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AllisonGaddis
BenHenderson
CAS137H
13October2015
RhetoricalAnalysis:RosietheRiveterandRussianWarCampaign
Duringthe20thcentury,womenallovertheworldgainedmoresocialrights.Two
examplesofhowthiswasachievedincludetheimplementationoftheRosietheRiveter
campaign,andaRussianadvertisementpromotingfemaleinvolvementduringthe
RussianRevolution.TheRosietheRivetercampaignwascreatedintheUnitedStates
duringWorldWarII,andtheRussianadvertisementwascreatedduringtheRussian
RevolutionaryWarsof1917(Patel).Theybeganatrendthatledtotodaysprevalenceof
workingwomeninsocietyinboththeUnitedStatesandRussia.Eachadvertisement
encouragedwomentoparticipateinthewareffort,thuschallengingthebeliefthatnatural
genderrolesdefineawomensabilitythroughtheuseofkairos,patrioticduty,and
culturallyrelevantstylisticchoices.However,thestylisticchoicesinbothadvertisements
wereaffectedbyeachculture,resultingindifferingperceptionsofeachcampaign.
BothRosietheRiveterandtheRussianadvertisementadaptedtheirmessageto
wartime.Theyestablishedasenseofkairosinthecontextofawar,andwereperceivedas
acalltohelpthewareffort.RosietheRiveterwasintroducedduringWorldWarIIfora
governmentcampaigntoencouragewomentoassistthemunitionsindustry.This
propagandawascreatedin1942fortheWestinghousepowercompany(Rosiethe

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Riveter),andRosieherselfbecameaniconicimagerepresentingastrongworking
woman.Similarly,theRussianwarinvolvementadvertisementwascreatedduringthe
RussianRevolution,whichwasacombinationoftheFebruaryRevolutionandthe
BolshevikRevolutionbothoccurringduring1917inRussia(RussianRevolution).
DuringtheTsaristregime,womeningeneralhadverylimitedrights,respect,and
education.TheRussianadvertisementstillcalledforwomenparticipation,butinboththe
workforceandthewaritself(Patel).Althoughatdifferenttimeperiods,eachcalledfor
femaleparticipationinunconventionalwaysconsideringthesocialnormsinplace.Itwas
uncommoninbothsocietiesforwomentoworkoutsideofthehome.However,Rosiethe
Riveterwasrelevanttothetimebecausetherewasaneedtofillthegapintheindustrial
laborforceleftbymaleenlistmentinthewar.ThiswasthecaseinRussiaaswell,butthe
differencebetweenthetwoisthatRussianwomenactuallyfoughtinthewar.By
expressingtheneedforwomenparticipation,theyhighlightedtheimportanceof
womensrolesinciviclifeinordertoovercomeprevioussocialnorms.These
advertisementsusedthenecessarykairostoinfluencewomentoassistsocietywhentheir
countryneededitmostduringthewar.
Thecreatorsofeachadvertisementemphasizedpatriotismandtogetherness.Rosie
theRiveterusedthecollectivesenseofpatriotisminthecontextofawar,andportrayed
thetypicalAmericanwomanthatmanywomenduringthistimecouldrelatetotogether.
Manyperceivedthiscampaignasacalltoaction,andtheysawitastheirunifying
patrioticdutytosurpasssocialnormsandfulfilltheneedsofsocietyaswomenduring

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wartime.Inthesamesense,theRussianadvertisementdepictedaRussianwoman
confidentlystandinguptohelpinherrevolution.However,theRussianadvertisement
depictsawomanthatwasnevergivenanameandwasthereforelesspersonabletothe
femaleRussianpopulation.ThenameRosewasthe29thmostpopularbabynameofthe
1930sandbecameacommonhouseholdnameduringWorldWarII,whichpersonalized
RosietheRiveter(OneHundred).Thiscouldexplainthesloweradoptionofthefemale
presenceintheRussianworkforceincomparisontotheeffectoftheRosietheRiveter
campaign.ItisalsoimportanttonotetheuseofthewordweinthephraseWecando
it!ontheRosietheRivetercampaign.Thisencouragedtogethernessandunitythat
causedmanywomentowanttojoinworkforcepositionsthatwerepreviouslyclosedto
them.WomenthatjoinedtheUSworkforcewerecollectivelycalledRosies.whichput
apositiveconnotationonthesewomenandfurtherpromotedunity(RosietheRiveter).
ThephraseontheRussianadvertisementtranslatestoWorkerstaketherifle!(Patel).
Referringtothefemaleworkersasawhole,thisphrasecausedwomenseekunityand
takeastandfortheircountrytogether.Withoutthedirectuseofthewordwe,the
RussianadvertisementfailedtoevokethesamefeelingofbelongingamongRussian
womenatthetime.Regardlessoftowhatextent,eachcampaignsuseofpatriotismto
encouragetogethernesswasabletomakedefyinggenderrolesmoreattainablefor
women.
Theculturallyrelevantstylisticchoicesofeachadvertisementcampaignaffected
howthewomenofeachsocietydefiedgenderroles.TheRosietheRivetercampaign

