World War II was a time period during which the US government desperately required male soldiers. This was because the countries that it found itself fighting against were fairly large in numbers, and the fighting kept on becoming bigger and more deadly with each passing day. As time passed, things became worse, and soldiers of the American army kept losing their lives. This was when things became particularly difficult for America. The government was forced to forcefully cause all the men from the American public to register themselves in the army. There were a lot of things that needed to be taken care of, and if the men hadn’t contributed to their labour, America would have lost the war and been doomed.
When all the men kept leaving for the army, a huge void was left in all the other aspects of American public life. This proved to be a very critical time period for America as the amount of work that was required to be done was huge compared to the number of men that were available for it to be done. Prior to the beginning of the war, industrialization and a huge rise in the creation of factories all over the United States had taken place. When World War II hit America, there were not enough men to take care of the factories. It was at this time when Rosie the Reverter shined. She became an important figure of leadership and called upon American women to join hands and save America. Women took up all the important offices that men had held prior to the war and played a very important role in filling the void that men’s recruitment in the army had left.
This was most apparent in industries and factories. Women made use of their labour and undertook extremely difficult and laborious tasks. This point in the history of America proved to be a turning point for not just American women but women all over the world. The American women, thanks to Rosie the Reverter, helped save America from falling into the depths of darkness at a time when the men were too busy and preoccupied. The importance of Rosie the Reverter transcends the time period that she was active in and through which she lived because what she did is still relevant today (Lowen, 2017). Her efforts made people realize that women were just as capable as men when it came to working.
Earlier on, women were considered to be inferior to men. Most people often considered them to be incapable of doing anything meaningful, which is why the general perception was that they should stay at home and occupy themselves with domestic chores. World War II provided an opportunity for these women to show people who felt and believed that they were wrong. They managed to handle and take care of everything at a time when the men couldn’t, and during this time, America actually saw a rise in its production and income rates.
During the war, people thus realized the importance and significance of women. They realized that women were extremely productive, smart and able members of society who could do even those things that the men might not be able to do during times of need. This also improved their status and dignity not just in America but all across the globe (Lowen, 2017). Even today, feminists use the example of the American women of this time period and Rosie the Reverter to prove that men and women are equally capable of everything and that women are not at all inferior to men.
Works Cited
History.com Staff. “Rosie the Riveter.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/rosie-the-riveter
Lowen, Linda. “Why Rosie the Riveter Is So Iconic.” ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/who-was-rosie-the-riveter-3534386.
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