“Rosie the Riveter” Norman Rockwell

“Rosie the Riveter” by Norman Rockwell was done as a cultural icon for the United States. It represented the American women that were working in factories during World War 2. Many of the women had to take on new jobs while the men were in the military and Rosie became a feminist icon. The term “Rosie the Riveter” became known in 1942 because of a song that was eventually recorded many times. The song portrays “Rosie” as a dedicated assembly line worker doing her job to support the American war effort. Women were expected to return to their “normal” household work as soon as the men returned from the war. There were government campaigns solely for women that were housewives. “Rosie the Riveter” inspired a social movement that caused the number of working women to increase to 20 million by 1944. It reflected the work of riveters and many women eventually were able to prove to themselves and their country that they were capable of doing a “man’s job” and do it well. Jobs became more available for women and were looked as more appropriate for women.

The women were influenced and believed that it was their patriotic duty to enter the work force. Rosie the Riveter is said by some to be the reason that the work force opened to women but others disagree due to the fact that many women lost their jobs when the men came back from the war. There is a quote from Leila J. Rupp from her study of World War II that states "For the first time, the working woman dominated the public image. Women were riveting housewives in slacks, not mother, domestic beings, or civilizers.” In 2000, the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park was opened which signifies where thousands of “Rosies” worked. There are four Kaiser Ship yards at this park. A documentary was also created explaining in detail the history of Rosie. There have been various paintings and posters done of “Rosie the Riveter” (Rosie the Riveter).

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Rosie the Riveter, Wikipedia April 9 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_the_Riveter