Ack!

My Rosie the Riveter plaque is not amused.

Seriously?!

My Rosie the Riveter action figure just fell over.

I know Rosie the Riveter. Rosie the Riveter is a friend of mine. And you, Governor, are no Rosie the Riveter.

Y'know... this really just makes me want to curl up in a ball and hide until November. I can't take one more day of her!!

Oh how I wish I had Photoshop (and knew how to use it) so I could make Rosie the Riveter give McCain and Palin the finger... because you know that's exactly what Rosie would do!

Ugh, my stomach is churning ...has anyone publicly protested this stuff in the mainstream media ?

You know what? My Grandmother WAS Rosie the Riveter. Her name wasn't Rosie, but she was the first woman to work the line at Boeing during WWII. She was a true Feminist. And I'm offended.

That's so bleak :(

I saw a little Obama the Riveter saying "yes we can!" (on a magnet) when I was down in the US about 3 weeks ago. I sadly think it was meant as an insult, but it was soooooo cute! I wanted to buy it cause it was fierce, but I was worried the money would go to some pro-republican group. Now I wish I bought it.

1. I strongly dislike Palin and do not think she is pro-woman or feminist.
2. I think that Rosie the Riveter, was created for governmental purposes, as propaganda, to get women to work, get no credit for it, and then get told to get back in the home, as soon as the men came home.

I actually think this image is appropriate.
Palin, demonstrates precisely this propaganda. Examine the Roside picture. She's in make up! This just perpetuates the happy housewife/super mom/ I support my man in war theme. Almost exactly.

For more on Rosie go here:
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=97561330

Well her party and her self are both making the same gesture Rosie appears to be making to anyone who isn't rich, white, straight, or who wants to control their own reproduction. So, maybe that's what they mean.

LinzeyInfynity - you're right, the poster Rosie the Riveter (and others like it) were used by the US government as propaganda to get women to work because they were needed to make airplanes and weapons etc. The make up was especially emphasized to assure everyone that working a man's job wouldn't de-feminize women. i used to work for the national women's history museum and created the online version of a temporary exhibit that was in arlington va a few years ago: http://www.nwhm.org/Partners/exhibitentrance.html and i've read various books about that time period and what always sticks with me was how many real women - not govt propagandized women - felt real empowerment from working and earning good wages and feeling appreciated for their work. women are strong and we're not always given the chance to show it. anyway, it still bothers me that people are equating Palin with an image of female empowerment (however contrived it may have been) when she is hypocritical in wanting to be empowered herself but not wanting other women to be empowered.

Logrus - hahaha yeah, maybe!

I think using Rosie the Riveter with Palin's face is a cool thing since she is taking the sterotypical man's role and it is showing she is strong. I think the author here makes some valid points about how women lost their jobs after the war but i think that is looking too into the concept. It is only supposed to show that our potential new vice president is as strong as any man and a strong women.

I agree with the person above. I do not think this poster that was made was to be taken so seriously. They put Palin's face in place of Rosie to imply that we might have another strong woman doing the job that men have traditionally occupied. I think that was all that they were trying to imply by this picture, and nothing more.

Perhaps will will give some of us relief knowing that Hillary's supporters had already used Rosie for her campaign. Just goes to show you that Palin, the "pitbull" (for there isn't a "hockey mom" that I know who wears lipstick, nor has the time to apply it!) is riding on Hill's coat tails! AND have you seen the action figure that a CT company put out of Palin wearing an automatic weapon strapped to her thigh?? Oye!

Perhaps it will give some of us relief knowing that Hillary's supporters had already used Rosie for her campaign. Just goes to show you that Palin, the "pitbull" (for there isn't a "hockey mom" that I know who wears lipstick, nor has the time to apply it!) is riding on Hill's coat tails! AND have you seen the action figure that a CT company put out of Palin wearing an automatic weapon strapped to her thigh?? Oye!

Nicole, Dayna -- The problem is that people are running away with the idea of Palin as an "OMG GIRL POWER" type of icon, the embodiment of the next great stride toward gender equality, while ignoring the fact that she has very deliberately set out with policies that work directly against that goal.

