Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter is one of the most famous feminist icon. Nearly everyone has seen the famous poster, but few people know the history behind it. 

Because of the massive draft during World War II, there was a shortage of men in the workforce. Before this time many women didn't work because society claimed the working world was no place for women. The shortage of men in the workforce left employees scrambling to find workers. With no other options, employers were forced to higher female employees. But because of the social stigma around leaving the home to engage in wage work, women were a bit reluctant to seek employment. 

This is where Rosie the Riveter comes in. The Rosie the Riveter campaign started to convince women to leave the home to work for the war effort. J. Howard Miller is the artist who created the most iconic version of Rosie. This poster actually wasn't very popular during the war but resurfaced during the 1980's where it became a feminist icon. 

Geraldine Hoff is the face behind Rosie the Riveter. She inspired two different versions of Rosie. The first, mentioned above, was the "We Can Do It" poster created by J. Howard Miller. Hoff also inspired Norman Rockwell to create another Rosie later.

According to the myth, Hoff was a 19 year old telephone operator when Norman Rockwell asked her to model for him. He stated that she was "The most beautiful woman I'd ever seen." Hoff had no idea her image was going to be famous until she saw her picture on the cover of The Saturday Post.

Although the term "Rosie the Riveter" wasn't associated with Hoff's likeness at first. The name came from the song "Rosie the Riveter" by Redd Evans and John Jacobs Loeb. Rockwell had heard the song and decided to put the name Rosie on the lunch pail in his image. The term "Rosie the Riveter" was then applied to pretty much everything involving women involved in the war effort. She is still used today a symbol of the feminist movement and as a reminder that we can do whatever we set our minds to.