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Liya Kilani

Dr. Clark

ENGW 1111

10 October 2023

The Truth Behind Marilyn Monroe’s Beauty

Marilyn Monroe holding down her dress skirt on the

set of The Seven Year Itch in Manhattan, New York,
1954.

Perfect gold curls, head up and eyes closed, with a joyous smile on her face is Marilyn

Monroe. Seen in an ivory, angelic, cocktail dress. Her hands positioned over it to keep the wind

from blowing her skirt up, while the train passes her, as though no one is around. On September

15th, 1954, at approximately 1am, Monroe was filming in Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch on a
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subway grate in New York City, next to Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street. Surrounded by fans

throughout, the one scene alone took 14 tries to perfect, before it was decided to film it in a

different location. Still today, this is one of Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic and remembered

moments, as she looks free. Monroe’s career started thriving the year before and was gaining

popularity in the media. The public perceived her as satisfied with herself. Her talent and

elegance greatly influenced the entertainment industry in the 1950s, but also how women and

femininity were portrayed in it. The impact of Monroe’s work continues on in her legacy today.

However, attaining that fame and living happily in it was more of a challenge for Monroe than

the public knew. Behind her glee and beauty, Monroe suffered with a lot of pain and darkness

during her life, unknown to the public, leading all the way up to her death.

In the early to mid 1940s, World War II allowed women the opportunity to be more

involved in the US workforce. While men were fighting in the armed forces, job openings for

women became very accessible. Between 1940 and 1945, the percentage of women in the

workforce increased from 28% to 34% (Bussing-Burks). Having the chance to work inspired

many women, and even after the war, many of the women working remained in their jobs. While

that was the case, after the war, the idea of women in the workforce was discouraged with the

fear of another economic depression. Women were, then, more involved in “pink collar” jobs that

“were not as well paid, and they were not as enjoyable or challenging” (May). Women going

back into their traditional, undermined roles filtered into the 1950s, as well.

After the war, a baby boom occurred, starting from 1946 to 1964. During that time period

alone, 76.4 million babies were born (Pollard and Scommegna). Getting married and having

children became very common in the US. Roles for women, at that time, were to be the perfect

housewife and mother, while the husband makes a living and leads the household.
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In the 1950s, that mindset continued. The Cold War played a major influence on how

women needed to act in America. With a war against Communism, American media portrayed

women to have a feminine style, “tending to the hearth and home as they enjoyed…capitalism,

democracy, and freedom” (Mrs. America…). The emphasis, like the late 1940s, was on building

a nuclear family, rather than getting an education. For the nuclear family to be successful there

needed to be two children, a “breadwinner” father, and a mother. For parenting, it was the

mother’s job to raise the children to have the morals to be successful, capitalist adults in

America. A woman was expected to be “professional, nurturing and educating her children, [and]

managing her household,” combining their aspirations with what society wanted them to be

(May).

Throughout the same time, in entertainment, Hollywood was growing and creating trends

for women. Television was becoming very common and popular. The industry focus for women

was emphasizing the roles of getting married and finding love. Women were always seen in a

household setting. Furthermore, they were very sexualized. Hollywood was viewed with a lot of

charm and glamor. The major effect of the television was making women “sexually charged and

hyperaware of their public appearances” (O’Keefe). For example, Disney was releasing movies

and fairy tales that most middle-class families had access to. Their expansion was reaching many

viewers and presented women as princesses. For young girls, they were engraved to be beautiful

and gentle. They were meant to want to be saved by their “princes”, while falling in love, to

achieve happiness. Women were watching television that was intended to prepare them to be

“marriage material” (O’Keefe). Often times, the female villains were depicted as alone, single

women.
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While there were women who chose different, independent paths, their success was very

rarely presented in the entertainment industry with female characters. As the 1950s continued,

female characters were receiving attention for their “glamour and sexuality”. To enhance those

features, makeup was very common among young women. The goal was to have the feminine,

dainty look. Shorter, curly hair was most accepted. Hollywood trends consisted of a smaller

waist with wider hips with dresses that hugged the body. To some women, those standards were

hard to achieve. Marilyn Monroe prospered in the Hollywood setting for meeting those beauty

standards and pushing the traditional roles of women in entertainment.

Correspondingly, there was a lot of gender inequality hidden under the carpet as well. It

was difficult for women to even get into the industry, but when they did, they faced more

obstacles. They had to keep a modest image to the public and in their private lives. They had

very strict rules to follow, such as no pregnancies during filming. Their feelings were not as

important as the money made by movies released. A victim of these struggles was Marilyn

herself.

