Giant Marilyn Monroe Statue With ‘Upskirt’ View In Palm Springs Stirs Contention
Image via elesi / Shutterstock.com
A giant Marilyn Monroe statue named Forever Marilyn resided in Palm Springs, California from 2012 to 2014. Now, after nearly seven years, it is returning to the city.
The 26-foot-tall sculpture, made of stainless steel and aluminum, had been one of Palm Spring’s most popular attractions. Showcasing Monroe in her famous billowing white dress from the film The Seven Year Itch, the statue has gotten mixed reactions about its return.
Aftab Dada, Managing Director at the Palm Springs Hilton, said via NPR, “She makes [the] majority of the people very happy.”
Dada added, “The photos taken, and being transmitted all over the world, will do nothing but benefit the city of Palm Springs.”
However, not everyone in the city is as welcoming of Forever Marilyn.
For one thing, the statue is slated to be positioned in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum, but with her back facing the door. The statue’s back – with its skirt “blowing in the wind” – will be the first thing visitors see upon exiting the museum.
Louis Grachos, director of the Palm Springs Art Museum, had raised objections to the statue when the city council discussed its placement back in November last year.
“The thought of those kids leaving our museum and having the first thing they see is the undergarments and underwear of this enormous Marilyn statue would be highly offensive,” Grachos told the council.
And it seems Grachos isn’t the only one against the statue’s return. Elizabeth Armstrong, the former director of the Palm Springs Art Museum, has set up a Change.org petition objecting to the statue, which has since gathered over 40,000 signatures.
“She’s literally going to be mooning the museum,” she said. “It’s blatantly sexist.”
Is the giant statue an ode to one of the most famous actresses of our time, and a tribute to old Hollywood glamor, or a sexist display unsuitable for the young?
Image via Falon Koontz / Shutterstock.com
[via NPR, images via various sources]
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