The article I chose to read for this week was “Marilyn Monroe: The woman who died too soon” by Gloria Steinem. Hollywood created the image of Marilyn Monroe as a stereotypical sex bomb and dumb blonde, which captivated the eyes and hearts of many men. However, in a shocking turn of events on the early morning of August 5, 1962, this “American Beauty” died in her sleep at her Brentwood. She overdosed on sleeping pills. Society’s opinions, stereotypes and expectations murdered this woman. Marilyn wants society to see her not as a blonde hair, blue eyed sex symbol. She wants, to be looked at from the inside out. Since the society refused to cooperate, they put the pills in her hand. We should realize the fact that what makes Marilyn's life miserable is because people only judged her by her appearance. The death of Marilyn actually gave young women a good lesson like what Steinem said in this article:
1. “Women have to stop depending on the approval of men and on sexual attractiveness as ways to achieve identity.”
2. “Women don’t gain serious status by sexual association any more easily than they do by hard work.”
Our society needs to be proactive in promoting the true meaning of beauty and perfection. It really doesn’t matter what a person looks like on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Hopefully one day, the public will figure out what true beauty is, leaving all the stereotypes a distant thing of the past. Young women should look for someone who is interested in their personalities, values, morals and beliefs rather than just the appearance.