The homemaker is one image of the female in advertisng, but in the 1970's came the image of the woman as a sex object who was subservient to men, vulnerable, and unable to make her own decisions. This image was not altogether absent from the advertisements pre-1970's, but the image of the female as a sexual model is more recent. Body positioning in relation to setting is the major way in which this image is portrayed. Goffman did a major analysis of 1970 advertisements and discussed such positioning. It is also necessary to note that the women from ads in the 1920's up to the 1990's have gotten progressively thinner.
Women typically have a larger percentage of fat on their bodies for childbearing purposes.
Presently women with any fat struggle to fit the waif-model image which has pervaded the media. Another image has recently been added to the stock of female images in advertising -that of the female athlete. What differentiates these advertisements from the others is the fact they present a strong, positive, capable and confident female. Female athletic advertisements also incorporates copy which inspires and bolsters a female's self-esteem. This image has emerged for two reasons- the rise in the feminist movement and the rising popularity of female athletics.