Marilyn Monroe

Making Love To Marilyn’s Ghost
Marilyn Monroe and her sex goddess legend

TIME 100: The Blond MARILYN MONROE
She sauntered through life as the most delectable sex symbol of the century and became its most enduring pop confection
06/14/1999; Time; Paul Rudnick

Thus Time described the woman who is probably the most drawn and photographed of our time, Marilyn Monroe. Elton John wrote the famous Goodbye Norma Jean about her, pop idol-makers have elevated her to a pedestal most of us could never hope to see the top of. Her career has been analyzed, her life dissected and her words immortalized. Everything she did is recorded; everything she said placed as pearls of wisdom on a satin pillow to be kept pristine for posterity.

Yes, indeed. Marilyn, bringer of joy (and erections) and whisperer of bedroom siren calls has achieved goddesshood. Not that she didn’t carry it all along, but her legend is legend, her story more told than Homer’s.

I can’t possibly bring you any kind of insight into Marilyn or her sex goddess legend in this article. Her story is one of the most told, her foibles and weakness the most exploited by polite iconists. Marilyn herself would be embarrassed to see the shrines relegated to her memory.

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David Thomson writes in his article in Salon.com - “I know, it seems impossible these days to explore the jungle called Marilyn Monroe with any purpose. There have been so many books and documentaries that were as speculative, romantic and depressing as novels. Who can tell what she was like? Who really cares now, nearly 40 years later? Why don't we settle for the idea that Monroe had become such an image that her own "reality" had been smothered? There was nothing there for her to hold on to, so how can we hope to grasp her?”

Thomson examines what he calls the jungle called Marilyn Monroe, with dignity and detail; two things valued by any serious Marilyn fan.

One of the best and most comprehensive reads on her affairs with the Kennedy brothers, her passionate pursuit of love and her subsequent death, is the Crime Library articles on Marilyn. This 12 chapter expose examines the sex goddess from her many aspects, including the depression she suffered and the drugs she took. She drank too much, made enemies because of her lovers and she planned to talk about these high-profile men. They fell in love with her blonde sexual mystique, but grew to hate the power she wielded in what she knew.

Marilyn herself felt that creativity came from sexuality.

“I think that sexuality is only attractive when it's natural and spontaneous. This is where a lot of them miss the boat. And then something I'd just like to spout off on. We are all born sexual creatures, thank God, but it's a pity so many people despise and crush this natural gift. Art, real art, comes from it, everything.“ LIFE Issue August 3, 1962 Title: Marilyn Monroe Pours Her Heart Out

What was Marilyn’s sex life like? Well, we know she had many affairs and more than a few marriages. She was unhappy and wanted more control over what she felt was her “dumb blonde” stereotype. She drank too much, took prescription barbiturates and had a huge history of schizophrenia and manic depression in her family line. Many knew her to be the smiling and cheerful sex symbol, while her closer circle of friends knew the struggle that accompanied Norma Jean through her days.

Her sex life may have gone through the ringer, but to this day, more than forty years after her death, we still haven’t figured out how her charisma kept men on a string and how she managed each day as a public goddess. We do know that she left Joe DiMaggio when he physically abused her. She took only so much abuse and then left. In an era where women were still counseled to blame themselves, she busted out.

Her high profile lovers, including presidents, attorney generals and mafia bosses, all wanted a piece of her. Aside from a piece of ass, they gouged until they had what they wanted; the woman all men wanted. It seemed that egos played a huge part in her downfall. Conspiracy theories about her death run rampant, from an accidental barbiturate overdose through an enema, to a killer suppository administered by the mob as a bizarre favor to the President. Marilyn had talked of going public about all she knew and the secrets she’d become privy to.

Her pillow talk consisted of Bobby’s state secrets to President Jack’s pressures and worries. Who actually knows what Marilyn learned while screwing her powerful lovers? We know that she continues to this day to pass out erections as easily as flower petals. Her image is copyright and well protected, her estate ended up being worth many many more times that which she left in her will in 1962.

America is a retrobaby country. The forward technology is outstanding, but it seems everyone retros back to a time they love. Marilyn’s time, her reign, continues to live in the hearts of many more fans than she ever knew about. She would be astounded at the continuing growth in her popularity. Instead of obscurity, she gained immortality.

One thing that her early death accomplished. She will always be a sex goddess.