(Contexts, American Sociological Association)
“We Can Do It!” For many Contexts readers, these words will bring to mind the World War II-era poster of a female factory worker in a red bandana and a blue work shirt, her sleeves rolled up and her fist held high. This image has been widely associated with “Rosie the Riveter,” a fictional persona that represented (and encouraged) American women who joined the war effort by temporarily entering the paid workforce. Accordingly, it’s become a feminist icon, a symbol of women’s empowerment and solidarity.
The poster is so recognizable today that it’s often parodied or appropriated for everything from campaigns to improve women’s lives to marketing for cleaning products. You can even buy a “Rosie the Riveter” action figure, complete with “We Can Do It!” emblazoned on the packaging. One retailer, giftapolis.com, enthuses, “Rosie the Riveter is no ordinary gal! Her image was used to promote the Women Ordinance Workers (WOWs) during World War II. Her confident declaration… inspired millions of women to drop their brooms and pick up rivet guns and wrenches.”
However, in their 2006 Rhetoric & Public Affairs article, “Visual Rhetoric Representing Rosie the Riveter: Myth and Misconception in J. Howard Miller’s ‘We Can Do It!’ Poster,” communications scholars James Kimble and Lester Olson argue that the image was never used in any such way. The idea that the poster was an inspirational call to other women is the result of reading history through the lens of our current assumptions about gender and politics. In fact, the real story of the poster is about labor relations, not gender.
First, though we often think of the “Rosie the Riveter” poster as the product of a government enthusiastic about incorporating women into the war effort, it was actually an internal corporate design, not meant for the general public. Created by