Rosie the Riveter Propaganda Cartoons and Posters
Like the WACS, Rosie the Riveter was a strong female image that many Americans, both male and female, weren't quite ready to swallow during early parts of the war. So, while Rosie was hailed by some, she was just as mocked by others. Hollywood echoed this feeling of Rosie the Riveter's slow exceptance. In the movie, Til We Meet Again, Claudette Colbert strictly forbids her eldest daughter to take a job in the factory, only finally caving in to allow her to volunteer as a nurses aide - a somewhat more respectable choice, for which the daughter is still criticized. It isn't until Claudette Colbert's husband is missing in action that she rethinks her position, and takes a factory job along side immigrants and people that she once thought of as below her in class. Unfortunately, Claudette Colbert's feelings about the working class weren't the only issues against Rosie the Riveter. Some factories discriminated against race and age, while others were simply skeptical of the ability of a woman. Many men didn't want their wives and daughters working in factories, either, for a number of reasons, even though many of them had no idea at the long term ramifications of women entering the working place, including changes in fashion, women's rights, equal pay for equal work, and even the permeating idea that some like Rosie the Riveter had the intellegence and skills to manage and even run a business. Of course, political cartoonists poked fun at these ideas, both in sensing what was to come, as well as the general feeling about Rosie the Riveter in a man's world. Advertisements, unions, and pro-war organizations took a difference stance, patting women on the back for a job well done, and urging them to get out of their kitchen. However, even in their remarks, there remains some holdovers in stereotyping.
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