Marilyn Monroe: Icon/symbol of feminism in the 1950s?

The 1950s was a very memorable decade for America. Multiple new attractions rose in America such as the fast food franchise, McDonald's and one of the greatest amusement parks of the present, Disneyland. Not only was this era memorable due to these new attractions but also some very important figures such as Elvis Presley and my main focus Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe was a controversial woman. After the war in the 1950s, a "quiet revolution" involving women arose and feminism became popular (American Pageant, 945). Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political , social, and economic equality to men. Women had been revolting for a years demanding to be equally treated as men with being given an education, work, etc. These women were ready to show off their brains and how powerful women can be.

When Monroe appeared conflict rose. Marilyn Monroe gained publicity in the 1950s when her acting career took off according to her biography. Eyes began following Monroe when her roles in movies became scandalous. This was the beginning to Monroe's symbolic sexuality. She continued this character, however in real life. Monroe began showing off her curves which lead her to fame.

Many believed that her intention was to encourage women by showing them that they should feel beautiful in their own skin and that is why many women in the feminist group worshiped Monroe. However, in reality all Monroe was doing was giving in to the perception of how men view women: sex toys. That's right, just objects. For this reason a great amount of feminist despised Monroe for portraying women as sex symbols. These feminist of the 50s wanted an education, they wanted a voice, they wanted to be given the same treatment and opportunities as men. Marilyn Monroe didn't advocate any of that, instead she insisted that women should dress for men.

In the article "I DRESS FOR MEN says Marilyn Monroe," Anastasia Takueva uses multiple photos of Monroe and captions them with statements Monroe has said. The example I used of Monroe dressing for men can be found in this article along with the statement that "Marilyn wonders why most women dress for women. She considers this a mistake." She considers this a mistake because she only cares about the man's opinion. The women of the 1950s wanted to break out of the gender roles they were constricted by such as having to be dependent of men and pleasing them. Monroe was apparently an icon to women when she was alive as many would believe in my time but if only they could understand that she shouldn't be as praised because she doesn't necessarily deserve it. As a matter of fact Monroe contributed to the constraint of gender roles. She dressed to please men. Instead of showing off her intelligence she showed of her body.

At the end of the day Marilyn Monroe was just a woman who loved her body enough to expose it as much as she could and got praised for it. She didn't advocate for anything feminists strived for which is why she was only viewed as an icon/symbol of women by women who posed as feminist or just clueless females.