I honestly always found Rosie the Riveters “ We can Do it Poster “ bold and interesting. I also do have questions about it. This poster was made in 1943 by J. Howard Miller. It was made to boost female worker image & importance. This was also made around the time of WW2. Factories and shipyards during World War 2 had plenty of women helping and taking over positions and roles that men would be doing. I like that they are advertising the point women are capable and strong .. breaking them aways from being seen as a housewife or not strong enough. I wonder though why the face of the famous advertisement is a white female. it makes me wonder Was only white females helping in the WW2 .. was their women of other race who helped ?
Hey, you bring up an interesting question. Maybe women of color were actually helping in the workforce but they weren’t given as much attention as white women. It was the 1940s, they were still pretty racist back then so you would never see POC in advertisements. Which is why they only showed a white woman.
You have a great point and really grabbed my attention with this image.
That’s a great observation! White privilege back then was impacting people more than right now. If you take a look at old advertisements, movies, or plays, you will notice that the media which is controlled by people in power try to make the white, straight blonde hair young woman as if it is the perfect example of being a woman. If you take a look back at the picture, you will see how perfect they made her facial features. I would like to say that the image has more intentions and messages than was really made for.
Thank you for this image because I think as you because the poster was created to increase confidence for employees in companies manufacturing war materials during World War II, and it evolved as women continued to push for liberation from social standards.
Hey Mamadou,
I like that you picked a classic and very well-known image to post and share. I like the question that you brought up because I can see why this question was formed. The image is showing a woman in a stance that shows how strong she is and taking into consideration the time period it is to portray, one can assume that there is much more behind this painting.