Thursday, January 31, 2008

We Can Do It

Wikipedia states: "Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the six million women who worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions and material during World War II. The women took the places of the male workers who were absent fighting in the Pacific and European theaters. The character is now considered a feminist icon in the US, and a herald of women's economic power to come. Rosie and her slogan were featured on posters, magazines and more."Now I don't know how many of you have seen this poster. I was trying to explain it to Faith when I got back from Africa and she had no idea what I was talking about. In jest, I said that it was from her time period...how could she not know. I thought everyone knew about this poster.

So you might be wondering why I would post something like this. After all, Wikipedia says the "the character is now considered a feminist icon in the US". I am not a feminist but the poster has been on my mind for a while now. Why you might ask? Well while we were in Africa Melissa and I always wore a bandanna around our head. Every time I put one on I thought of this poster.

Now it is up to you. Let me know what you think. Do we look like Rosie?

2 comments:

Tammy said...

Such an important representation of "liberation" in women's history. To not know who Rosie the Riveter is, is to not know where we come from and why things are the way they are today. Women like our grandmothers left their roles as housewives to prove, among many things, that they too could do the jobs that men did. As housewives they supported their husbands in the home. However, with the men at war, these strong women were needed by their men to work in the defense depots to make bullets, to make planes, to weld, to use nail guns, etc. Rosie is a very important icon for women to show that we have the ability to do whatever we set our minds to. Votes for women!!! ;-)

Brian said...

My grandma was a "real" Rosie the Riveter — that is, she really worked as a riveter during the war! I'm proud to teach my kids that they have more than a social link to this icon, but a personal link as well. Thanks for your post.