Rosie The Riveter, Wwii, And The Three Waves Of Feminism

Introduction

While World War II created mass destruction, economic distress, and even tore families apart; at the same time, it was responsible for creating countless new opportunities for women in the workforce. Due to the high demands of the economic hardship because of the war, this called for a reevaluation of the American women’s roles and responsibility in society. World War II empowered and impacted American women greatly as the government initiated a nationwide campaign in hopes to persuade women to replace men within the workforce. The government produced posters and films to glorify women in the workforce to entice more American women to serve their country as a part of the “home-front labor force.” The war began in 1939, and by 1943 more than 310,000 women were working in the U.S. Aircraft Industry, representing over 60% of the total workforce of the industry (History.com). While dealing with a gross shortage of man power, the factory gates began to flood with women, mothers, daughters, secretaries, wives, and occasionally schoolgirls who worked to make up for the factory duties that the men left behind. By the end of the second World War, it was recorded that more than six million female workers had helped build planes, bombs, tanks, and other weapons used in WWII. During this time, women stepped up to the plate without hesitation and left their domestic jobs to accomplish things that had always been done by men before them. The American workforce was booming and many wonder what motivated so many women to drop everything they had ever known to do a man’s work (History.com).

An artist from Pittsburgh, Howard Miller, was hired by the Westinghouse Company’s War Production Coordinating Committee to create a range of propaganda posters in works to encourage women to join the war efforts. In 1942, the most iconic and influential propaganda poster was created, “Rosie the Riveter.” The poster was later popularized by Norman Rockwell. These government influenced posters exemplified how the government wanted women to be perceived within the workplace. Wartime publicity set guidelines for how women were to dress and act. Rosie the Riveter exemplified the feeling of nationalism among U.S. Citizens but also represented the generation of women who broke down societal boundaries (History.com). Although, the war effort was not entirely designed to help women increase their societal stance, but their physical labor was to help the U.S. win the war. Although many women went back to their domestic duties after the men returned home from the war, they were still a part of a feminist movement that proved to the government and to society that women were still able to contribute by developing homes, conserving resources, raising funds, and filling jobs left by the men at war.

During this time, the “ideal” woman was one who could work and perform all of the same duties as a man, with great skill, but all while still containing a feminine image. The mid-twentieth century had women feeling confused about their place in the workforce and in society. With their men home, they were unsure if it was appropriate or not for them to continue to work in the labor force, or if they should stay home with the children like they did before the war.

After the war and the baby booming era, the Rosie the Riveter poster began to make appearances in several feminist waves and movements. This was due to the fact that female roles in society we questioned more and more after the war ended. Men felt threatened by women who felt the power of earning their own money to provide for their families. It was understandable that women were not willing to give up their submissive roles in society. But, as the confusion grew more common among women, wartime workers, and other female activists, the desire to stand and fight for equality for women became inevitable.

The First Wave of Feminism

There are many people who believe that the first wave of feminism/Women’s Movements first emerged in the 1960s. The first wave of feminism took place approximately around 1840-1925 and included both liberal and cultural branches (Wood, 58-59). These views of the two movements caused great conflict as they worked together to change the status and rights of women in U.S. society (Wood, 59).

The first wave of feminism is known as the Women’s Rights Movement that came in hopes to fight for basic civil rights for women. This movement was compiled by Coffin Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who had met at an international antislavery convention but were both denied access because of their female gender. These women then both realized that if they were going to work to end slavery, they would have to gain political voice and recognition as women. Mott and Stanton then organized the first women’s rights convention, the Seneca Falls Convention that was held in New York City in 1848 (Wood, 59). A keynote was added and addressed as the “Declaration of Sentiments.” The Declaration of Sentiments displayed all of the specific grievance’s women were suffering during this time. These grievances included not being allowed or able to vote, exclusion from higher forms of education, restrictions on employment, and loss of property rights upon marriage. At the Seneca Falls Convention, 32 men and 68 women signed a petition supporting the Women’s Rights Movement (Valadez Lambrecht).

When the U.S. Constitution was amended in 1874, this alliance was questioned when the constitution extended suffrage to black men but not women. Although, there were many black women who were discouraged by the focus of women’s rights but not the biased differences caused by race. With that being said, the beginning of the early women’s rights movement was almost exclusive to white women only in its membership and efforts. Activists spoke, marched, and fought at rallies and even engaged in several nonviolent protests. These women were jailed, mistreated, and force fed due to a silent hunger strike (History.com).