There are many, many, many women in this country who are doing actual, substantial work to end sexism. And yet it's Sarah Palin, who does exactly the opposite, who's being held up as a symbol of the growing power of women. She is being celebrated by the media for her gender in a way that Hillary Clinton never was, nor any other woman or girl who gained the same level of national exposure in the last few years, and there's a reason for that. The society hasn't suddenly seen the light and embraced the right of women to have real power. That's not what many of her supporters are really celebrating. They're celebrating their opportunity to use their candidate's gender as a shield against accusations of sexism while trusting her not to do anything that an equally conservative man wouldn't do. That's why they're calling attention to her gender and not to her policies. She's gained anti-feminist approval -- the coveted "patriarchal head-pat" -- by not challenging any anti-feminist beliefs beyond the most superficial one: that women aren't suited to the public sphere. Anti-feminists are happy to put up with a "woman in a man's job" as long as she's doing their work -- and that's why there's always an audience for the Ann Coulters and Dr. Lauras.

As someone who uses Rosie the Riveter on her Facebook page, I have to say I ... don't identify... with Palin... uh - way to promote female liberation through sexual ignorance there... and don't get me started on creationism in schools (wtf???).

Let's face it. Palin is a female suffering from internalized imperialism who got where she is through men pushing her as a figurehead into their agenda, then rode a wave with men pushing her again. We have an expression for this in French, though it's racist: "Reine nègre." It refers to the African rulers who were bought lock stock and barrel by the colonizers and carried out the latters' instructions.

Just when you think that Republicans can't shit on feminism anymore.

Undeniable fact- Assholes like Sarah Palin and Schafly would be NOWHERE without the very system they are so critical of and in opposition to.
Feminists paved the way so they could *publicly* fight it.

HOW is Palin a feminist? Because she works? Listening to NPR coverage of the race was infuriating - they highlighted how the GOP was pulling the gender card, calling Obama a sexist. I had to roll up my windows and scream. Next to HC, SP is hardly a feminist icon! I feel so let down by my country.

This just makes me angry! Rosie the Riveter has become a feminist icon and has grown to represent women's empowerment and liberation. It is a slap in the face of feminism to think that voting in an anti-woman politician is liberating for women. With all of this faux-feminist crap surrounding her and the Republican Party, its no surprise we'd see a feminist icon defaced like that. What's going to be next?!

I realize that Rosie was a piece of government propaganda, but the image still has value to me. I imagine the pride those women must have felt doing hard work for their country. I remember that Pat Benetar video, Shadows of the Night, where she played a Rosie type.
I just love the image of a tough, muscle-bearing woman. I used to have a Rosie the Riveter air freshener dangling from my rearview that reminded me to be strong, saying, "you can do it!"

I think the point is just to throw support to the "Working Girl." It was no so long ago that woman's place was in the kitchen; barefoot and pregnant. There are plenty of working class women that identify with this and that's where this is coming from. The liberal elite feminists thought all other women were pretty much like them mius a few differences here and there, but the rude awakening has begun.
-Ben

Benny boy -- Yeah, isn't it great how it's possible to "throw support to the working girl" simply by cut-and-pasting the face of a woman who charged the taxpayers to cover the cost of living outside the city where she worked onto an iconic image representing the rise of women in the labor force during WWII? It's certainly a much less stressful way to show solidarity than by going to the trouble of, say, supporting the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, or making sure abortion is a safe and legal alternative to having babies, or advocating affordable healthcare.

But then, you called us liberal elites, so by contrast, you and Sarah Palin must be in touch with the needs of working-class women and their families.

this Palin crap is making me CRAZY!!! I hate to think that people actually call her a feminist! and poor Rosie... probably rolling over in her grave! this has got to stop! crazy woman in a position of power does NOT equal FEMINIST!

Ben - First, neither Palin nor Rosie are "girls," nor are most females who work.

Second, woman's "place" has never been in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. Women have always been integral parts of society beyond just pumping out babies and making a casserole. For example, before the industrial revolution, women made essential contributions to society through the production of food and textiles in addition to manufacturing trade items. Since the industrial revolution, women worked in factories in large numbers and have been in the workforce outside the home ever since, just usually not in well paid or powerful positions. And guess what, McCain/Palin policies are more likely to keep women out of those positions or in them with less pay.

