Domestic Propaganda

By: Candace and Elizabeth

Rosie the Riveter

J. Howard Miller- 1942 Norman Rockwel l- 1943

Origin• Before any posters or magazine covers were made, there was first the

“Rosie the Riveter” Song: “While other girls attend their fav’rite

cocktail barSipping Martinis, munching caviarThere’s a girl who’s really putting

them to shameRosie is her name

All the day long whether rain or shineShe’s a part of the assembly line

She’s making history, working for victoryRosie the Riveter

Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotageSitting up there on the fuselage

That little frail can do more than a male will do

Rosie the Riveter…”

Origin (continued)

J. Howard Miller

• Created in 1942 for the Westinghouse Company’s War Production Coordinating Committee

• Not originally named “Rosie the Riveter”

• Originally displayed for 2 weeks in a Michigan factory

• Rediscovered in the 1970’s and made famous as “Rosie the Riveter”

Norman Rockwell • Cover of Saturday Evening

Post in 1943• Originally title “Rosie the

Riveter”• Included as part of an effort

in 1943 to show images of women in the workplace on the covers of major American magazines

Hidden Symbols

• The following symbols can be found in the Rockwell Version of Rosie the Riveter:

– Rosie has her feet placed on a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf

– In the pocket of her jumpsuit, Rosie has both a compact and a lace handkerchief , symbols of feminism

– Because steel-toed boots were not produced for women, Rosie is wearing loafers in the poster. Work boots for women only began to be produced a few years into the war

The Original Inspiration

• The picture of Michigan factory worker Geraldine Hoff Doyle that inspired the J. Howard Millar “Rosie the Riveter” poster

Real “Rosies”

Cultural Significance• As the war required men to be drawn from the workforce and

into the armed forces, women were needed to replace them• For the first time in American society, middle and upper class

women were expected to leave the home and take a job• Because it was a new phenomenon it was aimed at both men

and women• Rosie was used in alternative ways as well• After the war ended, many women chose to remain in the

workforce, and employment levels for women never again dropped below pre-war levels

Alternative Rosies

Modern Interpretations

Veteran’s Green JobsApril 2009

Time Magazine Cover

September 2003

Alexis Bladel Glamour Magazine

September 2009

www.freerepublic.comSarah Para Bellum

(2009)