World War II Er The Greatest Generation

While Rosie’s image developed, “’Rosie the Riveter,’ [became] the collective nickname for the 8 million or so women who toiled in what were traditionally male jobs in the factories” (Bisett). Burned into the minds of the nation was the image of the red haired individual who encompassed proof of a woman’s ability to work. The cultural icon gave women a proudly worn title, representing a common persistence from traditional gender roles in the journey for equal working prospects. Peeling back the many layers of Rosie’s burly being exposes the angelic woman underneath a visor seen as

Even though Rosie the Riveter is an image frequently synonymous with the contemporary women’s movement, she was not designed to promote social change or improve the role of women in the workplace during World War II. In reality, she was promoted as the ideal female worker and was patriotic, confident, capable, and beautiful in a large propaganda campaign by the United States government. Since the war caused many men to answer the call to serve in the military, both at home and abroad, the United States was faced with the urgent challenge of recruiting women into the workforce. Rosie the Riveter was their solution to this problem.

The film titled, “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”, looks at the roles of women during and after World War II within the U.S. The film interviews five women who had experienced the World War II effects in the U.S, two who were Caucasian and three who were African American. These five women, who were among the millions of women recruited into skilled male-oriented jobs during World War II, shared insight into how women were treated, viewed and mainly controlled. Along with the interviews are clips from U.S. government propaganda films, news reports from the media, March of Time films, and newspaper stories, all depicting how women are to take "the men’s" places to keep up with industrial production, while reassured that their

With the new manufacturing field, these companies needed hard working men to help construct heavy equipment. This forced many of the soldiers out of war to go work in factories. This is when the military units realized they needed more help fighting. These generals were unsure how women were going to react when asked to help fight war. However, they were shocked when the women did not have a problem saying yes. Since propaganda was big during world war II, they encouraged women to join the war using this advertisement. This is when Rosie the Riveter was created. She was seen wearing a red and white bandana that covered her hair, and she is flexing. Her look was trying to put off a strong, confident woman with the quote, “We Can Do It!” above it, in hopes this would also motivate women . Often other propaganda had quotes enforcing the urgency and need for women to work. This mostly sparked the middle-class women because the poorer women were already working in factories. These new workers began getting hired for jobs driving taxis, streetcars, heavy construction machinery, they also worked in steel mills. However, the women working in these fields did not make as much money as the men, but they were grateful or being able to work somewhere besides the house. There were many issues that arose from women working though. One of the biggest problems was child care. Since women were once

Throughout World War II, six million American women turned their backs on their duties as housewives and joined the workforce for the first time and found paying jobs that ranged from working in factories to retail. Due to the high amount of men being drafted into the war, a high demand to support the war effort and the recent number of vacant jobs resulted in a vast need for a labor force. Workers had been desperately needed to keep the nation running and to support the war effort. The United States government created a cultural icon, a fictional character named Rosie the Riveter, to attract women to the concept of working.

When men got back from war the women were expected to go back to their housework and do what they did before the war. Rosie the Riveter was expected to dissipate and be forgotten, because women were no longer wanted or needed in the workplace. This created nationwide anger for many women that wanted to continue working and continue having freedom and a sense of importance. Most women swallowed their pride and went back to being housewives and caretakers. Rosie paved the way for gender equality and greater gains for women throughout society in decades ahead. Betty Friedan even said that the World War II female movement was “the feminine mystique” which was the title of a book she wrote that is still adored today. She wrote the book in 1962 and this sparked a renewed interest in women’s equality. Women wanted more females in the workplace and no discrimination due to gender for salary and the way women were treated in the workplace. Instead of men not hiring women because the fear of them becoming pregnant soon or just because they were women, women wanted to be respected and freed. As more and more people read the book and how it explained what women’s life was like people began to fight back. Women would hold protests in the streets holding signs high above their heads. Others got involved in the National Organization of Women (NOW) that focused on pro-equality. As time went on women were gaining more freedom again for the first time since WWII and from then on things changed. Betty Friedan once said, “What used to be the feminist agenda is now an everyday reality. The way women look at themselves, the way other people look at women, is completely different...than it was thirty years ago...Our daughters grow up with the same possibilities as our sons (“The”).” In conclusion, Rosie the Riveter was long-lasting after the war’s end and inspired women to pursue their dreams, which later on

The generation after World War 2 is what Tom Brokaw refers to as The Greatest Generation. The Greatest Generation have gone and seen many important things in our history. This generation handled things differently and had high standards and morals to live up to. This generation developed personal values that they believed that helped them overcome many future problems. This generation was so great because they developed personal values and helped the world and economy.

