Rosie the Riveter
The Famous Poster
The picture seen to the left is easily the most famous propaganda poster used during WWII for recruiting women. "Rosie the Riveter" was a fictional character used to represent the strength women had during this time and their effort to step up and support their families and their husbands while they were away at war. The poster exclaims, "We Can Do It!" to create a sense of unity among those women who had to begin a life they had never experienced before.
Even though this poster is always referred to as "Rosie", it was a girl by the name of Geraldine Doyle that inspired the poster that became the symbol of the strength that nearly 18 million women showed during the timeline of WWII.
Even though this poster is always referred to as "Rosie", it was a girl by the name of Geraldine Doyle that inspired the poster that became the symbol of the strength that nearly 18 million women showed during the timeline of WWII.
Geraldine Doyle
Born in 1924, at the age of seventeen, Garaldine Doyle began working in a factory along with millions of women during the start of WWII. She was just out of high school when she began working. The Washington Post wrote, "One day, a photographer representing the United Press came to her factory and captured Mrs. Doyle leaning over a piece of machinery and wearing a red and white polka-dot bandana over her hair." That polka-dot bandana became a widely recognized image. An ironic twist to the story of Geraldine Doyle is that, while she inspired a poster that encouraged women to work hard and become employed, she quit her job at the factory after a short two week period. The reason she quit was that she realized the safety hazards the factory set up and found a safer job, later marrying and having children. In one interview Doyle stated, "You're not supposed to have too much pride, but I can't help have some in that poster, it's just sad I didn't know it was me sooner."