Rosie The Riveter Thesis

Women participated in the military services, got the education to work in skilled labour so that they did much better than before and received popular recognition step by step because of their own hard work. “You learn a lot from living in with a group of girls; we were all much enriched by the experience. Better people for it. You were not just yourself, you behaved, became party of something much bigger than yourself.” Sheila McClemans in Patsy Adam-Smith Australian Women at war said.

When World War 1 started and the demand for mobilization of entire nations when millions of men were sent into the military it created a needed labor workers, it was filled by women. A very significant number of women started work, but the most important impact of the war on women’s employment wasn’t just about in how they did the job, it was about women were able to get into jobs That was previously out of reach for woman, for example heavy industry, munitions, and police work. More than 25,000 US women who served in Europe in World War I. They went to helped as nurse the wounded, provide food and other supplies to the military, serve as telephone operators, entertain troops, and work as journalists.

She is the home-front equivalent of G.I. Joe. She represents any woman defense worker. And for many women, she 's an example of a strong, competent foremother” (Harvey, 2010). ‘Rosie’ broke free from the traditional gender role of the time period.

A Film Analysis of Intersectionality and Gender Binary Thinking in The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980) by Connie Field

In the article it says that women entered jobs like engineering, other professions, and manufacturing jobs that many people believed that those jobs were too dangerous for women and women were too weak. In their jobs, women made airplanes, warships, munitions, and tanks working in technical and scientific fields. Also, after the war, women were still employed as secretaries, waitresses, or in other clerical jobs. This was often called the “pink collar” force. This article shows how sometimes women are given clerical jobs that show people underestimate the abilities of women.

It compared the work typically associated to women, such as sewing and caring for nails, to the new workforce that required welding and grinding. The propaganda used the practices that were considered feminine to make the typically masculine roles seem more fitting to women, in the hopes that it would bring more women to work. Women were also said to have smaller hands that were more precise, which would be perfect for working. This trait associated with women was not advantageous to gaining a career in the past, but with the need for workers it became desirable. Eventually, Rosie the Riveter was created, a character that depicted the perfect working woman.

Gender discrimination has been an issue women have endured and overcame for many tears. Women were expected to play the role of a stayed home mother and wife with the exclusion of very few. As the country called for the men to defend the country therefore help from women in order to produce goods and keep the economy up flow while the men fought abroad, women answered and got to work. Many women broke the chains that held them back from expanding their abilities in the workforce by proving they were as capable, articulate and hardworking just as any other man. As the typical house wife was transforming into a “Rosie the Riveter” created by Howard Miller, many feared women where moving away from the “American way of life”. The stigma behind

Yet, women were expected to set aside their personal beliefs to insure that America could still make further advancements without its men. However, women still complied because they knew the responsibility laid with them to keep the nation running. Still, much of propaganda had a purpose to motivate women to lend a helping hand in the war. As Susan Mathis said, “The patriotic appeal had two aspects… ‘do your part’... ‘a soldier may die if you don’t do your part’...”

The women of the early 20th century showed that they have the ability to be productive in the work place and fight for the greater good of the United States of America. In modern times women have started joining combat roles in the military and increasing in demographical size in the military. This has shown that women are striving to be more equal to men in all aspects of modern life. By showing they can fight in wars and hold their own against our nations enemies they can and will be seen as equals. The public celebration of women’s history in the United States began in 1978.

Rosie the Riveter is a widely recognized, iconic symbol of rebellion. Originating as a 1940’s propagandic symbol to encourage women everywhere to band together and keep strong using her famous phrase, ‘We can do it!’ , Rosie has grown to become a symbol of feminism and impacted the USA’s views and beliefs ultimately very positively. This pattern is present everywhere. Additional examples include Antigone, written by Socrates in classical Greece, The Hunger Games, written by modern author Suzanne Collins, and the nonfiction example of the women’s rights movement in early 1900’s USA.

During World War II, Woman’s were assembled for duty in the Canadian Armed Forces, for the first time. The armed force was shy of men in war services and administration, which lead the Canadian government to choose and declare on August 13, 1941 to give woman’s the privilege to take an interest in war utility. 50,000 women were enlisted and more than half provided service in the Canadian Army. Most were doled out occupations including customary female work, for example, cooking, clothing and administrative obligations, also woman had pioneer roles in the mechanized and specialized fields. The Canadian Women 's Army Corps (CWAC) performed fundamental administrations, both at home and abroad, that achieved Allied victory.

For many centuries, women were meant to support and free men in combat duty. Beginning in the eighteenth century, women took a part in the military by disguising themselves as men. Actions such as these continued into the nineteenth century as well. However, doors began opening in the twentieth century when General George C. Marshall demanded that women be a part of the military. In the 1940s, the Women’s Army Corps was formed which expanded women’s careers throughout military services.

Roles of women consisted of nursing and special operations personnel. During World War I is when women were finally able to join the military. More than 33, 000 women served as nurses and special staff during that time. Only 400 lost their lives in the line of duty. Even though women were given these roles they still wanted to contribute to the fight despite the exclusionary rule and policies.

At that time, they took on roles such as nurses, seamstresses, and cooks. Some women worked as spies while others disguised themselves as men in order to serve in the fight. Over the years, women contributed as well as adapted to the many changes that took place in America and remained willing to take on new roles that helped make this country what it is today. Women began to serve officially in the military when the Army established a permanent Nurse Corps in 1901 (Women In Combat: Framing the Issues).

None the less, women still can play in crucial roles in the military that don’t necessarily involve combat. Military tradition and lifestyle is changing as more women continue to enlist in it. The military has been masculine and also what you could say “macho”, it is a hierarchal institution with a primary goal of dealing with and destroying the enemy. Most critics who say women will change the fabric that keeps the military together is that women will feminize the military. “… critics have typically sounded alarms about the ‘feminization’ of the armed forces.