One of the initial task forces of the National Organization for Women (NOW) was the Task Force on the Image of Women. Feminists were concerned about the way women were portrayed in the mass media, in general and specifically.
NOW declared in its 1966 Statement of Purpose that false images of women "perpetuate contempt for women by society and by women for themselves." One objective of NOW and the Task Force on the Image of Women was to create a new image of women in society in which women could define their own lives and futures and live in "self-respecting partnership with men."
The Task Force on the Image of Women declared that it would campaign for more images of women in a variety of fields in all areas of society, not just as mothers wearing aprons.
Feminists continued to challenge stereotypical images of women by criticizing advertisers and even protesting at the Miss America pageant. Feminist theorists discussed the need to combat the false image of women as being nothing more than sex symbols when they weren't portrayed as devoted housewives and mothers.