“We Can Do It!” But What is ‘It’? How the Imagery of Feminism has Changed Over Time
"We Can Do It!", paper (overall material), 22 in x 17 in, ca 1942 © Artist J. Howard Miller, Related Publication Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter, Smithsonian, National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History online exhibition
Few images have been as emblematic of the feminist movement than the iconic poster of a working woman rolling up her sleeve, flexing her arm, and proclaiming “We Can Do It!” The poster, created in 1943 by J. Howard Miller, has long been synonymous with Rosie the Riveter, a cultural allegory representing the many women who had swiftly entered the manufacturing workforce during World War II. However, Rosie the Riveter originally had nothing to do with the “We Can Do It” poster. The poster was produced by a manufacturing company in order to boost worker morale during the war, and was seldom seen outside of the company’s walls. It was only much later, during the 1980s, that the poster gained public notoriety in the height of the second-wave feminist movement. Arm flexed, gaze strong, the woman protruding from the bright yellow background was to be a symbol of American feminism at large. It has since become a symbol of women’s empowerment throughout America and the world.
Since the poster was not publicized during the war, how did the allegory of Rosie become so popular? The answer might lie in certain works of photography. In 1942, Alfred T. Palmer, a photographer working for the U.S. government, was commissioned to document women at work in heavy industry. What resulted was a series of strikingly crafted color portraits of American women working in war factories. As many of these show women actually fastening rivets, they became emblematic of Rosie the Riveter long before Miller’s poster entered the public eye.
Women become skilled shop technicians after careful training in the school at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant, Long Beach, Calif, © Alfred T. Palmer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Palmer’s photographs are not only historically important, but visually interesting as well. The use of flash and meticulous studio lighting creates an incredible contrast in each image, illuminating the female subject of the frame above anything else. The machinery they are operating and the equipment they are manufacturing are given little visual importance; we seem only to see these women in brightly colored clothes, grime on their hands, diligently at work. In this series, the working woman is thus prioritized in a way that is conspicuously feminist.
These images of working women with their tough determination to perform in traditionally masculine jobs thus provided a compelling image for early proponents of women’s empowerment. But today, many would argue that its relevance to feminism is outdated. More recent ideas of feminism push not only to remove traditional gender roles, but held a wider commitment to dismantle patriarchal institutions and cultural practices. In recent decades, feminism has begun to include more diverse identities, narratives, and cultures, and thus shifted towards a broader social critique.
A real-life "Rosie the Riveter" operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, Tennessee, working on an A-31 Vengeance dive bomber. Downsampled from original and sharpened slightly and resaved to increase managability of file. © Alfred T. Palmer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In this context, one can therefore not ignore the overtones of militarism, capitalism, and imperialism in the icon of Rosie the Riveter. Women working during the war broke down barriers by taking over traditionally masculine roles, but nonetheless, they were working to build bombs and missiles, not towards creating a more harmonious and peaceful world. As such, many activists today, who may identify with the ‘third-wave’ of feminism, would see the need for a new figurehead, one who acknowledges the intersectionality of women’s issues with other, more broad social ills.
As discourses and social movements evolve, so do their imagery. This International Women’s Day, when we think of an iconic symbol of feminism, it seems less likely that it would be Rosie the Riveter. Many might think of activists like Malala Yousafzai or Angela Davis, or artists like Barbara Kruger and Judy Chicago. These artists pioneered conversations on identity, sexuality, and power relations that have become central to feminism today, but outside of the art world, we don’t necessarily grant them the icon status that Rosie the Riveter once held.
Tania, Wet Plate Collodion, 2014, © Citlali Fabian
Nhawe, mi madre (my mother), Wet Plate Collodion, 2017, © Citlali Fabian
When we think of contemporary feminism, it’s difficult to identify an image that is as emblematic of the movement as Rosie once was. While some may think that this is an unfortunate development, the photographer in me begs to differ. For photography has in recent years become diversified and democratized, providing many more people with the resources to make art. Artists from nearly all cultures around the world have used the camera to tell stories, interrogate their identity, or critique the social world, such as Charmaine Poh does with her exploration of queer feminine identity in Singapore, Citlali Fabian with her visual interrogation of contemporary Mexican identity, or Yumna Al-Arashi in her series on women in Yemen. These are just a few of many contemporary artists working with new, more intersectional ideas of feminism, and their work reflects the complexities and nuances of contemporary feminism. As feminism becomes more intersectional and its conversations widen, more people from around the world are able to empower themselves and their communities through art. And as such, the visual likeness of feminism today looks much more diverse and manifold than the simple image of a woman at work.
