Reference no: EM133310995

An adult women in a blue work jumpsuit and a red and white polka dot kerchief in her hair flexes her arm to show her muscle.

Rosie the Riveter

Answering the call:

Read pages "Women in the War" for background information.

Setting: When over 15 million young men are called up / volunteered for military service, millions of women entered both the military and the job market to produce the materials to win the war effort. These women filled positions once reserved only for men (ex. machine shop, welders, working rivet guns). Wartime production was impressive to the point that America became known as the "Arsenal of Democracy."

Question 1: How did women's participation in wartime industries change their image as "members of the weaker sex?"

Question 2) With the men off fighting the war, how independent do you think that women became as many of them had to manage the home, family, and pay the bills without their husbands and fathers?

Question 3) With the end of the war in September of 1945, did anything truly change with male - female relationships? Did any enduring social norms change in the wake of these sexual barriers being blurred in the war years? What do you think?