Good Morning Britain: Marilyn Monroe Sculpture Faces Backlash For Promoting Misogyny And Upskirting
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Good Morning Britain stirred a fiery debate today when a giant sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, recently erected in California, was accused of promoting upskirting.
The sculpture sees the iconic figure of Monroe in her now legendary white dress pulled up around her thighs - recreating the infamous scene from 1955 film The Seven Year Itch.
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However, one author and journalist argued that the statue was hugely out of date and inappropriate now, considering the change in attitudes towards women and the fact upskirting is now a crime.
"Thinking about the pose, for starters - obviously, if we look at Marilyn's character in that film, she is completely an object of male desire," Olivia Petter explained.
"She has no autonomy. She is purely a sexual object.
"While it's a very famous film, and Marilyn is an icon, it's very of its time."
Olivia continued: "The real issue here is that it is a 26 foot tall statue that encourages tourists to run in between her legs and take a photograph under this woman's dress.
"That is incredibly offensive and wildly out of touch when we consider upskirting is a serious crime which can have serious psychological problems for victims."
However, Marilyn Monroe impersonator Suzie Kennedy argued that the statue of the movie star should be celebrated, not derided.
"It was Marilyn's dream to be loved and to be famous," she said. "Here she is with a 26 foot statue. And yet there's women campaigning to tear her down. If anything, we should be building her up.
"Marilyn Monroe was a very clever woman. She knew exactly what she was doing when she sung Happy Birthday Mr President. She knew how to manage her image. But you can't always pick how you're going to be remembered."
Viewers contested the debate on Twitter, and while many people pointed out the notion that there are plenty of naked male statues in the world, it should also be considered that they are not sexualised in the same way Marilyn is.
Good Morning Britain continues weekdays from 6am on ITV.
Topics: UK News, Good Morning Britain, TV News, TV & Film, GMB