Women of Social Relevance

The only known photograph of Kennedy and Monroe together.

Women seem to be some of the biggest political voices for change lately. Madonna and Angelina Jolie are adopting children from third world nations so as to make political/social statements. Jane Fonda was recently in the news for coming out of protesting retirement to protest President Bush’s proposal to increase troop strength in Iraq. Freedom of speech is great and Jane Fonda has certainly taken full advantage of it in her life. Has she really made any difference to the world around her because of her political speeches and actions. Have any of the politically vocal actresses, like Barbra Streisand or Susan Sarandon made any real difference to this world? Have they influenced people? Have they left their mark? Their fans love them. That is for sure. But have any women in popular culture actually changed the world?

Sure, women in the media’s eye effect style. Farrah Fawcett gave the world a new hairstyle and Madonna made shopping at thrift stores very cool. Audrey Hepburn made every woman want to own a little black dress after they saw Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But what women have really changed the way we look at the world? I can think of a couple.

Marilyn Monroe affected this world more than you may realize. Before Monroe, sex symbols were more than just about being sex objects. Jean Harlow had an attitude. Rita Hayworth’s characters were always trying to attract her co-star. Monroe was sexy just for the sake of being sexy. She was sex without commitment. She presented sex as a trap to capture a man. A tool to get ahead in life. Women before her, onscreen, only used sex if they were loose or if they wanted a husband. Monroe flirted because it was fun. Sex was a game she played on screen and in real life. Her opened mouthed smile, and skin tight clothes, spoke volumes to any man who saw it. She presented herself to the public in such a manner that invited sexual thought. She took sex out of the bedroom and exposed it at your feet. If not for Monroe, John F Kennedy’s lothario reputation would just be a rumor and footnote in a biography. Her fame and her fame alone gave him and his brother Robert their philandering reputation. Monroe affected the world without ever really trying to. Because of her, the country began to look at sex more openly.

The 1960's saw the Civil Rights Bill passed and Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King were each protesting racial injustice. However, it was a skinny, black girl from Detroit named Diana Ross who made the greatest advances in racial equality. As lead singer of The Supremes, Ross crossed color lines that Malcolm X and King would never get close to. She was the lead singer of the most popular American singing group of all time. Who bought their records and gave them more number one songs than any American singing group? It was black and white youths. While some were beating their heads against a wall trying to change the countries view on race, Diana Ross merely captured the hearts of young people of all colors. With The Supremes, and as a solo singer and actress, Diana Ross became the first black female superstar. She was only the second black woman nominated for an Academy Award as best actress for Lady Sings the Blues. The movie Dreamgirls, based on The Supremes, has made the point that the only reason Ross became lead singer is because her look and sound crossed racial barriers. Oh well, so be it. The Supremes recorded Beatles songs. They recorded Broadway songs. They even recorded country songs. And the world loved them. Diana Ross may have a diva reputation but she made some of the biggest social advances in racial equality without ever necessarily making a point to.

Let the movie stars scream their politics. Let them rail against war and global warming. The cameras will follow. The microphones will be there. Streisand’s fans came to her concerts to see her, not just to see her politics in action. The media followed Fonda to Washington, not because of what she had to say but because it was she who was saying it. Marilyn Monroe took the country to the next level on sexual discussion. Diana Ross gave people pause on race issues. Celebrated women may want to change the world for whatever reason, but real change only comes from people responding to what you do not because of who you are. In other words; quit yer damn nagging and just lead by example. If what you do is relevant then people will pick up on it. If not, then I guess you have been wasting your time.