If our time is understood to be one of change concerning the position of women in society, the current emphasis on women taking up as little space as possible definitely serves the interests of patriarchy. Still, it seems difficult to dispute that the attainment of the slender ideal is very painful for many women. It is not liberating by any means. Women develop a highly damaging relationship with food that does very little except limit their lives. Advertising has served as a disciplinary force in the lives of women.
Advertisers create images that dictate cultural trends indicative of the time.
In the current disruption of gender roles, there seems to be a cultural uprising against women's increasing power. The uprising is noticeable in advertising. The dominating image of the painfully thin woman in advertising remains the ideal for American women. The grim truth is that attaining the slender body of today is not realistic for most women. Our bodies are not naturally shaped like those of twelve-year old boys.