Gee!! I Wish I Were a Man I'd Join the Navy
Artist
Howard Chandler Christy
(1873-1952)
Date1915
Object number00015461
NamePoster
MediumInk on paper with cardboard backing
DimensionsOverall: 1041 x 684 mm, 0.15 kg
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionRecuitment poster by Howard Chandler Christy for the United States Navy.
This was a successful recruitment poster in World War I and effectively lured many men to enlist in the navy. Posters generally presented women as passive bystanders, until the later stages of World War II.
The woman in the poster was modelled from Nancy Palmer who later married Howard Chandler Christy.HistoryPosters have long been used as a means to spread ideas and promote causes. During World War II, they were used to generate patriotism, sway public opinion and spread propaganda. They spoke from a position of authority to unite people in a common cause.
These propaganda posters were often displayed in libraries, post offices, schools, streets and factories. They addressed a number of home and war front issues including worker productivity, security, food rations and war bonds. They were all part of a national and international campaign to support the war effort during WWII.
This poster is typical of the way women were presented in World War I and even the early stages of World war II. However, by the conclusion of the Second World War women were being depicted in roles traditionally reserved for men.SignificanceThis was one of Howard Christy's most famous works and an example of how successful posters could be. At the outbreak of the Second War this poster was one of the first to be issued, having already been designed in World War I.
