Thursday, June 3, 2010

Marilyn Monroe... as a role model?!

I know kids today are lacking badly in the role model department regarding celebrities (hey, maybe we should just encourage good examples leading from parents?). However, an alarming amount of girls seem to look up to one classic star in particular, Marilyn Monroe.

Looking at some of the famous pinups of Ms. Monroe, does this even look like someone you want your daughter to look up to or your son to be attracted to? Someone who, most unfortunately, was so misguided and craving attention that it ultimately killed her?

She was famous for her bathing suit pinups, her waist, bleached hair, glamorous makeup, suffering from a drug drinking problem, being difficult to work with in movies, and, infamously, promiscuity. She may have been intelligent and disliked not being taken seriously by most people, but that tends to happen when a sharp mind goes to waste on partying, drugs, and sexual immorality. I think this was a sign of how bad her mental problems were, which is pretty sad, especially if no one helped her.

I'm not trying to bash her, even if I am annoyed with what she did and the fact that she is praised inspite of it, as if people not taking someone who insisted on making people think she really was a dumb blonde like her movie roles were made her a hero and then overdosing made her a martyr. I'm just wondering why so many girls look up to her as a role model (other than they think she's "pretty", which is a superficial reason, especially when you remember just how much surgery and makeup the average celebrity gets) when in reality, she's no better than any other pop star around. Nice and fun, maybe. But probably not who you want your daughter to emulate or your son to date. Which is what generally what you ought to keep in mind when you consider what celebrities you like or will let your kids watch shows/buy songs from-- "Are they someone I'd want to my child to be just like?" If you wouldn't, I think that says a lot.

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