Women were often taken for granted in the late 19th to early 20th centuries as they fought to gain political power. The political agenda of these women expanded far past the right to vote. These issues concerned sexual, reproductive, and economic matters as women worked and protested to prove that they have the potential to contribute just as much if not more than men. Finally, after almost 72 years following the Seneca Falls Convention, women won the right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 (Wood, 59). Even after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, women’s rights were still inactive due to several contributing factors. The attention of the public was being controlled by both world wars as women went to work in factories as laborers to pick up the slack of the men who went off to war.

In the years between 1940-1944, approximately six million women went to work. This was a 500% increase in the number of women performing paid labor (Wood, 60). By May of 1942, the government instituted the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps that was later upgraded to the Women’s Army Corps. The Women’s Army Corps had full military status and its members worked more than 200 non-combatant jobs in every theater of the war. When the war eventually ended and American soldier returned home, the majority of working women were fired and forced out of the jobs they had learned and worked for many years in order to give these jobs “back” to the men that had just returned from military service. Society expected these women to return to their duties of domestication, chores, and child raising and to do so without hesitation or complaint. Being a woman who was presented with the opportunity to be a part of the labor force left an ever-lasting impression and longing desire to be an equal member of the national work force.

The Second Wave of Feminism

The second wave of feminism began in reaction to the post-war obsession with the idea of the stay at home housewife along with domesticity. A lifestyle women did not want to go back to as they felt isolated and their choices and opportunities were extremely limited. Beginning in 1963, the United States began to see a second wave of Women’s Rights Movements emerge. Much like the first wave, the second wave consisted of liberal and cultural feminists (Wood, 61). The famous “We Can Do It” poster was first used against women until the second wave of feminism and since then, the poster has been recreated over and over again in efforts to promote gender equality.

Radical feminism, also known as the women’s liberation movement, was the first feminist activism to emerge in the second wave. Protests grew out of the politics that protested Vietnam, The New Left Movement, and graduated to fighting for civil rights. Women in the New Left groups were still being treated as subordinates by their male peers, so these women challenged sexism even though most men in the movement ignored them (Wood, 62). With that being said, many women withdrew form the New Left group and formed organizations on their own due to the outrage they felt about men ignoring their rights movement. It was especially common for radical feminists to rely on consciousness-raising groups. Otherwise known as “rap” groups, women would gather and speak openly about their personal experiences with sexism as they later linked those personal experiences to larger pollical and social structures. Radical feminists committed themselves to equality and their deep suspicion of hierarchy led them to have leaderless discussions so that participants felt as if they have equal power.

Radical feminists also took advantage of revolutionary analysis and politics that resulted in high public events in order to call attention to the oppression of women and to demand a change. Some of the high-profile events that were staged by radical feminists included Occupation of the Ladies’ Home Journal office, speak-outs about silenced issues such as rape and abortion, protests against the Miss America pageants, and the guerilla theater to dramatize public issues. This Civil Rights Movement of 1964 contributed materially to women’s rights but also prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, and religion. But, the main concern of the Civil Rights Movement was to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. An important outcome that identified the structural basis of women; oppression came from the various strains of radical feminism shown in this second wave demonstrating that “the personal is political.” (Wood, 63) Second wave feminists saw women’s cultural and political discrimination as it correlates with one another and encouraged women to understand the aspects of their personal lives and deeply politicized as sexist power was demonstrated against women.

Radical feminism was not the only type of movement that was influenced by Rosie. In the early 60s, another branch of second-wave feminism emerged in the suburbs. This branch was known as Liberal Feminism which advocates the equality of women’s social, economic, educational, and politics. This branch was ignited in 1963 among the publication of the book The Feminine Mystique that was written by Betty Friedan. Friedan decided to use this as the title in a way of addressing “the problem that has no name.” The problem that has no name was naming the discrimination and dehumanization that many white, middle-class American felt because their opportunities beyond home and family were limited (Bisighani). She confirmed that although these issues may seem to be very personal, they actually qualify as political issues. As there were several books and politics that led to many victories for the booming second wave women’s movement. These successes lead to the establishment of the National Organization for Women and the first legislative victory known as the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The passage of this law gave women the right to have an equal right to equal pay for the same jobs that men did. This law passage made it possible for women to not be prevented from joining the work force due to unfair wages.

