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ROSIE THE RIVETER

AND OTHER WOMEN WORLD WAR II HEROS

Rosie the Riveter and other Women World War II Heroes

The greatest effect war has on the people involved is change. In war time, change occurs, not only in global or national collective consciousness, but in many of the individuals involved. World War II brought about many different thoughts and ideas within the United States alone. As you will see within this web site, many people gave up their lives to fight for what they believed. Not everyone who participated in the war stood on the front line with the risk of being shot, but, nonetheless, they were all willing to take their own risks to support each other in battle.

One of the most incredible changes within the US that occurred during war time was change in identity. World War II enabled people to learn about each other and themselves. People of different cultures, backgrounds, ages, and especially genders, experienced massive changes in their lives; changes that would continue in their hearts long after the end of the war. This was the birth of many new identities that America that had not yet seen.

War, for many women, was about gaining strength and mobility. As more and more men left to fight in battle, women started taking over traditionally male responsibilities. As far back as history can tell, women have been limited in mobility and set in particular spaces by society, but war changed all the rules. War very much became a doorway through which women ventured out of the homes where they had been confined. During WWII, women in high numbers were asked to work outside as well as inside of the home. For many women, WWII became a symbol of freedom. It was a time where women were no longer forced into the roles society had created for them. They become free to create their own lives and senses of self. With this increase in freedom also came an increase in equality. WWII gave women the chance to prove they are just as capable as men.

As WWII continued, greater numbers of women began to take control. For the first time, women across the world were learning to work as factory workers , nurses , and journalists . Many women even joined the army through an organization called the Women's Army Corps . WWII also brought about an increase in women as subjects of propaganda as well as an increase in prostitution . Finally, women worked as drivers, farmers, mail delivery personnel, garbage collectors, builders, and mechanics.

Life for women was changing fast. Now women had their own money and could do with it what they pleased. They became more independent. "War taught them how to stand on their own two feet" (Keenan). Though relatively short-lived, WWII provided a way for women to do what they wanted. Far fewer obstacles stood in the way of women proving that they were extremely capable. Women are capable of anything, its too bad that it took a war to make everyone see it.

Brian Metzger Please send comments and questions to bmetzger@u.arizona.edu

Women Factory Workers

During World War II there were many hardships throughout the countries. The tolls of the war were hitting hard and many more soldiers were needed in battle. As the men went off to fight in the war, problems arose due to lack of people in the work force at home. Times were very hard and money was tight. The women were not able to perform the typical house hold duties there was to much out side to home to do in order to survive. Many women participated in war efforts by working as nurses, in the WAC (women's auxiliary corp), and many went into factories.

The factory jobs held the greatest number of women. These women worked under very poor conditions for very little pay. The factories ranged from all sorts of parts for war vehicles and weapons, to radio parts and candles for light. Even things as simple as candles were of dire importance during these trying times. Candles from the Whiting candle factory in America gave jobs to thousands of American women during the great depression. Over 75 percent of all candles made at the Whiting Factory were designed for military purposes. They served as temporary lighting, to read by and to activate emergency drills, they were also used when melted as a sealant for ripped tents.

The factories showed a great turn around in other countries as well. Scotland employed over 11,000 women into the national cordite factory. The factories hired women to keep them from undesirable temptations elsewhere since their husbands were all off to war. The women benefited from this greatly as it was their first socially accepted independence.

The women worked very long hours but were proud to be able to help out with the war in as many ways as possible. This was an opportunity for women to grow and learn the job skills that they were never allowed to do. The war created employment for women, liberating them, while changing their traditional roles.

Problems surfaced with the introduction of women workers, who's growing influence threatened the men workers still in the United States. They responded with harassment and discrimination, which remained a problem even after the war was over. Even though women outnumbered the men in the labor force three to one they still had problems with the new idea of women as wage laborers. The war had allowed women to get "out of hand" or "out of house". The liberated woman might be undermining the traditional marriage and family life. Some women started working as young as fourteen or fifteen but were pleased with the new opportunities to use their hand and skills. Rosie the Riveter was poster of encouragement for women to join the workforce during the women's industry movement. The poster showed women's hidden strengths, promoting power and pride.