Women in America have faced gender suppression for centuries. From issues such as not being able to vote, to equal wage rights, feminists and suffragettes have fought for their place in society. During World War II, women began to shape the world around them by taking jobs in large numbers, as men had to leave their jobs to enlist. This was supported through one of America’s cultural icons, Rosie the Riveter, who represented a strong, working woman. However, once the men returned at war’s end, women were fired from their jobs. While women were praised for their work, they also changed the workplace itself, helping the United States transition out of an industrial economy. Harsh factories were given a feminine, personal touch, and the women began to break out of their dull housewife lives--until the war ended. Although World War II caused only a temporary rise in women’s employment, women changed company policies and took jobs normally reserved for men, challenging their own role as subservient housewives and permanently improving employment in the businesses that they worked.

In 1944, women were accused of not doing anything for World War II (Weatherford 238). Nevertheless, Rosie the Riveter was a symbol for all working women during the war. After Rosie was used to bring women into the workplace, women gained strength by being in a group (Bailey 85, Weatherford 235). Although women were discriminated against during World War II, their skills in volunteering, constructing planes, ship building, working in war plants, and farming were said to be essential to winning the war (Bailey 90).

J. Howard Miller’s poster of “Rosie the Riveter” in the 1940s encouraged women to join the workforce and has remained an important symbol of feminism because of this (Miller, J). Rosie the Riveter was originally intended to draft more people into the Westinghouse Electric Company while WWII was in progress. Her purpose was well served because she encouraged 18 million women to begin working in factories while men were at war (US History, 3). Rosie was idolized because of her powerful statement to women, “We Can Do It!”, and was an inspiration to many women across the nation. Her message only applied to women while men were away at war and once the war was over her relevance faded

Women, before World War II, were seen as housewives and there job was only to take care of kids, clean house, and cook for there family. Whereas, for an employment women they worked as secretaries, maids, etc. This lack of successfulness and the ability to work outside this started changing in the 1920’s. During World War II, the US government started funding money to organization to produce propaganda posters, in order to motivate citizens to join the war, or be part of the workforce. One of the the very well known Rosie the Riveter or "We Can Do It" poster was designed by J. Howard Miller in 1943. The main goal of this motivational poster is to encourage women

Many of the Greatest Generations’ core values have been challenged by later generations due to changes in the economy, politics, war, social equality, technology, and the family structure. The Greatest Generation, a name that journalist Tom Brokaw popularized, refers to the generation that grew up during the Great Depression, served during World War II, and then worked hard and prospered after the War. The Greatest Generation believed in following rules and not questioning authority, focusing on the nuclear family, being patriotic, working hard, saving money and owning a house. These tenets have evolved during the last fifty years for better and for worse.

Women have been criticized for working in certain fields for decades. The earliest change and promotion of women in work, is the poster “We Can Do It!” by J. Howard Miller. This propagandist poster appeals to the women on the homefront to fill the labor jobs that the men left as they were recruited in World War II. As women were encouraged to take wartime jobs in defense industries, they became a celebrated symbol of female patriotism. The Artist J. Howard Miller create “Rosie the Riveter” to represent the women in the workforce, compared to the stereotypical “housewife”. Miller wished women to see this poster, and believe that they are

The term the greatest generation was popularized by Tom Brokaw in his book titled The Greatest Generation. In this book he tells many stories of those who fought in the World War Two and their families. This generation grew up in the economic hardship of the great depression and fought in World War Two. Their upbringing affected the way the country was run for the rest of their lives. They created a sense of responsibility and camaraderie throughout the country. Those who fought in the war came home and wanted a simple life after their time serving and many moved to the suburbs and created a strong middle class. During the war many new inventions were made and were made available after the end of the war. The men and women who helped win the war made the United States of America a global superpower; both in terms of military, industry, science, and culture.

The American socio-political structure may not acknowledge the contributions of its women but it cannot possibly ignore them specially when such contributions speak for themselves like in the case of “Rosie the Riveter”. Starting from the Second World War when the 'fairer sex' took hold of a country's ropes while the men were away fighting, women have been taking bold actions to gain equality for their gender.