WomenatWorkII (WWII)

Dorothy Ducas
Magazine Division
Office of War Information
Social Security Building
Washington D.C.

We see an interesting shift in the American perception of women during this period. Prier to the WWII the women’s place was found in the home. She was expected to cook, clean, and take care of the family. She was to do the laundry and keep the home intact, while the man went out providing for the family. However, as WWII began to take on momentum we see a different explanation of women within American society. That she was not only a housewife, but also much more. Much more? This was not the message that was being portrayed by American media and propaganda prier war why now? Because war had pursued and it was time for women to show men what they were really made of. I believe a tool that helped American propaganda in aiding them to gain the support of women was using the feminist movement. “And it’s time her husband begins to understand it, too!” This statement in the magazine war guide raises the brow of women all over the USA. That yes, it was time the “men” began to see it and recognize that women are capable of anything. “ Women will fill the shoes of any men who have left those occupations which are necessary to the life and well being of the civilian population are doing war work just as surely as if they donned military uniform or factory overalls.” There were pictures of women being posted all over doing men’s jobs and in some cases even doing better jobs. A representative of this movement was “Rose the Riveter,” a beautiful strapping young women with her sleeves rolled up, hair in a bun, flexing her muscle yet gleaming with beauty. This was the portrayed that the propagandist painted for the American women. It was also time, that not only their position was being liberated, but their pockets too. The new job openings and fill-ins gave women the opportunity to make the same money that men had been making. This was huge for many women. Lastly, another tactic of the propagandist was to make sure the women were aware that they were fighting this war too. “ Women at Work on the Home Front,” This headline shows the importance of women in their new roles. That they were important to the success of the war, that if they didn’t do their jobs at home there soldiers, husbands, fathers, and sons would be lost in war. That every piece of metal the welded and every food drive they organized helped bring their boys home. “The more women at work, the sooner we’ll win the war.”