Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the women who manned the manufacturing plants which produced munitions and material during World War II while the men (who traditionally performed this work) were off fighting the war. This "character" is now considered a feminist icon in the U.S., and a herald of women's economic power to come.
The image most iconically associated with Rosie is J. Howard Miller's famous poster for Westinghouse, entitled We Can Do It! (at right), which is thought to have been created in 1942. However, the character in this painting was not named. Subsequently, a song by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb , entitled Rosie the Riveter, was released in early 1943. [1]
A US stamp in 1999 featuring the same poster: "Celebrate the Century - 1940s - Women Support the War Effort"
The final connection between the name of Rosie and the character was made by Norman Rockwell for his eponymous cover for the May 29 1943 Saturday Evening Post, which depicted a different Rosie who was nevertheless recognisable as a spiritual sister of Miller's character. [2] It is not clear whether Rockwell had seen the Miller poster.
Rosie however has been resembled by other modern characters,often pop cultural.For example:In 2005's Robots,Piper Pinwheeler brings reference to feminism by her attitude filled with determination to do heavy non-female work,such as welding.
