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As it Turns Out, I'm Not Done Yet
Monday, September 17, 2007
It is a rare occasion when I go three whole days without posting. My apologies to those of you who checked to find updated posts only to find a rapidly aging entry.Since late last week I have been plugging away on my essay about the MomsRising logo for Literary Mama. I project it will be complete by the end of the week. I don't know when it will go up, but I have to brace myself for the backlash that's sure to come. I'm a big girl, though. I can take it.
Although last week I said I would put the MomsRising logo issue to rest here, there were some comments that I think are important and would like to mention.
Fat Lady pointed me to spectacular information on the National Park Service web site about Rosie the Riveter. They mentioned that women have always worked in America, like the poor white woman pictured picking strawberries and the black woman who is waiting to go out into the cotton fields. But when the United States experienced labor shortages during World War II, the government wanted to lure middle-class, white women into the war industry, thus using Rosie the Riveter to do so.
This little tidbit of information succinctly verifies my concerns. What group of mothers does MomsRising want to talk to? White middle-class mothers only like the government did in the 1940s? I have said it before: Their logo divides, doesn't unify.Many readers have mentioned that MomsRising was probably not aware of the reverberations their logo would cause. I agree. I don't think it was intentional. But at some point, does racism become so blurred even white people can't recognize it? That's not to say their logo is blatantly racist. I am saying, though, that their logo is one- dimensional and reeks of exlusive target marketing.
Although I do not know the backgrounds of the MomsRising's founders, I believe they are probably seasoned feminists. That said, the issue of a racial split in the feminist movement should not be new to them. So, why did they even go there when creating a organization for the nation's mothers?
An anonymous commenter asked this question:
What should a modern day Rosie, a Rosie that could/will be used as propaganda to entice ALL women to support and organize for children's and mother's rights look like?
I mentioned that I don't think Rosie can be modernized. I think she should be left in the 40s where she belongs.
What do you think?
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, Reproduction Numbers: LC-USW33-028626-C DLC, LC-USW3-034661-C DLC, LC-USF3301-006028-M1 DLC, LC-USE6-D-009550 DLC
Labels: breastfeeding history, commentary
posted by Jennifer James @ 9:17 AM,
