The Inspiration of Rosie the Riveter Dies at 96

According to Cosmopolitan and the New York Times,  Naomi Parker Fraley, the inspiration of Rosie the Riveter, has passed away at the age of 96.

Fraley was born in Tusla, Oklahoma. She then went on to work as a waitress in California, according to New York Times. It was after the attack on Pearl Harbor that she moved on to work at the Naval Air Station. This is were she posed for a photo in 1942 that then became the J. Howard Miller's inspiration of the image we know so well, according to Cosmopolitan.

The image of Rosie the Riveter is iconic and has become a symbol for feminism. During World War II, women entered the workforce to take up jobs that were left open while men who were enlisted into the war, according to History.com.  Rosie became a government campaign to encourage women to work in the munitions industry. By 1945 almost one out of every four women were married and working. The History.com calls this the "most iconic image of working women during the war".

According to the Humanities Index, It was in the 1980s where Rosie transitioned from what some would call propaganda to the Feminist Movement. "Re-purposing the image as a model for championing women’s rights ignores the original intent of the poster. It hung on the walls of the factory to keep tensions low and maintain the status quo. Maintaining the status quo is antithetical to Feminism," as stated by Teresa English of the Humanities Index. The Feminist Movement gave a new life to the "We Can Do It!" phrase and the image that Rosie represents.

This past weekend I got the chance to participate in the Women's March here in Shreveport. Rosie's image was used then and all over the world to celebrate and encourage activism for women's rights.

She passed away Saturday, January 20th.