Memory Economies of a Feminist Icon

Abstract

At the turn of the twenty-first century, a surprising new feminist icon has emerged: celebrated by the mainstream media, beloved by many activists, and almost ubiquitous in her appearance as the face of mediated feminism in the new millennium. This icon, however, is fictional. Over the last twenty years, an assemblage has intensified around the American figure of ‘Rosie the Riveter,’ mediated through the striking We Can Do It! image. As this image was originally produced in the United States as a 1942 labour management poster during World War II, this graphic seems a curious emblem for contemporary feminisms. ‘Memory Economies of a Feminist Icon’ maps the transcultural mobilisations of the We Can Do It! image in attachment to transnational feminisms, and discusses what this phenomenon tells us about the making of feminist memory in digital times.