I’ve seen some women who are offended by this and say it’s ridiculous that her cleavage is showing and things of that sort.
Personally, I think it’s great.
Why should we have an image of a women with her hair tied up and flexing her muscles like she’s a man? (not that that isn’t great too!) In a way it suggests that when our hair is down, our breasts are visible and we wear (GASP) lipstick, we’re somehow lesser than men? We can do it! We can be feminine and successful.
You see what I’m saying here, ladies?
You don’t have to lose your femininity. Being feminine is great. Being masculine is great. Strength is not limited to one way of being.
THE COMMENTARY IS MAKING MY HEART SING
(original text by tumblr user autumninthenorth)
oh my fucking god, this again
okay
Have you even looked at the actual Rosie the Riveter poster lately?
She’s ALREADY WEARING LIPSTICK. AND MASCARA. AND BLUSH. Her eyebrows have been PENCILED AND TWEEZED. And underneath her work bandana? HER HAIR HAS BEEN CURLED. Rosie the Riveter is a beautifulwoman. This image in no way implies that wearing feminine apparel (like cosmetics) is a negative thing.
The reason that she has her hair up and her shirt buttoned and is flexing her arms has nothing to do with prudery, or with trying to be “masculine” (as if shows of physical strength are unique to one gender). It has to do with the information at the bottom of the poster: Rosie is involved in war production. That means doing hard physical labor in a 1940s factory, where large heavy machinery can easily snag a loose lock of hair, or a bit of jewelry, or an undone button. “Makeover” Rosie would not be able to do the real Rosie’s job without serious risk of injury to herself or the people around her. In that sense, the new poster is implying that no, women are NOT capable of doing the same work as men, because they are too weak/vain/self-absorbed/whatever. The old poster is saying that, while still being feminine, women are just as capable of doing the same work as men.
Also? The new and “improved” Rosie was specifically drawn to be ANTI-FEMINIST. “[William Murai] created this image for the Brazilian Alfa Magazineto accompany an article about the End of Feminism. ‘The idea was to remake the famous feminism symbol “Rosie the Riveter” [into] a lady who is giving up on her duties and trying to look sexy again.’” (emphasis mine)
Giving up her duties and trying to look sexy? For whom, exactly? According to the artist (and the patriarchy), men. In other words, quit your job, look hot, find a man, gb2 the kitchen, and make me a sandwich, bitch. Also known as THE SAME TIRED-ASS SHIT WOMEN HEAR EVERY. FUCKING. DAY.
The new poster is not “progress.” It is not about women being “feminine andsuccessful.” It’s about the exact opposite: women being reduced to their appearance and their sex appeal according to the standards imposed by the male gaze. She is pretty, but that’s all she is, because that’s all women are supposed to be. The real Rosie (you know, the feminist icon?) is beautiful, and feminine, and strong enough to do the work necessary to keep her country safe, just the same as any man. Her worth is not in her appeal as a decorative object, but in the product of her labor and her own awareness of her abilities.
Rosie the Riveter. Accept NO substitutes.
YES FOR THAT COMMENTARY
…neither of those pictures is Rosie the Riveter. The picture you’re calling the “original Rosie” is “We Can Do It.” It caught on in the 80’s after being found in someone’s house in the 80’s (it was also not widespread, but a poster to increase moral and production in one chain of factories).
This is Rosie the Riveter
She was painted by Norman Rockwell. She’s strong from doing manual labor, she’s dirty from working, she’s eating her lunch apologetically. She’s still got the makeup and curls thing going for her, but she’s not posed to be pretty. Rosie was painted with respect toward the real world Rosies (actual nickname for the women who took men’s factory jobs during WWII). We Can Do It was painted to make them work harder, to benefit the factory owners.
And sometime in the 80’s a poster that was created to treat women like cogs in a machine, became the symbol of feminism, and the real Rosie the Riveter painting doesn’t get much credit at all.
The history and evolution of propaganda posters is fascinating.
I love the Rockwell image so so so much. I love how she isn’t particularly “beautiful”, I love her build, I love her muscles, I love her worksuit and lunch box. It’s a wonderful image, and deserves to be more widely known than it is.
Also being told we can be pretty and “don’t have to be masculine” is not revolutionary at all lol the patriarchy tells us the exact same thing shut up
rip tumblr 