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The role and image of women in modern society have changed compared to how they were perceived in the 1950s. Traditionalists believe that women are sex symbols and caregivers; therefore, they should be submissive, obedient, loyal, and never challenge the position of men in society. The media continues to portray women in a bad light, especially when it comes to their roles in supporting other characters in movies. Nobody has ever raised the concern over the mistreatment of women by the media and arts. Women have struggled to untangle themselves from the oppressive media and arts that think they are sex objects. This essay examines how female sexuality was portrayed in different perspectives in the 1950s.
Marilyn Monroe is a perfect illustration of the position of women in the arts during the post-war times in America. She suffered a bitter past and experienced serious challenges that almost discouraged her from investing time and energy in acting. However, her resilience and perseverance motivated Marilyn to overlook the unfair treatment she received from colleagues. She was always given a ‘dark’ role that centered on portraying the sexuality of women as sex objects. Moreover, her position as a dumb blonde enabled the audience to explore the accepted predicaments of women in American society.
Most actresses of the 1950s were given roles that portrayed them as abstract sex symbols. The media did little to alleviate their problems and instead fuelled them by providing cheap publicity and unwarranted coverage of their private lives. It is surprising that Monroe disdained these roles, but none of her directors bothered to listen to her pleas. However, she focused on achieving greater objectives, and this encouraged her to overlook the existing challenges.
Most Americans were not ready to accept that women are to be respected, just like their male counterparts. The few supportive roles that were offered in acting portrayed them as desperate people who were willing to accept any offer thrown to them. Widespread racial discrimination became a common practice in all film companies as Native Americans get preference while their counterparts suffered.
The sexualization of women and beauty pageants in America started after the Second World War. Most women were assigned the roles of cleaning, cooking, and taking care of veteran soldiers returning from wars. These soldiers spend most of their tie admiring their servants, and this became the origin of beauty pageants. The beauty of a woman was assessed on her image and sexualism. Women who looked sexy and beautiful were considered heroes in the beauty pageant. Intelligence and other personality traits of women were seldom used as criteria for selecting winners.
Miss America became a title for the sexiest woman, and nobody questioned the intellectual or personality traits of the winner. However, significant changes took place from the 1960s onwards as civil societies and women raise their voices to oppose the patriarchal family systems. Most women started being independent as they invested in education and careers. These changes introduce a new twist in the American Beauty pageant as the criterion for selecting winners focused on the intellectual and social lives of contestants. The independence of women in the 1990s opened room for them to invest in education and this opened room for stiff competition with their male counterparts. Today, women continue to fight for their rightful position despite resistance from male chauvinism and primitive traditional practices.
Works Cited
Reumann, Miriam G. American Sexual Character: Sex, Gender, and National Identity in the Kinsey Reports. California: University of California Press, 2005. Print.
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