Rosie the Riveter: What Did Women Do During World War II?

World War II started less than 10 years after women's suffrage was ratified. The progression of women as equals in America was only fueled by the war effort. The percentage of women in the work force rose from 27 to 37 percent in only five years . The poster We Can Do It! by J. Howard Miller depicts a woman, Rosie the Riveter, working for the war cause with the caption "We Can Do It!"

The colors of the poster show a very patriotic message with the use of blue, red and white. These colors indicate that Rosie is pro-America and that "We" should be too. The use of the yellow background is to make our main focal point, Rosie, stand out. Her uniform's colors are not very vibrant so the use of yellow pulls the audience's attention the image. The image's shadowing and detail in Rosie's face and physique show that Miller wanted Rosie to look realistic and almost like a depiction of an actual person named Rosie.

Rosie's face and body have a very dedicated and stern look while she flexes her arm and rolls up her sleeve as if to say that she is ready to get to work. Her face is powerful and is almost shaming the viewer for not helping in the war effort. This is to show the seriousness of the work that women have to do and to also show that women can just be as dedicated as men. 

Rosie's phrase " We Can Do It!" is iconic on its own, but with Rosie the message is very unique. The phrase calls all women and men to help join the war effort. It is telling them that America is like a team and we all have to help in the war effort. The word "We" also implies that everyone, no matter who they are, should help. No one should just sit back and watch the war happen. The picture
signals that the only way the war will end is if everyone does something about it.

This idea of inclusion of everyone in the war effort is very different from America today. The media and ads do not focus much on everyone helping in war but more on advertising products and goods. I feel that this has caused America to lose its patriotic sense of being an American. Americans focus more on material goods rather than their American duty. 

Work Cited

Staff, History.com. "Rosie the Riveter." History.com. History, 2010. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.
Miller, J. Howard. "We Can Do It!" Digital image. Americanhistory.si.edu. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.