Joan’s Digest is a new feminist film quarterly created by the wonderful Miriam Bale. She has been doing a lot of press about it, and Joan’s Digest launched this month. The list of contributors is fantastic (and I don’t say that because I’m one of them). I’ve been following many of these women and their writing for some time. The essays are varied and many. I’m pleased to be a part of it.
The first piece I wrote is about Marilyn Monroe: Anatomy of a Sex Symbol.
I don’t know how you find these entree’s into people that could be unknowable to us, at this point, but you do Sheila. It’s extraordinary. And all I ever seem able to say is – thank you!
Kate – it’s amazing how much information there is out there about her, but this, to me, was the most revealing and moving (for the reasons I listed in the essay).
Sheila,
Thank you so much for your transparency. I remember reading “An Open Letter to my First Five Girlfriends” at McSweeney’s. I wished for a letter from at least one of my first five boyfriends. You and Marilyn are certainly not alone.
I had an experience reading about Marilyn and feeling better about myself. She and I have many of the same measurements. Bust, waist, hips, height, shoe size… all the same. The biggest sex symbol of the last century has measurements considered fat by a huge swath of today’s society. When I’m tempted to feel fat
(like when I read The Devil Wears Prada) I remind myself that I’m Marilyn’s size and feel instantly sexy. Take that Vogue!
Jill
Jill – I hadn’t read that McSweeney’s piece so I looked it up. Ha! So great!
I was sticking my neck out with this piece – I almost wanted to post it under a pseudonym – but I realized that that is PART of the problem. Shame, etc.
I just wish she had stuck around to enjoy her new-found discovery as I did. It makes life worth living – especially if you have gone through so many “wasted years”.
And thank you for your nice comment. I was nervous about this one. :)
I’ve always thought that Marilyn not being around to confront and/or benefit from all the changes that took place in the sixtes was a great loss for her and for the rest of us…Funny, I used to think her real genius was for still photography even though I liked her very much in the movies. Lately, rewatching the movies I’m getting a new appreciation for them as well (finally seeing The Misfits for the first time definitely didn’t hurt…that’s one of those “Wait, there are actually people who think this woman couldn’t act?” moments)….I think, not unlike Elvis she was simply too strong a presence for most folks to take in all at once. I get that part…I’ll just never understand the desire to kick such people rather than work to understand them.
NJ – While I believe that is true in terms of her career – in terms of the issue I was discussing in the piece, I don’t think when she was born would have made a difference. I was born after she died, I’m a totally different generation, post-Pill, supposedly enlightened, sex ed classes in school, and I had similar struggles. The culture is still set up to shame/exploit/demean female sexuality and the women who internalize it, for whatever reason, suffer. This is still going on. That’s really why I wrote the piece.
But I agree about her career. The studio was collapsing. She was already moving towards independent projects. She was only in her 30s. Who knows what she would have done.
Yeah, I definitely meant her career. I didn’t mean to imply that she would have necessarily been any happier or that the underlying problems for the culture in any way got solved.
As to the career, though, so many lost possibilities there….I think she would have understood, too, how much things really HADN’T changed because she would have witnessed a lot of younger people (that generation’s version of you, say) going through the painful process of learning what she already knew. God knows what powerful insights that would have meant for her acting.
BTW: I echo those who lauded your bravery in writing this piece…I don’t know what the distaff version of “Mr. you’re a better man than I,” is, but whatever it is….That’s the thought I’m sending to you!