"I am still human" - Marilyn Monroe
“I’m not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful.”
Marilyn Monroe is one of the biggest fashion and pop culture icons of all time. Her impact on film, femininity, sexuality, and fashion is unbound, and frankly it’s difficult to find someone who hasn’t heard of her. She was a sex symbol, a ‘blonde bombshell’, a figure to represent the sexual revolution of the late 50s and early 60s. Her signature blonde hair and feminine figure has become synonymous with 50s fashion and femininity - becoming a muse for many people to come.
Here’s where the article changes. I wanted to write this article because Monroe was and still is such an integral part of fashion and fashion history - it seems like a no-brainer. However, upon doing research for this article, I almost wanted to stop writing it altogether. It just didn’t feel right - but Perspex is here to uncover the hidden parts of the fashion industry, and I feel the need to tell the world about her truth.
“In Hollywood a girl’s virtue is much less important than her hairdo. You’re judged by how you look, not by what you are. Hollywood’s a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty.”
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1st, 1926 in Los Angeles. Her mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was often confined in mental asylums, meaning that throughout her childhood, Monroe lived through foster homes & orphanages, throughout which she was sexually abused for 16 months of her life. At age 16, she married James Dougherty as a way to get out of the foster care system, dropping out of high school and moving to Santa Catalina Island to be with him. In 1944, Monroe was working in a munitions factory and was selected by photographer David Conover to be featured in a shoot focused on ‘morale boosting female workers’. From there, she quit her job at the factory and pursued modelling and acting.
From there you probably know the rest - her booming acting career, relationship with JFK and her probable suicide in 1962.
“I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent.”
Through looking through her old film trailers, I can’t help but feel a misogynistic vibe. She was constantly reduced to the stereotype of the ’sexy blonde’; obsessed with men and her looks. Every role she played related to fulfilling something in the male fantasy. In a male-dominated industry, she had to compromise herself in order to find success. Every facet of her identity that wasn’t related to her fulfilling the needs of the male gaze was ignored. She was simply there for the pleasure of men, to bring men into the movie theatre. Her characters were kept childish and aloof, whilst being riddled with double entendres. Her stereotypical roles imprinted onto society’s perception of her as a person.
“I won’t be satisfied until people want to hear me sing without looking at me.”
It’s hard to succeed in a world that is too selfish to look past their own interests. Monroe changed every aspect of herself to become successful, and eventually she lost the confidence in who she truly was. Monroe was a tortured woman. Every part of her life outside of her control and her own childhood made it difficult to succeed. In the last few months of her life, she visited her psychotherapist up to five times a week. To be honest, I don’t think words can explain how tortured and confined she must’ve felt.
I know this article isn’t very deep, nor is it that fashion related. When I wanted to write about Marilyn Monroe, I wanted to write about her signature fashion sense; her iconic nude embellished dress that shone under the spotlight as she sung Happy Birthday to JFK, her pink satin gown as she performed ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’, or her white pleated halter dress that has now become one of the most well-known outfits of all time. But it’s not right. It’s not fair. It’s International Women’s Day god damn it. It doesn’t make me any better if I just talk about her looks. She was more than that. She was intelligent, hard working and ambitious.
“I want to be an artist, an actress with integrity.”
Also here’s a fun note; at the start of her career, Monroe posed nude in order to make an income. These images weren’t publicly known until she was at the height of her career. For $50, Playboy creator Hugh Hefner purchased the rights to the image and published it in Playboy magazine - no permission given from Monroe, neither was a single cent given to her from the sales of the magazine. And to make it even worse, her crypt in Westwood Village is directly next to Hugh Hefner’s. So, ew. Not even in death can women get away from the male gaze.