大象传媒

Last week on Instagram, as I was absorbed in illustrating feminist icons for this contest, I came across an ad for a period-tracking app. Touting the 鈥減ower鈥� of tracking one鈥檚 cycle, its glammed鈥搖p, bicep-curling spokeswoman looked very familiar: Rosie the Riveter.

How. Original.

I probably shouldn鈥檛 have been surprised, though. Since her inception, Rosie has been employed as a salesperson, if you will, for the military industrial complex and any industry hoping to appeal to 鈥渕odern鈥� women. But that doesn鈥檛 mean her value as an agent of empowerment should be abandoned鈥攋ust exercised appropriately, especially now. That鈥檚 why 大象传媒 decided it was time to freshen up the feminist icon.

We asked readers to share their visions of a contemporary Rosie the Riveter.聽Is she a Muslim researcher or a stay-at-home dad? What would a gender-nonconforming Rosie of the 21st century look like? We posed these questions just as women are facing new regressive policies, including the since-failed repeal of the Affordable Care Act that would have disproportionately disadvantaged women across class and ability. We wanted to amplify the presence and achievements of women of color, working-class women, and queer and trans people. Readers responded with examples of women and LGBTQ people making progressive change across many walks of life. Below are our three favorites:

鈥淢y Mom鈥�

Submitted by Yessenia Funes

鈥淚 think she’d be brown with warm, worn eyes. She wouldn’t wear make up because her job would be spent in the kitchen of a restaurant or fast-food joint, and the heat of the fryers would simply make the make up run down her face. She鈥檇 have a couple burn marks on her arms from grabbing the fries. She鈥檇 wear a pin: 鈥淲orld鈥檚 Best Grandma.鈥� She鈥檇 be holding her coffee mug up to her lips (because, c鈥檓on, what mom doesn鈥檛 have a coffee addiction?), and it鈥檇 read 鈥�#1 MOM.鈥� Because even if her first and main language is Spanish, she still appreciates the gifts given to her by her second-generation English-speaking kids. Her uniform wouldn鈥檛 be anything fancy, but it鈥檇 have a collar and a bowtie because even at McDonald鈥檚, appearance is everything. Her hair would be up in a bun because nobody wants hair in their food. That鈥檚 my version of Rosie. That鈥檚 my mom.鈥� 鈥擸essenia Funes

While this concept was undoubtedly our team鈥檚 favorite, I鈥檒l admit I saw some of my own experience in Funes鈥� submission. Watching my first-generation American mother leave for work at the crack of dawn because we couldn鈥檛 afford a car, I never thought of the steely stare of the original Rosie. But I did know that my mom鈥檚 endurance was its own form of feminine strength, just as valid as that bicep curl. The Rosie who Funes describes is symbolic of single, immigrant, working-class parents across the country who rarely get the resources they need or security they deserve. This image is for the women who carry the load anyway and build the foundation of their families鈥� strength.

鈥淭he Modern Congresswoman鈥�

Submitted by Jeanne Berry and Sheila Meidell

鈥淭he modern Rosie should likely be an African American standing in front of the U.S. Senate.鈥� 鈥擲heila Meidell

鈥淪he鈥檚 a multi-ethnic feminist congresswoman who whops the other congressmen into shape with the Constitution in her hand!鈥� 鈥擩eanne Berry

The idea of a congresswoman whopping her obstructionist male peers with a rolled-up Constitution made the poster committee chuckle鈥攁nd yearn for more lawmakers like her. Representation in positions of power matters more for people whose survival depends on equitable public policy. As such, we removed the congressmen from the final art to let her stand alone. While the Capitol represents American politics, this matured Rosie represents the interests of women and LGBTQ people everywhere, and she isn鈥檛 going to let Congress get away with anything that doesn鈥檛 serve those people. She鈥檚 got the Bill of Rights to back her up.

Download this poster here聽(30mb)

鈥淭he Mask of White Femininity鈥�

Submitted by Joe Scott

鈥淭hey wear a mask with fem features painted black and white (you can鈥檛 see their skin). They have wild hair that is dyed rainbow (there is a single shock of white). Slogan: 鈥榝**k you鈥欌�� 鈥擩oe Scott

We couldn鈥檛 wait to dive in, but we weren鈥檛 immediately sure how to draw them. Scott describes someone frustrated and concealed by this peculiar mask, not liberated by it, but his submission didn鈥檛 quite match the cheery spirit of the original prompt. In our version, Rosie sheds the cracked mask of the limited femininity聽demanded by society for their own form of expression. The modern Rosie doesn鈥檛 need to be svelte, white, able-bodied, cisgender, or conventionally attractive to effect change鈥攁nd they dare you to tell them otherwise.

大象传媒 is publishing these posters with the hope that they鈥檒l percolate into realms where our Rosies can inspire and empower鈥攕ay, in the kitchen of a local women鈥檚 shelter or an LGBTQ youth center. We want them to channel the next wave of gender rights through an intersectional lens that鈥檚 inviting to all. If you have your own version of Rosie, we hope you鈥檒l hoist her high at the next march鈥攐r anywhere else.