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illustratesawomanwearingmakeupanddisplayingfemininity,andyetshestilljoined
theworkforce.Thiscreatedasenseofempowermentforwomen,becausethenatthat
timethepubliccouldacceptthatevenfemininewomenhadtheoptiontowork.However,
theRussianadvertisementdepictsawomanusingmoremutedcolorsinhermakeupand
clothing.Thiswomandisplaysacertaindegreeofmasculinitytoparticipateinthe
RussianRevolutionaryWareffort.Thismayhavebeennecessarytogetfemale
participationbecausethecultureinRussiawasheavilypatriarchalatthetime.For
example,politicalfiguresweremainlymaleandmoremenwerehiredintotheworkforce
thanwomen(RussianRevolution).Thecampaignsstylisticchoiceswerereflectedin
theRussianfeministmovementwhenmanywomencuttheirhairshorterandworemore
masculineclothingtoseemstrongenoughforwork(Patel).Inaddition,both
advertisementsincludeanexclamationpointattheendofeachphrase.Thisallowedthe
womenofeachsocietytoreceivethemessagethatitwasimportanttheyacteduponthe
callforparticipationrightthenduringthewar.ThecreatoroftheRussianposteralsosaw
itappropriatetogivethewomanaweapon,whichwasamoredirectmessage
encouragingwarparticipationthanintheRosietheRivetercampaign.Thisdecision
couldexplainwhytherewasnotonlyanincreaseinfemaleworkforceparticipation,but
alsoanincreaseinfemalewartimeparticipationinRussia.Byengagingwomentodefy
genderrolesandseekinvolvementinwarefforts,theseadvertisementcampaignscaused
ashiftinwomenbeingviewedashomemakerstomoreactiveparticipantsinsociety.

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Therewerecertainideologiesinplaceleadinguptotheimplementationofeach
advertisementinitsindividualsociety.ForexampleintheUnitedStates,Rosiethe
RiveterhelpedwomentoovercometheideologyinplaceleadinguptoWorldWarIIthat
therewerecertaingenderrolespredeterminedformenandwomenbynature.Thiswas
supportedbythecommonplacethatmenwerestrongerandthereforemoresuitedfor
factorywork.However,theRosietheRivetercampaignwasreleasedwiththemessage
thatitwasnowsociallyappropriateforwomentoworkaswell.Womenwerepraisedfor
helpingtheircountry,andworkingwomenbecameasocialnorm.In1943,310,000
womenjoinedtheU.S.aircraftindustry(RosietheRiveter).Thismadeup65%ofthe
totalindustrysworkforce,andinpreviousyearswomenmadeuplessthan1%(Rosie
theRiveter).Ontheotherhand,inRussiaupuntiltheTsaristempireprecedingthe
RussianRevolution,RussianOrthodoxywasextremelyrelevantinsociety.Thisreligion
stronglybelievedinpatriarchy,andemphasizedtheimportanceofmenmakingfamilial
decisions(Patel).Thisdevelopedthecommonlyheldviewthatwomendeservedlimited
respect,rights,andeducation.EventhoughtheRussianadvertisementresultedinan
increaseoffemalewartimeparticipationlikeRosietheRiveterdidintheUnitedStates,
strongtraditionalbeliefsinRussiahinderedtheacceptanceofworkingwomeninsociety
(Patel).DespiteCommunismaftertheRussianRevolutionmakingmenandwomen
somewhatequalbylaw,womenstillfacedmanydifficultiesandprejudicesinthe
workforce.Forexample,thewomenwhotookadvantageofopportunitiestomoveupin
societyaftertheRussianRevolutionwerecriticizedforleavingtheirplaceinthehome

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(Patel).Incomparison,theRosietheRivetercampaignleadtoamuchwideracceptance
ofwomenjoiningtheworkforceandovercomingnaturalgenderrolesintheUnitedStates
thaninRussianaftertheRussianRevolution.
Bothadvertisementswererelevanttotheirtimebecausetheywerecreatedto
promotewomensinvolvementinthecontextofawarevenwhentheirparticipationwas
nottypical.Theybothusedpatriotismbyemphasizingtheimportanceofeverycitizens
contributionstothewarefforttogether.However,theuseofthewordweintheRosie
theRivetercampaignestablishedastrongersenseofunityforwomenthantheRussian
advertisementwasabletowithitsslightlymoregenericstatement.WomenintheUnited
Statesreceivedtheideathattheycouldretainfemininityandstillwork,whilewomenin
Russiareceivedtheideathatwomencouldbestronglikemenbyjoiningtheworkforce
andtheevenwaritself.Whilebothcountriesexperiencedashiftinhowwomenwere
viewedinsocietyatthetime,howtheshifthasplayedoutineachcountrytodayis
different.IntheUnitedStatestherewasadramaticincreaseofwomenenteringtheUS
workforce,whichstartedanationwidetrendleadingtowomenintheworkforce
becomingasocialnorm.Thishelpedwomentogainmuchmorerespectinoursociety
today.HoweverinRussia,communismgavewomenequalrightsbutdidnotguarantee
thattheywouldnotstillbediscriminatedagainst.Advertisementssupportingwomenlike
thisoneinRussiadidhelpbringwomentogethertofightfortheirrights.However,the
ideathatwomenareinferiortomenisstillverymuchevidentinRussiansocietytoday.
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WorksCited
"OneHundredMostPopularBabyNamesof1930|BabyCenter."BabyCenter.N.p.,n.d.
Web.11Oct.2015.
Patel,Priti."RussianWomenAftertheRevolution."TheFeministEZine.N.p.,n.d.Web.
05Oct.2015.
"RosietheRiveter."History.com.A&ETelevisionNetworks,n.d.Web.16Sept.2015.
"RussianRevolution."History.com.A&ETelevisionNetworks,n.d.Web.05Oct.2015.