The women that volunteered in factory jobs worked in welding, machining, building aircraft's, fixing tanks, and armament factories, jobs once held by men who were called away to fight in the war. Over six million women took over in these fields for the men. In 1944 the average woman's salary was $31.21 a week for her labors, even though the men that still remained made $54.65 a week. The women wore overalls, uniforms, slacks, and bandanas or snoods to cover their hair. These clothes were considered very unfeminine, but the women got used to them and continued to wear them in public.

Women were quoted to have better motor skills than men, which was said to be from the common practice of needle work so they were useful with wire fuses on bombs and to fill metal casings with gunpowder . Many accidents came out of the factories. Over 210,000 women were permanently disabled and at least 37,000 lost their lives. Even though they practiced high safety precautions the factories were just unstable.

The women factory workers fought their own battles during the war. They struggled with new horizons, social discrimination, gender harassment, and physical pain from long hours and poor work conditions. The women were very important during the war in keeping the home countries in line and allowing the men to leave by taking over their jobs. The cord was cut after WWII for many women, they new independence, they obtained many new skills, and they were born into a new world. Even though many women went back to being homemakers after the war was over, times would never be the same again, and women had own their own wars!

Kelly Guthrie

Women's Participation as Nurses and Doctors

Initially, doubts and hesitations arose about whether or not women could work within a combat situation. It was during the battles of World War II that women faced the great challenge of trying to gain recognition and serve their country in more ways than they had in previous years. Little did they know, their efforts would prove to be victorious, and they would leave an everlasting mark on American society. Women had demonstrated amazing work and courage during the Spanish-American War in 1898 and they provided and even greater amount of skill in World War I. These combat nurses had proven themselves long before World War II that they were up to the challenge which was presented to them in wartime situations.

It was after the nurses' participation in the Spanish-American War that congress decided to establish an Army Nurse Corps (ANC) in 1901.(Zeinert, 49) About 43% of all nurses joined in the efforts of the ANC during World War II, but an impressive amount of volunteers still was not sufficient enough to fill the military's quota. The insufficient number of volunteers worsened once the war was in full swing. The ANC found that they could not compete with wages and offerings of other opportunities, such as industrial jobs which were readily available to women. Another obstacle in recruiting women nurses was the prejudices against women regarding their participation in the war. The corps were initially very hesitant to accept married women, who they felt should be at home with their families, black women, and older women, consisting of women over the age of forty-five. Also, men were not encouraged to enlist as nurses at any point throughout the war. Women who were accepted as nurses during World War II went through intensive training to get their positions and once there, they faced some of the greatest dangers of any women involved with the war.

The women who went to work for the ANC had to go through a program which included four weeks of harsh training. These women were taught how to deal in combat zone situations by practicing avoiding live ammunition which was fired right above their heads. They had to learn how to survive in treacherous 120 degree deserts, and they practiced hiking twenty miles per day while carrying thirty-pound packs. These nurses were prepared to pack up and move to a new location, to aid the wounded, at any time.

As the incredible losses on the battlefield continued to rise and their supplies diminished, the nurses had to learn to deal with very limited resources. It got to the point where nurses were washing and reusing bandages, using old pants to carry the wounded when no stretchers were available, and when blood supplies were minimal, they were known to donate their own. As these nurses faced some of the most significant exhaustion among the women participating in the war, they continued to pull through until the end.

As the demand for nurses continued to overwhelm all branches of the military, many attempts were made to increase enrollment. As the military's efforts for producing enough combat nurses were exhausted they began to debate whether or not to begin drafting women into the war as nurses. If the men were obligated to fight in battle, then was it not the United States' obligation to provide them with appropriate medical care? The debate of whether or not to draft women as nurses into the war continued on as each side of the argument stated it's case. Eventually, no draft was necessary due to the ending of the war.