Third, it's funny that you would mention "working class" women as identifying with the idea that woman's place is no longer in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, in a way that implies that working women aren't feminists and feminists don't work and feminist don't support working women? I'm just really struggling to find the logic in what you wrote.

Ye, but what is anyone going to do about mobbing and gangstalking? Have they discussed this? I heard that the Obama people are really scared by this Palin woman. I listen to Sean Hannity and Neal Boortz on the radio. And Andy Caldwell.

This must be a white woman thing.
I never needed a woman showing her bicep to prove how strong she is and that she can work.
Women in my family always worked,
like it or not.
Rosie doesn't represent feminism or womanism to me.
She's a reminder of Truths, "Ain't I a woman"
poem.

Powerful,
So feminist do support working women, jut not Sarah Palin right? The liberal elitist feminists should realize that a lot of women moved either from no position or from Obama t McCain/Palin as evidenced by an NBC poll:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/09/sarah_palins_impact.html

So what you're left to figure out is why? I already know why. It's because you're so far out of touch with middle American values. It's a center-right country and always has been since Reagan. An yes, Sarah Palin is in touch with working class values. I hope some of you can now see how extremist you are.
-Ben

Consider this. Go to Google, put in blue collar feminists and you get nothing, nada, zilch. On 31 pages that have the three words somewhere on the same page. That's how far out of touch you are.
-Ben

OK but just because Palin has the chance to become the first woman VP doesnt mean she should be compared to an icon. I mean it is a great advancment for woman, but should we be jumping at the first woman who takes office? I mean the are just using Rosie's reputation to get more female votes, which I think is deceptive.

Ben, Sarah Palin has five children, one of whom is a pregnant high-school student and another of whom has Down syndrome. And she still thinks that free-market healthcare is a fine and dandy concept. Nope, no class privilege there!

Like I said before, she claims to be for equal pay, but opposes the Fair Pay Act. She's against abortion -- tell me, do you suppose it's out of understanding and compassion for working-class women that she'd force them to stay pregnant when it could cost them their jobs, and to have babies they can't afford to raise?

When she was mayor, she allowed rape victims to be charged the cost of a rape kit -- up to $1200. For the privilege of having their attacks investigated.

Not to mention, again, that she decided the taxpayers owed her for going home to Wasilla every night while she worked in Juneau. That's a hell of a working-class hero you've got there.

Ben- So because the almighty Google returns no results on some combiantion of values worded to your inane desire to fight the elitists, that means there's no such thing as a working class feminist? It's you who is out of touch from where you sit on your lofty perch of the patriarchy. I've been broke my whole life. I've worked my ass off to get to be middle class, I suppose. Maybe you should Google me next time. A real person with real values.

And please stop touting American values as if feminist "elitists" have none. I worked my way through an education and have evaluated the so called values that Sarah Palin supposedly represents. Sarah Palin is the antithesis of understanding what blue collar wants and needs- SHE represtents the blind privilege of the consistency that Middle Class provides. She never at rice puffs with water for breakfast I'll fucking bet you (it's disgusting if you were wondering). Tax cuts for big companies with that idiotic "trickle down" theory which has us in the mess we're in is helping the middle class how? Limiting choice and education by privitizing health care and pushing Puritanism is not the American way. She's been living with the moose for too long.

In my eloquent elitist fashion I have this to say to you, Ben: KISS MY ASS.

Misspelled,

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You have just sounded off on themes that are typical of the liberal left. If you're right and she is all that you state that she is above, then why are women flocking to her? Again, it just shows that you are out of touch. The elitists on this site sit around and talk about the rights of people that have had a sex chance or whether or not its a double standard or fair for a woman to sleep around as much as a man. I know this is taught at the higher levels of academia, but frankly, middle America does not care about this. What middle America cares about is the state of thier public schools, how to afford health care, how to save for retirement and how to keep their homes.
-Burl