The introduction of the contraceptive pill among other changes caused political ramifications. The pill was used by women who wanted to delay childbirth in order to establish a career and society had very negative feelings about this. This is a timeline included that consists of the landmark moments that were established during the second wave (Valadez, Lambrecht):

• 1963: Equal Pay Act.
• 1966: Betty Friedan founds the National Organization for Women (NOW).
• 1967: full Affirmative Action rights for women.
• 1968: Coretta Scott King (Dr. Martin Luther King’s wife and fellow activist) assumes leadership of the African-American Civil Rights movement and expands the movement’s platform to include women’s rights.
• 1968: Shirley Chisholm, first African-American woman elected to Congress, on Democratic ticket (she would later run for the party’s nomination for president in 1972).
• June 1969 – Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, NY, spark the beginnings of the Gay Rights Movement (today’s LGBTQ Rights Movement).
• 1970: Title X, ensuring access to healthcare and family planning.
• 1970: Lutheran Church allows women to be ordained.
• 1970: Labor giant AFL-CIO discusses the status of women in labor unions.
• 1972: first Women’s Studies program in the U.S.  at San Diego State.
• 1972: passage of Title IX, ensuring equal funding for women’s opportunities in education (e.g., scholarships and sports teams).
• 1972: Gloria Steinem founds Ms. Magazine (still in print today…and online!).
• 1973: Roe v. Wade, the landmark case ensuring women’s access to safe and legal abortion.
• 1974: Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
• 1975: Military academies admit women.
• 1978: Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

By the end of the second wave of feminism, Rosie the Riveter had become the face of many feminist movements as they used her picture to campaign the civil rights movement. Rosie influenced salary increase and choice of work for women before anything else. Rosie the Riveter brought change and hope to the women’s movement as she became a powerful force of feminism.

The Third Wave of Feminism

Influenced by multiple branches of second-wave feminism, mainstream third-wave feminism began including women of different ethnicities, abilities, disabilities, classes, sexual orientations, and gender identities. Unlike the other two waves of feminism, the third wave is focused on intersectionality. This wave specifically focuses on the intersectionality of oppression which points out race, class, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity are intricately woven together and must be addressed holistically (Wood, 72). Third wave feminists spoke about and in favor of women as a group while still working to recognize differences among women.

Everyday resistance is another feature of third wave feminism. Even though third wave feminism may point out reforms won in the second wave, that does not mean they are being practiced in everyday life occurrences. We do not see sexism presented the same way that others did in the 1960s-1980s, but it does exist, and it is a subtle, challenging thing to come by. Sexism encouraged and motivated third wavers to challenge racist comments in the workplace and on the street, to challenge homophobic attitudes, and to be willing to reject class privileges (Wood, 73).

Third wave feminism is different in a sense than the other two waves. Most third wave members are known for embracing individualism and the typical “girly girl” culture by labeling a premium on being attractive, feminine, and fashionable. Outsiders of the wave argue that being feminine and attractive are not normally a mutual exclusion of most feminists. They question an attractive feminists’ credibility because society’s ideal of woman hood tends to privilege youth, energy, and money.

Conclusion

We as women work hard in our classes and at our jobs just so that we can succeed in the career that we choose. But at the end of the day, we are still worrying about the obstacles we may be challenged with regarding sexism such as lower pay than a male peer or discrimination for being a mother. These obstacles cannot be conquered individually, as they require structural change that can only grow out of political action. Third wave feminism was more inclusive of women and girls of color than the first two waves. In reaction and defense to stereotypical images of women as being passive, weak, and dominant, emasculating the third wave redefined girls to be women and made them to be assertive, powerful, and in control of themselves before anyone else.

Without Rosie, these women would not have had anyone to motivate them and guide them in fighting for what they thought was right. Rosie the Riveter represents something much more than a woman being able to do the same things as a man. She represents power, opportunity, equality, and most importantly FEMINISM. When all is said and done, the message that feminists want everyone to see is very much like the message represented by Rosie’s poster; we as women can do anything that a man can do. Without the war, women would not have been presented with such opportunity in the 1940s-1960s. Rosie, wearing the red and white polka dot bandana was feminine and attractive, she was bold but not confrontational. Her image was safe, a credible advocation, and it is something that is still used today in fight for women’s rights.

Works Cited

• Bisignani, Dana. “Three Waves of Feminism.” Silent Thoughts of An Equalist, 7 Mar. 2016, silencethoughtsofanequalist.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/three-waves-of-feminism/.
• Editors, History.com. “Rosie the Riveter.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 23 Apr. 2010, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/rosie-the-riveter.
• “Second-Wave Feminism.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, 2017, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1960s-america/a/second-wave-feminism.
• Valadez, Micaela, and Eric Lambrecht. “What Was the Second Wave Feminist Movement?” What Was the Second Wave Feminist Movement? - DailyHistory.org, 28 Jan. 2019, dailyhistory.org/What was the Second Wave Feminist Movement?
• Wood, Julia T., and Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz. Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, & Culture. 12th ed., Cengage Learning, 2017.