Women's Role In Ww2 Propaganda

The Power of the Propaganda

In the times of darkness where women used to be worthy enough just to take care of the housework, kids, and husband; accordingly, women were categorized as housewives while men were the ones who work for the livelihood. It is important to highlight the women role in World War II because besides the war, deaths, ambition and misfortune; women during the World War II where for first time in the history; women were valued and they free themselves from the stereotype role they had. The time of labor inequality in the World War II between women and men was staring to break down; however, women were still stigmatized to just be able to work in jobs such as nurse and the textile industry. The timing of the initial advance

in married women’s employment and the extensive propaganda used to attract women into the labor force during the war have led many to credit World War II with spurring the modern increase in married women’s paid employment (Goldin 741). After the World War I the role of women changed dramatically, women gained a little more sovereignty and freedom to walk into labor environment. Government as a consequence of the decrease on labor, launched propaganda to embolden women to the labor force. The war provided job opportunities for women; consequently, men who went to war leaving their jobs, which were covered by their wives.
One of the sponsors of propaganda in World War II was The Office of War Information (OWI) U.S.

agency created 1942 during World War II to consolidate government information services. The OWI absorbed the functions of the office of Facts and Figures, the office of Government Reports, the division of evidence of the office for Emergency Management, and the foreign material service of the coordinator of information. The office established under Robert E. Sherwood, which launched a huge information and propaganda campaign abroad. Congressional opposition to the domestic operations of the OWI resulted in increasingly curtailed funds, and by 1944 the OWI operated mostly in the foreign field, contributing to undermining enemy morale. The agency was abolished in 1945, and its foreign functions were transferred to the Department of State. (Office of War Information). One of the propagandas The Office of War Information used to attract women to the labor force in industries and factories was “Now I can buy the things I love! Here's my passport to independence” “created between the years 1941 and 1945. The poster’s type is designed with a photograph and graphic materials” (National Archive Catalog). The propaganda poster uses a neutral black and blue-gray colors that made an appearance of seriousness; showing as a main image a woman with a face of satisfaction using her hair up, handing a paper in the right hand that has written paid check; the woman also has a callout with the

message “Now I can buy the things I love!” In addition, at the bottom of the poster there is a caption “Here’s my passport to independence” which complete the idea of the poster. However, in order to understand the context of the poster is necessary to know when the propaganda was launched. Although if the poster were launched in these days will not have any sense because nowadays most of the woman work and their role in the society is completely different as it was in nineteenth forty’s. The audience of the poster is straightforwardly understandable. The poster uses as an example a woman who is expressing her feelings of freedom and self-determination; whit this in mind, displaying that the key to achieve the independence and sovereignty is by working.
The audience of the poster is evidently all women; this poster illustrated a free passport to the independence.

Working was the strategic to acquire the money, which according to the poster is the main key to achieve an independence. The message in the poster “Now I can buy the things I love” expose the dependency of women in the poster’s time; even though the time of slavery was done by the nineteenth forty’s women were economically slaves of their husband and the stereotypes of the society. To illustrate, women could not buy nothing unless their husband gives them money to do it. That it is why, the poster is so relevant and significant to women because it opens a pass to walk into the independence and change the typical role of the women. The poster gives a clear message of now women can buy or do the things they love for their own merit and money, also the poster indicated a solution for the dependency of the women. The woman in the poster has the answer in her hand, a paycheck is the passport to the independence, but also is the passport to the government to cover the hole in the industries and factories had it, for the cause of the decrease of human resources. During the war men were required to go to the war and fight for their country; however, this brought as a consequence a lack of people to work, then women were the best alternative to cover the hole of lack of workers. Society realized than women could do more than be a housewife and women had the poster as a

motivation and encourage to be independent, get educated, and develop more skills than taking care of the kids and the house. “The role of housewife was never challenged. Rather, another duty was added to that role. Working in the war industries became an extension of being a housewife and mother. This conception made it easy for women to be pushed out of the labor force and returned to being housewife/mother as her complete role.” (Trey)
It is incredible how powerful propaganda could be; just an image can produce a huge impact to its audience. Depending on the time and the background knowledge of the audience can interpreted the propaganda in dissimilar point of views. The poster “Now I can buy the things I love! Here’s my passport to the independence” can be analyzed in different kinds of fields such as the materials, color, images in the poster which made the propaganda more attractive to the spectators. In addition, the poster has three directed and clear messages; the first one is to expose how women’s role before the World War II was stereotyped as just being a housewives and a person who depends economically of her husband. Second, to offer a solution and break the cycle of being a dependent human by working. Finally, to inspire women to work making them able to have whatever they want for their own merit; however, this can be also interpreted as a government technique to cover the shortage of workers. “The war may have demonstrated to employers that women could function well in job that had previously been male domains.” (Goldin). The impact of the propaganda to the audience was rewarding because it unlocked the route to new women showing the word and the society that they can cook and do the housework, but also they can get educated, work, and be an independent person.