Ben - Two of my heroes are feminists from the "working class": Lois Jenson who worked in an iron mill and Lily Ledbetter who worked for goodyear tire & rubber company. Lois Jenson and her coworkers faced outrageous amounts of harassment from their male coworkers. Lily Ledbetter was paid less than her male counterparts. All they wanted was to have respect, a safe work environment, and equal pay. Their lawsuits ended and began, respectively, within the last decade. Do you think they're the only "working class" women out there who care about women's rights? I have been hearing women who support McCain/Palin saying they support women's rights in the workplace, including equal pay. What McCain's camp and the media are doing a good job of not telling voters is that while McCain/Palin say they are for these things, their voting record does not reflect it (IE: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/04/24/by_juliet_eilperin_washington.html). I think that people are caught up in how well Palin presents herself and how "real" she seems without paying attention to the issues. Americans are good at being spoon fed, not doing their homework on this stuff. You say middle america cares about public schools, health care, and economic security issues --- we know! what do you think Obama's platform is built on?!?!!?!? Look at his voting record versus McCain's and find out who is the better candidate to handle those issues. Also, McCain and Palin want to support more pointless wars that will take away funding from these domestic issues. I just heard a snippet on the radio where Palin said war with Russia may be necessary if Georgia joined NATO and was invaded by Russia. Go to war with Russia?! Please look up policy stances and encourage your friends to as well.

Oh fuck off. Don't chuck out the term "elitist" in every post you make and then act like transness and the sexual double standard are examples of some kind of liberal frivolity that doesn't affect "real people." When a trans woman of color is stabbed to death in the Bronx or seventeen girls in Gloucester make a pact to get pregnant, and liberal blogs are the only ones to extend any kind of respect for the dignity of the people involved in their coverage of the stories, that's not a sign of elitism on our part. It's a sign of the utter failure in mainstream society to recognize the rights and needs of the least privileged among us. So you can shove whatever "middle American" values apparently require that we not give a shit about anybody who doesn't live and look exactly like us in order to be able to solve a problem, and you can most certainly shove the idea that any of those solutions are going to come from John "Hey, yeah, good question, how many houses do I own?" McCain and Sarah "Eh, well, maybe we could try incentives to get employers to provide better healthcare or something...?" Palin.

The correct reply to offensive speech, is more speech. And that image of Palin as Rosie is offensive, right?

Republicans, after generations of focused attention, are adept at manipulating the images that comprise much of our visual world. You elites, with your language, and your dignified discourse and your earnest politeness, are beaten every time by the Lee Atwaters of Republicanism. These people know that teevee and NASCAR and Walmart beat your elite chat rooms every time.

Behold! Rosie The Riveter, staunch feminist icon now dragooned into service of the uber anti-feminist, creationist, anti-choice woman, printed, and available as a rally sign. Horrific. Brilliant.

Now, print that out. There, you've got an elite piece of paper to hang above the Impressionist painting over the couch. Yes you do. All you elites have Impressionist paintings above the couch. Better yet, duct tape that image OVER the painting. See? The right has successfully, rapidly, soberly, beat you to the punch on manipulating an icon of feminism that IS INSTANTLY ABSORBED by the "non-elites". Sarah Palin is now Rosie. All at once. With zero effort or mewling or woe, but with a laser-like focus on how to push buttons. "Sarah Palin is Rosie the Riveter, fighting for a place at the table, taking on the fat cats, and she represents women, because she knows your struggle." Palin Takes America: PTA. Get it?

Meanwhile, you librul types are easy to dismiss, with your quaint concerns about fairness, peace, equality and truth. Hey, Greatest Generation: remember when Rosie was yours and meant something else than a bad nightmare? Yo, college-educated pinkos: You're nothing but a damned flag burner, and besides: Reverend Wright. Burn!

And. they. do. this. every. day.

What do you have, elite website hand-wringers?

I think taking an historical figure and comparing Palin to her is going a little too far. Besides, what has Palin really done in order to further the advancement of women? She hasn't even become vice president yet and everyone is oooing and ahhhing over her and giving her label compared to that of someone who stood up for the right's of women when no one else was giving them any credit. I am not saying that Palin won't be a good vice president, but I think it is a little early in the game to be calling her Rosie.

ooooohhh! Sarah Palin is so hot!