Marilyn Monroe Impact

Marilyn Monroe was more than a blonde, beautiful, and talented actress; she was a bombshell that exploded in feminism and sexuality. After an abusive childhood and a few bottles of hair dye, Monroe found herself in the 1950s Hollywood spotlight during an era of suburbia and housewives. She fought the industry and bred a new type of female standard. Monroe paved the way for the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and vast future generations of supporters through her ideas on equality, sexuality, and overall feminine strength. Ultimately, she was packed and loaded for the right amount of impact because her legacy lives on to this day. She was just a bombshell that exploded during the wrong era.

Starting with the era in the height of Monroe’s career, culture in the United States during the 1950s, was changing. World War II had ended in 1945 and sent military veterans home to regenerate their lives, while the G.I. Bill gave veterans access to college education, adding to the high-rising employment pool. Oil was inexpensive and while European and Asian market rivals were still recovering from the war, the economy flourished. People wanted to spend their money. In doing so, with the rise of the chilling Cold War, emphasis was placed on domestic roles. Men gained back their positions in the workplace, thus taking many jobs those women temporarily held while soldiers fought overseas. People were settling down and starting families. After the detonation of two nuclear bombs over Japan, the United States (and ultimately the rest of the world) entered the Atomic Age. This was a time of science and development, but also a fearful time of nuclear war. The fear of being bombarded by Soviets and morphed into a communist nation, gave ...

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...Authorities never received a 9-1-1 call, but maybe she was trying to contact Norma Jean or even Mrs. Cleaver. Her personal life was too much for her to handle. She needed guidance of her former childish brunette self. Her stomach was filled with pills, her head was cluttered with inherited depression, and her life was scrutinized by the paparazzo. While, nor murder or suicide has ever been truly confirmed, feasibly her pop-icon status alongside with her womanhood was too much. Although she died a year before Betty Friedan officially sparked the world with her second-wave feminism book, The Feminine Mystique, Monroe was ahead of her time. Her feminism ideas, alongside her drive for equality and high sexual status, inspired gender movements and what is now called the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s. Monroe is a hero, icon, and a bombshell forever frozen in time.