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson. After her promising modeling career

in her 20s, Norman was signed with 20th Century Fox, where her acting career started, as Marilyn

Monroe. Not only did Monroe change her name, but that was also when she changed her hair to

that golden blonde look. She took on “a grueling exercise regime” (Read, 4) and had some

plastic surgery done to finish off her transformation.

Monroe began gaining a lot of support as she became a new symbol for femininity on

television. With her hair, makeup, and iconic looks, she was considered a “blonde bombshell”

(Read). By 1953, Monroe was acting in some of her most popular films. One of her best was

Gentleman Prefer Blondes, where her acting caught a lot of attention. People grasped on to her
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charisma in the film, as well as her famous “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number.

Monroe’s character was memorable for her “form-fitting pink satin sheath” (Cosgrove) that

catches that attention of the male characters in the film with its seduction. Four years later, in

1959, the release of her movie Some Like It Hot occurred, focused on the chemistry between

Monroe and the other male characters, as well as their love story. Another big hit for Marilyn

was The Misfits, released in 1961. Monroe was the ex-stripper in the middle of a love triangle.

Marilyn Monroe, posing for portrait, with red lips and Marilyn Monroe, 1953, in hit movie, Gentlemen Prefer
platinum blonde hair, 1953. Blondes.

Monroe not only played memorable characters, but was also remembered for her

remarkable style. Monroe’s signature dresses were wiggle dresses, that would enhance her curves

and fit her figure perfectly. Her body shape inspired many famous designers. Monroe
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popularized her beauty mark, as the public believed it intensified her natural beauty. Her most

recognized feature was her platinum, blonde hair creating that “dumb blonde” persona.

Many of her looks were popularized through her movies. Whether it was the hot pink, the

casual blue jeans, or cat-eyeglasses, Monroe was shaping women’s fashion constantly. She

dressed against the traditional, modest style and hoped to embrace her femininity and sensuality.

Even today, her iconic looks influence women’s fashion.

In her movies, although she played important characters, she was acting out a

“promiscuous sex symbol” and the “naïve ‘dumb blonde’” (Miller, 1), who had a certain

perception and stereotype to them. Marilyn underwent a lot of psychoanalysis. Growing up, she

jumped around foster homes and dealt with sexual abuse. She had many artifacts revealing some

of the darkest parts of her life. Monroe struggled with three, unsuccessful marriages, and was

unable to have children. Throughout her relationships, Monroe was very insecure. She revealed

that she felt one of her husbands “preferred a former girlfriend,,, which triggered [her] sense of

unworthiness and vulnerability to men” (Kashner), demonstrating her comparisons to other

women. This was a time where women were conditioned to meet certain marital standards. Even

for an icon like Marilyn, those expectations affected how she viewed herself. She wrote about

her desperation for money, as an orphan, to the point where she was doing things she did not

want to do. She was dealing with health concerns that soon conflicted with her time to be on sets

for filming and would get sick beforehand. Monroe was often viewed with the beautiful smile on

her face, yet she was dealing with a lot that was affecting her successful career. In a Life

Magazine interview, in 1962, Monroe admitted that she “never felt [she] had an effect on people”

because she was always told “[she was] no star”. She added later on she “never used to be

happy” and she was not “counting on happiness”. Monroe grew up in an unconventional way.
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The ideologies in her time looked down on circumstances like her past and that impacted her

dreams and beliefs about herself.

In the same interview, Monroe exposed many of her issues in Hollywood. She addressed

how she was always given comments that degraded her acting. She addressed times where she

felt discredited in society. She, for example, mentioned how in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes she

was paid less than her female, brunette co-star. She even admitted that she felt “every weakness

[of hers] was exaggerated”. Whether in the modern, Hollywood industry or the 1950s, Monroe

left an impact on society. She became prosperous fairly quick and was an incentive for changing

how women can be viewed in entertainment, she was still somehow knocked down. At the same

time, she was faced with unfair treatment undermining her work.

The interview in 1962 was her last one before her death. While at times in it she seemed

cheerful, she was sending through her pain to her listener and people neglected that, being

surprised by her suicide. Monroe worked hard, but in Hollywood, that was not enough. When the

public assumed she was at her peak, in reality, she was emotionally and mentally at her lowest.

Changing standards for women in the 1950s, especially in entertainment, prevented Monroe from

accepting her influence on society, leading to her downfall, and then her death.

