Rosie the Riveter is a staple of Americana. She was the face of the women staying at home, and though some argue that Rosie is a piece of propaganda to encourage women to work for the duration of the way, she has become a retro hero symbol. Women did do it, and did it well. There are many female heros and here is a woman hero who wasn’t even real (Much like Betty Crocker). Today she’s making a come back and there are more Rosie merchandise than ever before. (In 1946 all she had was a poster. Ha!) Now there are mugs, t-shirts, posters, shower curtains, and best of all, an action figure. Rose comes packaged just like Batman or Robin, complete with a lunch box and a spring action rivet gun. The action figure is packaged and adorned just as a “real” action figure might be. This is a great gift for those who love women’s history and don’t take anything too seriously.

For those who love feminism quotations and other feminist trivia, there is an actual board game. Give this to your feminist friend, and invite the rest of the gang over. Slip into your pajamas, grab some wine, and hunker down for a night of feminism quotations. It’s a fun and challenging way to get in touch with the inner feminist, as well as to add humor to those already there. This is an exciting board game that combines many of the popular game techniques, including charades and pictionary as well as a smattering of karoke, with trivia regarding women. Here we have questions regarding Mother Goose, Barbie, PMS and Title XI. This is a good way to learn some history, laugh out loud and enjoy yourselves. Also a good tongue in cheek gift to give your friend who knows she knows it all about the sisterhood.
If your feminist friend is more into expressing herself with large print, there is a number of amusing t-shirts that pull of the over the top persona, and softens even the most intense activists to someone who has a sense of humor. There are many t-shirts that have some sort of slogan, and for feminists it’s more of a specialty market. The same site may sell feminist t-shirts as well as lesbian and mom shirts. Most types of women seem to share the common goal of self expression. shirt features a housewife black and white photo with the cartoon bubble over her head “I am a feminist”. This communicates that the wearer is aware of the difference between motivation and dreams for women. This is a fun way to address the debate surrounding feminism. Quotations on other shirts read “Feminist and not afraid to say it!”, “Well behaved women rarely make history” and “real men are feminists”. These are the words of someone who gets the joke, but isn’t going to back down.

To express onself with humor keeps the politics fresh, the position palatable, and the fun continues. One famous woman spoke about this issue, though it couldn’t be considered feminism. Quotation from Collette reads “Total absence of humor renders life impossible.” Remind your friends and girlfriends of this with these potential gift ideas, and keep in mind that life is fun and funny.