The poster, which many today consider one of the most important feminist symbols, because it calls on women to leave their homes and become active workers, with the message that they are capable of doing everything just as well as men, was actually created for completely different reasons. J. Howard Miller, an artist who worked for the War Production Coordination Board, was commissioned by the Westinghouse company to create a series of strong messages that were intended to discourage any worker rebellions that would disrupt the production process. The images of happy workers were intended to encourage everyone to feel proud to be part of a team that patriotically and joyfully contributed to the war successes that led to the final victory of the Allies in World War II. For the famous poster, Miller used a photograph of worker Geraldine Doyle, owned by United Press International.
Only later did the woman get the name "Rosie the Riveter" after a patriotic song by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb first sung by Kay Kyser.
While the other girls go to the bar,
They sip martinis and chew caviar,
There's a girl who embarrasses them,
Rosie – that's her name.
All day long, rain or shine,
She works hard, reaching the top.
He creates history, works for Victory,
Rosie the Riveter gives us hope. (free translation)
Cultural scholars Kimble and Olson, analyzing Miller's posters, showed that he actually very rarely used female characters, and when he did, he mostly emphasized conventional signs of femininity in the atmosphere of the home - "real" women who smile and see their wives off to work.
Thanks to the mythical tradition, today this poster is recognized as a representation of a message that empowers women. It is used in different contexts, and it is often misused, so it appeared as part of an advertising campaign for detergents and, like a boomerang, returned women to the sphere of the household where they are responsible for the (un)cleanliness of the home.
We now have a new "reprise" of the famous poster that calls on men to cast aside all fear and prejudice and embrace the role of fathers. A good message, in any case.
And we believe – yes, they can definitely do it without hesitation!
