propaganda poster created by J. Howard Miller in 1943 to promote industriousness and feminism during World War II. One of the major themes of the piece of art is to empower women, and present revolutionary ideas for the time regarding women in the workplace. The war took men away from the labor market and opened up opportunities for women, which they gladly took. Yet the piece also makes clear that women had not made it fully in society yet as their position and power was still given to them by men. This idea displays the advantages of men, and a segregation of the sexes by women entering male dominated occupations. In fact, this ties in to a reading we have Williams on the glass elevator and how men had hidden advantaged in female dominated professions. This also showed how men are more likely to enter female-dominated occupations and how less likely females are to enter male-dominated occupations.
Certainly,the artist’s message was to motivate female workers by saying that women can do it, but indirectly the message conveys that women need more motivation and effort to accomplish male jobs. By more effort, I mean the position of the woman’s arm in the poster that demonstrates they need a strength that is different from their typical role in the home. When we think of men, we don’t usually reiterate that they can do it, it is just natural for a man to do things. On the other hand, women are encouraged to enter ‘’male-dominated’’ fields and to be productive. Apparently, there’s simply a natural perception of society about women, being unnatural workers.
Sources:
Christine L.Williams, “The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the Female
Professions,” Oxford University Press, August 1992.
