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Geraldine Doyle, the woman who inspired the "We Can Do It" posters of Rosie the Riveter, has died at 86 years old.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/30...-at-86/?hpt=C2
The face on the poster is hers, but not the muscular arms. She only worked in the metal factory for 2 weeks in 1942.
Saw that.
The poster has always looked to me like she's making an entirely different gesture. :rolleyes: I've wanted to caption it saying Up Yours [can I say that here?] to the military/industrial complex, but never could find a font that matched the "We Can Do It" well enough.
But I have a T-shirt with a repro of the poster on it, and love it. :)
I've always loved the mythology of Rosie the Riveter, but hearing who she actually was is a bit of a bummer. I like the image of women agreeing to muscles, dirt, whatever! to do what was needed to be done at that time...not someone who scurried away after 2 weeks, worried about her cello hands to work at a soda ftn where she met her future hubby...[gag].
...but maybe that's just me.
Long Live Rosie the Riveter!
I agree with Margo on this. Liked the myth much better.Quote:
Originally Posted by lunacycles
The article says she always emphasized she is not Rosie the Riveter (that term may have been coined after another woman) she was the "We Can Do it Gal". My sense is everyone contributed something during the war years, even soda gals ;)
My parents worked at the Richmond Ship Yards where there's now a Rosie the Riveter Museum. Lots of RtR stuff too. :cool:
http://www.rosietheriveter.org