A Monumental Frock-Up

In 1954, Marilyn Monroe stepped on to a subway grate, and the ‘breeze’ from below blew her dress up. Since then, the iconic scene from the Billy Wilder-directed The Seven Year Itch has been paid homage to by many — including our very own Pooja Bedi in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, or anyone having a wardrobe malfunction on a windy day. The white dress Monroe wore at the time (that sold for $4.6 million at a 2011 auction) and the subway grate (a tourist hotspot) continue to bask in second-hand fame.

But now, a 26 ft statue, ‘Forever Marilyn’, capturing the moment has been slammed as ‘sexist, exploitative and misogynistic’. Sculpted by John Seward Johnson II in 2011, it was recently installed outside the Palm Springs Art Museum in California, and has attracted tourists — as well as a lawsuit, and a #MeTooMarilyn petition calling for its removal. That’s because when standing underneath the sculpture, one can see directly up its fibreglass skirt, while those behind it can see its panty-clad derrière. Supporters call it the ‘Eiffel Tower’ of Palm Springs, while detractors insist that Marilyn ‘mooning the museum’ behind her is disrespectful to her legacy. Well, no matter which angle one chooses to look at it from, the artwork has ensured they’ll never see (or unsee) this piece of pop culture history the same way again.