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Comparative Analysis
Sample Student Essay
[Bolotin assignment]
“Gender Roles as Presented in
Rosie the Riveter
”
From its origins in the 1940s, Rosie the Riveter has long stood as a symbol of female
independence and strength. Even Beyonce paid homage to the icon on her Instagram page last
year.
Conversely, Susan Bordo’s essay, “Hunger as an Ideology,” examines the portrayal of
women in advertisements and how this portrayal represents what is societally considered
‘normal.’ She argues that the view of women in advertising is not “ideologically neutral,” but
rather seeks to reproduce the societal gender differences and inequalities (148). As well, Bordo
states that advertisements present a ‘men eat women prepare’ concept which restricts women to
the notion that they are “most gratified by feeding and nourishing others, not themselves,”
(155). It is cultural ideologies in advertisements such as these that influence how men, women,
and children think about the world and their place in it. On the surface, the Rosie the Riveter
poster stating “We Can Do It!” challenges these traditiona
l gender roles by encouraging women
to join the military production workforce; a field typically reserved for men. However, while
the poster of Rosie the Riveter challenges traditional gender roles as described in “Hunger as an
Ideology,” it places women i
n a new kind of role; the temporary male workforce replacement,
while also putting them in a position of servitude towards men.
Visually, Rosie the Riveter may be the most blatant example of reversal of typical
gender roles. Her hair is pulled back in a bandana, so that her hair appears short, and her sleeves
are rolled up so that she can show off her muscles. Generally, Rosie takes on the appearance of
a typical factory worker. This portrayal juxtaposes the typical view of women in advertising.
For example, Bordo describes an ad for cereal in which a man appears almost animal like with
