This year marks the 70th anniversary of Rosie the Riveter. The iconic image of Rosie has really lasted the test of time. Walk into any novelty store and you are sure to see Rosie, but let’s not forget that behind Rosie there is a story of women.
Above is a stunning image from The Library of Congress showing two women who stepped in during World War II. Virginia Young (pictured on the right), a widow of Pearl Harbor, her role was to help find housing for those women who relocated to occupy positions left vacant during World War II, women like Ethel Mann (pictured left) who came across states to operate a drill.
There are so many gorgeous images of REAL Rosies, brave women who took a chance by leaving their homes, lives, and jobs to help in the war effort taking jobs that were believed to be only for men.
All of the above images can be found at the Library of Congress’s 1930-1940’s color collection on their Flickr page HERE. Since March is Women’s History Month I thought highlighting this moment in women’s history that is truly special and really illustrates the strength, courage, and tenacity of women was the perfect way to start off this month.
I think this is also a great opportunity to talk about an extraordinary project by NYU’s Tamiment Library in conjunction with filmmakers Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly of Spargel Productions (NYC) and executive producer, writer, and playwright Elizabeth Hemmerdinger, entitled “The Real Rosie the Riveter Project.”
“There were between 8 and 16 million women who stepped into jobs traditionally identified as men’s work. I wanted to bring these very real stories to life….” Hemmerdinger
“I felt we had a moral imperative to break down the long existing icon of ‘Rosie’ and give these stories to the world.” Hemmerdinger
The project started as research for Hemmerdinger’s MFA thesis play at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Hemmerdinger was stunned by the lack of source material there was in archival audio and video footage of Real Life Rosies. This inspiration led to the idea of collecting as many interviews as possible and donating them to the Tamiment archive.
The filmmakers first found their Rosies from friends, colleagues, and the American Rosie the Riveter Association. But they were shocked when they placed a small ad in the newsletter of the Michigan Library Association and hundreds of women showed up.
I really encourage you to visit The Real Rosie the Riveter Project. From the narrators I watched I found each to have a moment of transformation. Their Rosie experiences really changed their perception of themselves. It built confidence and sense of pride, and it really showed not just these women but also our nation how much ability we women have.
Soooooo yeah, WE REALLY CAN DO IT!
Let’s celebrate Women’s History Month with REAL Rosies! See the press release on The Real Rosie the Riveter Project HERE; go watch HERE.
Fabulous post! Thank you for sharing this amazing project 🙂
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this is such a great post! My very favorite of the day in fact! I took a class in college called women, war and revolution with a professor who was a revolutionist herself, and it forever changed my life! These women are so empowering! I cannot wait to read through the The Real Rosie the Riveter Project. Also, can we just point put the fact that they still manage to have super cute hair and perfectly red lips, all the while holding on to power drills and paint brushes??!
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this is very cool. I love the Rosie the Riveter posters, so it’s great to see these pictures of real Rosies in action. I especially like that second photo of the lady painting the plane. Great post!
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I love this! And I’m so glad you shared, J. I’ll definitely be checking out the project, and I love the photos. Those women worked so hard – and look at how fabulously they were made up while they did it! So much respect.
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What a great project and such an inspired, lovely post! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
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I watched the video of ‘Rosie the Riveter’ as a part of my Gender Sociology class. It is true that women have come a long way since World War II.
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What an amazing project…Those women were just incredible!
Awesome! I’m going to watch it now 🙂
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Awesome post! So inspiring!
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What a fantastic and empowering post. A great way to highlight women’s strength and contributions to the country during wartime and beyond. I will definitely be watching “The Real Rosie the Riveter” project.
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Oh such an excellent post J! I love and appreciate that there were and are women like them amongst others who are talented, strong, beautiful and courageous. I agree with Casee, they did great … with occupational glam effect even then! Women rock, period!
Great post…so inspiring!
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