ToW 19: WOW!

     In WWII, many men were sent to the war front in order to fight. However, this created a major issue for them: not enough men were at home in order to manufacture the aircraft, ammunition, and other warfare essentials to support the war effort. The solution to this problem came from the homes of the soldiers- the Woman Ordinance Workers. In order to gain support, propaganda such as the one show here were used in order to garner support for the war effort from these women at home. The 'She's a WOW' posters and others like it fulfilled their purpose in alerting women at home to the opportunity of switching, taking on, jobs in order to support the war effort, and strengthen America's production efforts. The campaign turned out to be a success, with women flocking to the new jobs created by the war.

     The clearest reasoning as to how successful the campaign was is seen in who was working for the manufacturies during WWII, where nearly 40% of the overall workforce in America at the time was female. This is an especially staggering number when you consider that the role of the women at the time was thought to be a stay-at-home one, where the man in the family would be the one to make the money. However, with the men gone, women filled in their place.

     The reason why the campaign was a success was because of the emotion created by the poster. The poster displays a woman working on a rifle in the foreground, with a soldier in the background, presumed to be her significant other, using the same rifle. The text states ""The Girl he left behind" is still behind him. She's a WOW". This appeals to pathos in that it proposes that if you care for your significant other, one way you can help is by working in a factory to help him win the war. Another method used is by using a term heard a lot during that time, "The girl he left behind," mostly because many soldiers did leave their wives or girlfriends in order to fight, so that creates addition emotional attachment to the poster. These reasons certainly grabbed their audience's attention, and made a huge impact on the war effort.

   The posters did fulfill their purpose in alerting women to the opportunities in the new fields, and the benefits did the rest. With opportunities such as 40% better pay, after the posters made the opportunities known, the jobs themselves did the rest.