These women faced difficulties in being nurses during the war, but once they attempted to become physicians they faced even greater opposition. It wasn't until April 16, 1943, when President Roosevelt signed a bill which allowed women to practice as physicians in the military, due to lack of male doctors, that they were accepted. As a result of the tremendous obstacles and the time delays in which the government had to determine if women could help, less than 100 female doctors enlisted--causing a great loss of skillful knowledge and help (Zeinert 56).

As shocking as it may seem, the American government was hesitant to allow women to participate in the war effort even though troops were in desperate need of help. Most women did not realize how hard they would have to work, not just fighting in the actual war, but also in gaining acceptance. Major changes took place in American society, which lasted long after the war, due to many women and their commitment to America. Women such as Delphine Bohn, a flight instructor, Helen Richy, Americas first commercial airline pilot, Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady of the time who greatly supported women pilots, Charity Adam, the first black woman to achieve the rank of major, and Jane Kendleigh , the first Navy flight nurse to serve on a battlefield, left a never ending impact on America (Zeinert Ch. 4). At the conclusion of the war many women were presented with honors and medals, including the Purple Heart which was presented to those who were wounded in their efforts to serve their country. Over 200 female nurses were killed during the war and more than 1,600 medals were handed out for their bravery and courage.(Zeinert, 53)

Jennifer Osmanoff

Zeinert, Karen. Incredible Women of World War II. Connecticut: Millbrook Press, 1994.

The Women's Army Corps

During the 1940's a woman's place in the patriarchal society of America was behind her husband. A good woman would lend support to the man that provided for her every need. However, when the men of the United States were needed to combat the forces of Germany and Japan surging across the countries of the world, supportive women were needed more than ever. That support took form in the WAAC, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps.

Men of fighting age and ability were in high demand for the war that was quickly drawing America in deeper and deeper. Prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, American men and materiel were on loan to countries that were being besieged by the forces of the Axis powers. After Pearl Harbor, America found herself in need of every healthy and capable man that could fight against the forces of oppression swarming across Europe and Asia. This also left women with a considerable challenge: how best to support the men they loved. They could not very well fight alongside their brothers and husbands since war was certainly no place for a woman according to popular opinion of the time. Women wanted to bring heir husbands, brothers, and fathers home as soon as they could so they took an interesting approach to solving the problem of providing them support. In May 1941, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was officially established. The goal of the authors of the bill that created this distinguished organization believed that the only way the United States could win a two-front war was if women could somehow contribute to the war effort as well. The U.S. government sold the idea to America's women by convincing them that if a woman could take the place of a man who presently occupied a noncombatant position in the army, then that man would be freed and able to assist in bringing an end to the war by personally going to the front lines and fighting the enemy. In short, women were to take the place of men in jobs such as clerks, telephone operators, and other positions that had been traditionally held by women so that they could pick up a gun and assist in driving the enemy back in less time than if women didn't participate. By the end of World War II, women had done their part in bringing about an end to the fighting that had plagued the world for six years.

The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps offered women a chance to make a difference. Through their heroic sacrifice and dedication, the fighting men of the United States armed forces were assured of the support that was necessary to win a war whose battles took place completely on soil foreign to them. The WAAC provided women with an opportunity to establish for themselves a new place in a society that belonged to men. With an officer corps that was separate from the male army, woman officers had the chance to work in positions of responsibility where the decisions they made were their own. Those in the enlisted ranks also had the opportunity to make a difference while establishing for themselves positions and skills that would later benefit them after the war in industry. The WAAC was more than a group of housewives and girlfriends who wanted to bring home the boys. They were a group of women that stood on their own in the absence of men and did the work of men.

Alan Trimmer

I garnered most of my information on the WAAC at the Patch High School page on the WAAC.

