This illustrated anthology of advertising in the popular press attempts to clarify the manner in which consumers have been conditioned to think about the roles of women in society. More than 2,000 copies of periodicals dating from 1900 to the present were consulted for the cultural information in their advertising. The selection of certain ads over others was made on the basis of their pertinence to themes suggested by the entire range of the material. These themes were eventually narrowed to six: facial beauty; domestic matters and women's relationship to their homes; the progression from early romance and courtship, through engagement and marriage, to motherhood; women's shapes, foundation garments, and fashion; the "spare parts" attitude toward women (that is, the focus on their body parts in isolation); and, finally, health and health products. The final chapter concentrates on the ways in which women are used by advertisers to sell a product; sex-role conditioning is explored with respect to cultural assumptions about women and men. (KS)