Visual Rhetoric
Women’s Rights Movement
By: Haley Fisher
Background Information
Artist : J. Howard Miller
Produced by Westinghouse Production Co-ordinating Committee
On display at National Archives: Still Picture Records Section
Thought Provoking…
• What do you see
when you first look at
the advertisement?
At first glance you see a women
dressed in ‘mechanic’ working attirebutton up, long sleeve shirt with the
sleeves rolled up and a bandanna
around her head- saying “We Can Do
It!” showing off her muscles.
• Why did the artist
chose to include the
words “We Can Do It”
in the advertisement?
By incorporating the “We Can Do It!”
into the advertisement the artist pushes
the idea that women have the
capabilities to do a man’s job a little
further.
Audience
• Who is the
Audience?
The audience for this
advertisement can be
interpreted in many ways. I
believe that the advertisement
is targeted towards a
changing society that has
come to believe that women
aren’t inferior to men. It’s
targeted to show women their
true capability and show
others that us women can
hold our own in the workplace
Aesthetics
• Does the font size
and style impact the
advertisement?
Yes, the larger font and
bold style help the words
pop off the advertisement
and catch your eye.
• Do you think that the
advertisement would
have less of an
impact if the font was
different?
Without the words in the
advertisement, I believe,
that it wouldn’t have such
a forward message. You
wouldn’t understand the
full intent and drift away
from what the artist is
trying to portray.
Balance and Proportion
• Is this advertisement
well balanced?
• Do you think the
proportion of words to
portrait hurt or help to
get the message
across?
Yes, the advertisement is well
balanced between the woman
and the words.
I believe that the words HELP
send the message. As we said
before without them the
message is more implied and
harder to obtain, but the big bold
white letters really emphasize
the true meaning the artist was
trying to reach.
Ethos
Is this
advertisement
ethical?
Yes the advertisement is ethical
for it is showcased at the
National Archives in Washington,
D.C.
Logos
• Does this
advertisement
appeal to your
logic?
Pathos
• How does this
advertisement
appeal to your
emotions?
I think the emotional appeal you
feel comes from what gender you
are, meaning a women would
take it differently than a man.
Therefore, when I look at this
advertisement I feel
empowerment knowing that I am
just as capable as any man and
responsibility to prove women not
inferior to man. However, men
might be obtaining a different
emotion.
Bibliography
• http://images.clipartof.com/small/6506-WeCan-Do-It-Rosie-The-Riveter-Poster-ArtPrint.jpg