Women Journalists

World War II brought about many new and exciting opportunities for women in journalism, but not without it's obstacles. After World War I women began pressuring their employers for more difficult assignments. Eventually, with reluctance, editors began sending women to European countries to work as foreign correspondents, however women were still urged to write about "feminine" activities such as cooking recipes, home decorating and fashion (book 63). It wasn't until the beginning of World War II that women finally began to get the chance to prove themselves.

Because many women were already in the European countries where the war was breaking out, editors were more than willing to allow the women to report on the happenings (book 65). This breakthrough encouraged many other women to inquire about reporting overseas with the military. Although women began to receive consent from their editors the War Department posed yet another obstacle. The War Department often denied women the necessary credentials needed to enter into the foreign countries with them (book 65). fortunately members of the press were powerful enough and could get the credentials needed. Once on assignment the department restricted areas that women were allowed to report in, limiting their coverage (book 67). Also their work had to be cleared and censored (67). Throughout the war women became increasingly frustrated with the "unreasonable regulations" and would break rules to get the stories they felt needed to be told (book 73).

More and more women were gaining respect for the tremendous assignments they were taking on; creating a new image for the female journalist. Women like Sonia Tomara of the New York Herald Tribune who flew on bombing raids; Margaret Bourke-White of Life and Fortune magazine who's ship was torpedoed but managed to get the job done; and Marguerite Higgins also from the New York Herald Tribune who reported graphically about the German concentration camps in Buchenwald. More than once many great women put their lives on the line for the jobs that they loved and gained an immense amount of respect for themselves and other female journalists to come.

For more detailed biographies on great women journalist check out this website Women Come to the Front , and the following women listed: Therese Bonney , Toni Frissell , Clare Boothe Luce , Janet Flanner , Esther Bubley , Dorathea Lange , May Craig

- Melissa Plowden

Zeinert, Karen. Incredible Women of World War II. Connecticut, Millbrook. 1994

Women in Propaganda

Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 3

Axis propaganda used women to alienate Allied soldiers from each other. Japanese propaganda informed Australian soldiers that while they were off fighting in Africa, the American soldiers were having their way with the Australian women.(Figure 4) The German poster in Figure 5 is directed at French soldiers. It depicts a British soldier safe behind the lines enjoying a French woman, while the French soldier is in combat.

Figure 4 Figure 5

Propaganda was used to get women to work in war factories. The women were told that everyone had a role in the era of total war. Figure 6 presents a bold woman sending off ships, planes, and tanks; her contribution to the war effort. Rosie the Riveter was a popular image of World War II. She represented a strong woman doing her part. (Figure 7)

Figure 7

Women were seen as dangers as well as assets to the war effort. Posters and cartoons expressed the idea that women could not be trusted with secrets. Women were portrayed as irresponsible gossips or as spies that used their sexuality to get information.(Figures 8 and 9) Figure 10 is a Finnish poster that depicts a woman's lips locked up.

Figure 8 Figure 9

Figure 10

With venereal disease sidelining many soldiers, women were depicted as threats to men's health. Figure 11 warned soldiers to avoid 'easy' girl friends. The US Navy put up posters in Hawaiian brothels reminding the men to visit the "pro station", prophylactic station, after they were done.

Figure 11

During World War II, women were used to portray many different themes. Woman represented a territorial ideal. Their images were used to make concrete the ideas of allies and enemies, them and us. Propaganda encouraged women to participate in the war effort. Propaganda also depicted women as threats to the war effort.

Elizabeth Chilcote

Gubar, Susan. Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987: 227-245.

They Wanted Cheap Meat

Controversy surrounding the morality of prostitution is as ancient as the profession itself, and nearly as complex. Religious fundamentalists, conservative politicians, and feminists alike oppose its existence and its regulation, while many people of the same or similar affiliations oppose that opposition. Some view prostitutes as victims, while some view them as evil corrupters. Some fault society for the existence of prostitution, while some fault the prostitutes themselves.

