Written Analysis 3 Due.14 Sept, 2014

My selection as a popular culture icon is Rosie the Riveter, the woman who changed the face of women in the work force. She redefined the place of a woman in the American consciousness and was known by the slogan” We Can Do It”. She represented the women ability to take over jobs in factories when the men were sent to World War II, in an era when women were known to be housewives and homemakers. She was the quintessential heroine. Rosie the Riveter was the woman who had self-esteem, leadership and physical confidence. Rosie’s self-esteem helped to create jobs and opportunities for women and was the forbearer of the achievements in equal opportunity in the work place for women of today.  

Before Rosie the Riveter, the theory of division of labor between the sexes was well defined. The man was the bread winner who goes out every morning to earn a wage and bring home the bacon. The woman’s place in society was at home to cook that bacon, bake cookies and have and raise children. But with the advent of the second world’s war and the need to have factories turning out machines while most men were fighting, the theory was rearranged so to speak.

After the war and the men returned home, the workplace had changed. Women felt empowered for having kept the war effort going well by their work. Now they demanded more. Many movements started that brought to the forefront the plight of women and their demands for equal treatment under the law for the same job. The ERA, the Equal Rights Amendment which was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women and was passed years later in 1972, was one of the results of the shift in the theory of division of labor.

The Rosie the Riveter popular culture icon was one of the things that made women feel that in many instances, they were able to do many of the things reserved to men. My insight is that thanks to that icon, women of today can do anything men do if they put their mind to it. Soon we may have a woman President of the United States.