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Tristan Barajas

Mrs. Moore

English 1301

6 November 2017

Women of the 1940s: We Can Do It

In American history, women were originally brought up to be a housewife and nothing

more. The responsibility of a woman was to have children, cook, clean, and to serve their

husbands. That tradition changed, coincidently, with the help of a company called Westinghouse.

Westinghouse created the We Can Do It poster. At first glance someone might think that the

poster is about one woman, when in fact, it is a representation of every working woman.

Originally the famous poster was created strictly for the Westinghouse Corporations workers

only. The We Can Do It sign was created by J. Howard Miller for the company during the

World War II period. The poster was designed to encourage and represent their women workers.

At the time the poster was created, America was in desperate need for workers to keep the work

world going while all the men were called to enlist in the war. Leading companies such as the

Westinghouse Corporation to begin to hire women workers. The Westinghouse Corporation

hired J. Howard Miller to create various posters for the company to display in the factory, the

We Can Do It poster just became one of the most famous posters in history. Over time, the

poster wrongly became known as Rosie the Riveter, when in fact it was a different poster

entirely. An understandable mistake considering both signs stood for the same cause.

Unexpectedly, the poster became a monumental part of American history. The poster represented

and meant a new life for women in that era. Every design and characteristic in We Can Do It
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means something; the title, the pose the woman was making, and her attire were all designed to

call women to step up and join the work force.

On the poster created by Miller, the famous caption We Can Do It! is colored white in

a big bold font and the back ground of the caption is a dark navy blue. The purpose of the visual

characteristics chosen, was for the caption to stand out and instantly capture the readers

attention. Surely it did the job, history can account for that. The caption was chosen to speak to

the person viewing the poster, specifically, a woman viewing the poster. Those four simple

words spoke volumes to the women of the factory. Not only did it encourage them to keep

working and to keep trying, it reminded and reassured them that they could do it. Despite

everyone telling them they could not do it, they indeed could. It helped spark a fire inside them,

driving them to keep up the hard work (The Real Truth). Women became a huge asset during

World War II, in the work force and in the war. In fact, some women actually fought in the war

as soldiers (History at a Glance). Like women workers, women soldiers were also needed.

Women joined various teams such as the Womens Army Corps, the Marine Corps Womens

Reserve, the Army Nurses Corps, and many others (History at a Glance). Posters like the one

created by J. H. Miller gave women the courage to jump in and join the fight for our country.

A vital characteristic of the poster is the pose the woman is making, the pose is the

strongest statement of the poster. The lady is flexing and her body language is serious and

straight forward. When one thinks of a man, one critical characteristic comes to mind. Strength.

Men are strong mentally and psychically, thats why in almost every movie, book, and TV show

the men are the heroes. Its almost like a tradition for the men to be the strong, not women. Her

flexing is a strong statement; it is a statement saying Hey, Im strong too! basically defying the

exact definition of a woman back then. Back in that particular time, a woman was defined as
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loving, caring, and gentle. They were not fighters, they were not workers and they were most

definitely not strong. This poster shattered the whole traditional image of a woman into a million

pieces. Giving women the chance to make their own definition. As simple as the pose truly was,

it made an impact on the person viewing it, man or woman.

The next most important characteristic of the poster is the attire of the woman posing,

like the pose, the attire is vital in finalizing the main idea. At first glance of the poster, the person

viewing it is a little thrown off; causing for the viewer to take a double take. This double take is

caused because they realize the poster is about a woman not a man. Back in the 1940s, women

wore what was typically worn by women, dresses, skirts, etc. They were expected to look classy,

elegant and presentable; meaning they wore make up, fixed their hair and took pride in their

appearance. No woman would ever have been seen wearing a blue work jumpsuit, let alone

having her hair wrapped in a bandanna. The stereotypical woman would have been fixed up from

head to toe. Seeing the poster would have been a shock to anyone of the time. Unlike today,

women had women clothing, and men had men clothing; there was no in between. Men could not

wear women clothing and women could not wear men clothing. There was no law on it of

course, but it was indeed frowned upon. A woman captivated with her looks and her presentation

was the stereotype of women in mens eyes. Once again, the woman in the poster wearing the

work clothing and having her hair wrapped up in a bandanna would have been a deliberate

defiance to that stereotype. Making the bold statement in and of itself. This clothing was chosen

to break the traditional thought of a woman; showing that a woman could be both beautiful, and

a hard worker. A thought and truth that was not believed in at the time. This poster did a fantastic

job debuting that truth.

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The We Can Do It poster even though it was only meant to arouse the women workers

of the Westinghouse Corporation, became an immense part of American history. Although it is

often mistaken for the infamous Rosie the Riveter, they ultimately stood for the same cause. The

poster will be remembered forever, and made a great mark on history. Special thought and

consideration went into the creation of the We Can Do It poster, every little design and

character means something; the title, the pose the woman was making, and her attire were all

designed to call women to step up and join the work force.

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Works Cited

The Real Truth behind the Iconic We Can Do It Poster. The Vintage News, 2 Aug. 2016,

m.thevintagenews.com/2016/08/02/much-ado-poster-real-truth-behind-iconic-can-poster-

2/. 7 Nov. 2017.

History at a Glance: Women in World War II. The National WWII Museum | New Orleans,

www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-

starters/women-wwii. 7 Nov. 2014.