Rockwell's "Rosie the Riveter"
New game, clap your hands! Today begins a new series of posts we’re calling Rosie in the News. Rosie holds a special place in my heart for its ability to symbolize the intersection of lots of things I like to think about (labor, gender, media, history, advertising, art, etc.) Last week, I bought a used puzzle, probably missing half its pieces, of the famous Norman Rockwell painting, and for Christmas, my stepdad had a set of Rosie Says mugs made for me and my mom.
Every now and then you fine folks send me examples of the unusual ways that the Rosie icon has been used and manipulated to promote a particular product or agenda. Keep it up! I’m happy to link to you if you provide content. Here’s our first example, from Sociological Images:
You can make a lot of arguments about the historical intent of the Rosie icon, but I’m willing to bet big money that it was not originally intended to sell Lasik surgery.
Related Post: The story of my banner!
Related Post: Read about how I named this blog.