Although Monroe’s life did not continue to succeed and see new opportunities, her death

has left an impact on society. In today’s world, people believe that she was enjoying and living

life freely. However, she was struggling to fit societal standards. Her death has showed women

that they cannot be pressured by what the world wants them to be because that is not what will

make a woman happy.

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Works Cited

Shaw, Sam. Marilyn Monroe’s Iconic “Flying Skirt.” 15 Sept. 1954. Manhattan, New York.

Bussing-Burks, Marie. “Women and Post-WWII Wages.” NBER,

www.nber.org/digest/nov02/women-and-post-wwii-wages#:~:text=In%201940%2C

%20only%2028%20percent,during%20the%20entire%20twentieth%20century. Accessed

25 Oct. 2023.

May, Elaine Tyler. “Women and Work.” PBS, American Experience, 9 Feb. 2004,

historylink.org/Content/education/downloads/C21curriculum_Unit5/C21curriculum_Unit5

%20resources/Unit5_READINGS_WomenandWorkAfterWWII.pdf.

Pollard, Kevin, and Paola Scommegna. “Just How Many Baby Boomers Are There?” PRB, 16

Apr. 2014, www.prb.org/resources/just-how-many-baby-boomers-are-there/.

“Mrs. America: Women’s Roles in the 1950s.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-mrs-america-womens-roles-1950s/.

Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.

O’Keefe, Bridget. “Happiness, Womanhood, and Sexualized Media: An Analysis of 1950s and

1960s Popular Culture.” View of Happiness, Womanhood, and Sexualized Media: An

Analysis of 1950s and 1960s Popular Culture, Pennsylvania State University, Oct. 2014,

journals.psu.edu/ne/article/view/59261/58986.
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Cosgrove, Ben. “Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell: On the Set of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.’”

LIFE, 3 Nov. 2020, www.life.com/arts-entertainment/marilyn-monroe-jane-russell-on-the-

set-of-gentlemen-prefer-blondes/.

Miller, Ashlyn. “The Media Has Failed Marilyn Monroe.” Knight Writers, 30 Oct. 2022,

knightwriters.org/perspectives/opinion/2022/10/30/the-media-has-failed-marilyn-monroe/

#:~:text=The%20media%20has%20always%20portrayed,woman%20that%20she%20truly

%20was.

Kashner, Sam. “Marilyn and Her Monsters.” Vanity Fair, 5 Oct. 2010,

www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/11/marilyn-monroe-201011.

“Beauty Ideal over the Decades Part 8 : The 50’s.” IDEALIST STYLE,

www.idealiststyle.com/blog/beauty-ideal-over-the-decades-part-8-the-50s#:~:text=Rule

%20number%20one%20was%20that,Marilyn%20Monroe%20and%20Grace%20Kelly.

Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.

Read, Clemmie. “The Real Story of Marilyn Monroe: Who Was the Woman behind the Mask?”

Tatler, Tatler, 23 Sept. 2022, www.tatler.com/article/the-real-story-of-marilyn-monroe.

Meryman, Richard. “The Last Talk With a Lonely Girl - Marilyn Monroe.” The Guardian, Life

Magazine, 14 Sept. 2007, Accessed 18 Oct. 2023.

Hawks, Howard. Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend Scene - Marilyn Monroe. 1949.

Bramesco, Charles. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at 70: Marilyn Monroe Remains a Dazzling

Star.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 July 2023,

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www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/01/gentlemen-prefer-blondes-70-years-marilyn-

monroe-howard-hawks-comedy.

Bastién, Angelica Jade. “Every Marilyn Monroe Movie, Ranked.” Vulture, 16 Sept. 2022,

vulture.com/article/marilyn-monroe-movies-ranked.html.

Webster, Hannah Mae. “How Marilyn Monroe Influenced Fashion in the 1950s and Beyond.” La

Dame The Label, us.ladame-thelabel.com/blogs/magazine/how-marilyn-monroe-

influenced-fashion-in-the-1950s-and-beyond#:~:text=Marilyn%20Monroe%20popularized

%20the%20idea,fashion%2C%20encouraging%20seduction%20through%20styling.

Accessed 17 Oct. 2023.

Honovich, Pat. “The Messed-up Truth about the 1950s Film Industry.” Grunge, Grunge, 12 Apr.
2022, www.grunge.com/830073/the-messed-up-truth-about-the-1950s-film-industry/.
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