosie with her wearing a red bandana and the words “We Can Do It!” came about by artist J. Howard Miller. This image was commissioned by the U.S. was Production Coordination Committee and became the icon associated with Rosie the Riveter (Lowen, n.d.). As Lowen desribes what she obtained from the National Parks Service, the propaganda campaign focused on several themes in order to lure women to work outside the home. The themes were patriotic duty, high earnings, glamour of work, similar to housework, and spousal pride. Each theme gave reasons as to why women should work during the war.
As history shows, Rosie the Riveter gained greater importance through the years and far exceeded her original purpose of representing the ideal female worker and helping to fill temporary labor shortages caused by the war. She was not meant to promote change or build up the role of women in society. It was just understood that “Rosie” would resume her original role as a homemaker when the men came home from the war. Although most women returned home to care for their families, society had been forever changed. The idea of Rosie continued into the future. She paved the way for equality and increasing gains for women throughout our history.
Works Cited:
Lowen, L (n.d.). Who was rosie the riveter? Retrieved from http://womensissues.about.com/od/womenintheowrkforce/f/RosieRiveter.htm.
Pophistory.com- Norman Rockwell photo on Saturday Evening Post
Wars and history battles, world war II home front. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1656.html