Naomi Parker

American factory worker likely the inspiration for the "We Can Do It!" poster

Naomi Parker Fraley (August 26, 1921 – January 20, 2018) was an American war worker and waitress. She is thought to be the likely model for the iconic "We Can Do It!" poster.[1][2] She did not know that the poster had become famous and Geraldine Hoff Doyle was given credit as the model. The poster is mistakenly known as the Rosie the Riveter poster. It has become a cultural icon in the 1980s.[3] She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Naomi Parker
Parker modeled as Rosie the Riveter in the "We Can Do It!" poster

After the war, Parker worked as a waitress in Palm Springs, California.[4] She was married three times.[5] In February 2017 she moved to the Longview, Washington, area.[6]

Professor James J. Kimble began researching who the real Rosie the Riveter was, and believed it was based on a picture of Parker taken in 1942.[7] He believed it could not have been Geraldine Doyle because she barely worked in factories because she was still in school.[7] Through this, Parker based on current evidence, is believed to be the real-life Rosie the Riveter.[8]

Parker died in Longview on January 20, 2018 at the age of 96.[5]

References

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  1. Kopf, Adam Pasick, Dan. "The riveting story of wartime propaganda that became a feminist icon". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2022-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Gunter, Joel (2018). "Mystery real-life Rosie the Riveter dies". BBC News. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  3. Kimble, James J.; Olson, Lester C. (2006). "Visual Rhetoric Representing Rosie the Riveter: Myth and Misconception in J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" Poster". Rhetoric & Public Affairs. 9 (4): 533–569. ISSN 1534-5238.
  4. "Everyone Was Wrong About the Real 'Rosie the Riveter' for Decades. Here's How the Mystery Was Solved". Time. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Fox, Margalit (2018). "Naomi Parker Fraley, the Real Rosie the Riveter, Dies at 96". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  6. Luck, Marissa (May 27, 2017). "Who was 'Rosie the Riveter'?". Longview Daily News. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Kimble, James J. (June 22, 2016). "Rosie's Secret Identity, Or, How to Debunk a Woozle by Walking Backward through the Forest of Visual Rhetoric". Rhetoric & Public Affairs. 19 (2): 245–274. doi:10.14321/rhetpublaffa.19.2.0245. ISSN 1534-5238. S2CID 147767111.
  8. "Naomi Parker Fraley: The Improbable Icon of Feminism". Politico. December 30, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2022.