As the United States entered World War II there was a shift in the way women were portrayed in advertisements. Before the war, women in advertisements were often objectified and shown as something to be attained. They were also portrayed as naturally being in a domestic environment. As many of the country’s men started going off to war, there was a need for someone to fill their jobs, which included a lot of industrial jobs, while they were gone. Companies began advertising women in roles that were previously only employed by men. These advertisements were meant to entice women to take up the jobs that were now open.

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One of the more famous advertisements from this period was “Rosie the Riveter”, which was portrayed in many different mediums. These advertisements were ultimately a huge success as it is estimated that during World War II women accounted for about 36% of the civilian labor force [1]. It is also estimated that over the course of the war about 6.5 million women entered the labor force [1]. All these advertisements seemed to be positive and progressive for the time as women were being empowered in the media. But as the war was drawing to a close, there would be another shift in how women were portrayed in advertisements.

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