During times of war, however, beliefs in the morality of prostitution have shifted dramatically. Prostitution, like murder, was evaluated through an alternative lens. The industry of prostitution, a potentially multi-million dollar industry in war times (varied depending on location), received support from organizations that had historically opposed it. Military, police, and other state-funded agencies devoted energy and resources to the recruitment, regulation, and maintenance of prostitution. One of the most significant features of wartime (specifically WWII) prostitution, according to Alice Yun Chai, is that "both [the] recruiters and the recipients of [the] sexual services have been ruling-class and colonial, military men," (73) who exploited their unearned camaraderie at the expense, often, of young and economically disadvantaged girls.

In WWII Hawaii, prostitutes were inspected by the vice squad, licensed, and given a strict set of rules (the breaking of which resulted in a severe beating by police). In addition, upper-class land owners strongly supported the existence of brothels. This support was justified in many ways. First, the brothels kept largely lower-class soldiers and sailors away from "respectable" women of the island, and, allegedly, prevented rape of those women (Bailey 57). One elite landowner said, "'If the sexual desires of men in this predominantly masculine community [500 men to each woman (55)] are going to be satisfied , certainly not one of us but would rather see them satisfied in regulated brothels than by our young girls and women -- whether by rape, seduction, or the encouraging of natural tendencies'" (57). Also, the existence of brothels kept the levels of venereal disease relatively low among service men (compared to WWI, from which more soldiers left with an infectious venereal disease than were wounded in battle) (58).

The Japanese Imperial Army in WWII recruited military prostitutes from Korea. In order to justify the expense, the "women" (girls as young as twelve) were stripped of their ideals serviced up to 250,000 men per month (Bailey 54). Each woman, therefore, had a quota of servicing100 men per day (each man was allotted only three minutes) (60). And, when they tried to raise the price of the three minutes from $3 to $5, the head of the Military Police reprimanded the prostitutes, saying, "the price of meat is still $3."

The risk of sexually transmitted disease was extremely high for Hawaiian prostitutes. ("in 1943, 120 prostitutes were hospitalized 166 times for a contagious venels serviced up to 250,000 men per month (Bailey 54). Each woman, therefore, had a quota of servicing 100 men per day (each man was allotted only three minutes) (60). And, when they tried to raise the price of the three minutes from $3 to $5, the head of the Military Police reprimanded the prostitutes, saying, "the price of meat is still $3."

The risk of sexually transmitted disease was extremely high for Hawaiian prostitutes. ("In 1943, 120 prostitutes were hospitalized 166 times for a contagious venereal disease...") (60) In addition, the women working in the brothels were forced to undergo intense social contempt. Many women dealt with the circumstances by turning to drugs, which numbed the pain (60). Hawaiian prostitutes (mostly lower-class white women from San Francisco) (58) often left the lifestyle after only a few months, after which time they were not allowed to return (59).

The lifestyle of the Japanese sex slaves, called "comfort women," would be considered by many unfit even for farm animals. First, the Japanese police would seek out young, single, socially isolated and economically disadvantaged girls from religious families in Korea (80-90% of sex slaves to the Japanese army were Korean). With strong Confucian ideals, the girls were likely to value virginity and chastity, thus reducing the possibility of spreading venereal disease. The girls were lured to Japan by false promises of high-paying jobs and steady food supply; or, they were threatened at gunpoint and kidnapped. Once the girls arrived in Japan, they were forced into sexual slavery, which meant servicing up to 100 men a day for low pay or no pay at all. There was inadequate housing, long hours, limited freedom, and insufficient medical care, and those who tried to escape were killed. (An estimated 75-90% of comfort women became casualties of war.) (Chai 70-71)

In many ways, women's mobility during World War II was less restricted than it had been before the war. Women were allowed to experience the pride and independence of earning one's own living, and the freedom to move outside of their domestic spaces. For some women, however, namely overseas sex slaves and prostitutes, bodily ownership, one of the key elements of unrestricted mobility, was limited, if not removed.

Jodi Tilsner