Appropriations of Women and Children in World War I Propaganda Posters and Beyond

WWI has received renewed attention in recent years as a foil for contemporary society. While often overlooked in comparison to other conflicts, WWI shares with the present day a devastating global pandemic, growing geopolitical hostilities in Europe, and the proliferation of new communication technologies. As an example of “total war,” WWI involved mass recruitment of civilians through a variety of means, one of which was the innovative use of propaganda posters. In this article, we analyze one prevalent rhetorical strategy in WWI propaganda posters that continues to influence audiences today— depictions of women and children. By studying the visual and verbal propaganda contained in select posters of Entente states (Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and the United States), we identify how representations of women are children are used to justify violence and suggest avenues for future research in war rhetoric.