People are so quick to judge others especially when it comes to someone being comfortable with their sexuality and body. This topic inspired me to write about a star that is so iconic the first words that come out of someone's mouth is judgement. Marilyn Monroe was a one of a kind star that exploited her true talents with sex but it was not to get her number of sexual partners high, it was to gain love and acceptance.

When I hear people say that, "Oh Marilyn Monroe was a women who slept around with a ton of men," I really want to say, "Well, how do you know who she slept with, were you there?" It frustrates me because people want to pick and choose when it is acceptable to "slut shame."

Marilyn Monroe was an icon for the way she looked and acted on and off screen. Fame has a way of taking over your life especially at such a young age.

"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul" -Marilyn Monroe

In interviews, those who followed her career to the very end always say that she felt that everyone did not understand her and only cared about how she looked. That does something to a person's mental health because you start to think you are only an object instead of an actual human being. This is what happened to Marilyn.

Prior to her fame, she was a 16-year-old factory worker who happened to be in a few photos that a photographer was taking at the factory and saw her true beauty. She always had an idea that she wanted to be famous but never believed she was beautiful. As a little girl, no one ever thought she was pretty. Even after she saw her name in lights, she would say "God, someone made a mistake." This would not be the end of her showing her insecurities.

She had a passion about her career that even she could not imagine that her ordinary girl image would change to a sex icon. While making some of her iconic films like "How to Marry a Millionaire" and "Seven Year Itch," she realized that she wanted to make more serious films than just being perceived as a sexy blonde. While trying to create an image for herself, she always wanted to find a man who would love the real Marilyn Monroe also known as Norma Jean. Yet, she kept marrying the wrong men. She believed that the husbands that she married would give her more creditably as an intellectual women so that Hollywood would take her more serious. As born an orphan, she believed love and being wanted were the same thing. She always wanted to feel like she belonged and that someone would love her. Lust and love were often confused.

With her racy magazine covers and films that showed her as a "dumb" blonde, she believed her whole life was a lie. The image she was really creating did not reflect who she really was as a person. She was trying to be a wonderful icon and the only way she knew she could be successful in her business is through sex. We can all agree that we live in a society that sells sex and love. She was not doing anything else any other celebrity would not have done. What makes her any different from Kim Kardashian, other then the fact that she did not have to keep letting the world know that she knew how to read a compass? And yet, everyday Kim Kardashian is seen as the goddess of fashion.

Marilyn Monroe's life was full of a lot of guilt and sadness. She believed that she was not talented for the roles that she got so she isolated herself from others to be the best actress she can be. She felt so much guilt about the image she was portraying that she started to believe all she had to offer was her body even though she was so much more than that. She wanted to be happy and start a family so badly that she kept marrying the wrong men. She married that men that Marilyn would be with not Norma Jean. She eventually created a monster that would take over her body and lead to death.

So while so many want to judge Marilyn Monroe for her image, I want to celebrate the idea that Norma Jean was the true Marilyn Monroe. I want to celebrate how Marilyn became an icon. I want to admire how Marilyn Monroe showed the world that women have insecurities and that body image is a big part of that insecurity. Marilyn brought this idea of perfection to the surface and how someone could easily be consumed by it. She brought to light that having a dream of ultimate happiness is hard and that we cannot have it all. So many people have "endgames" that are about happiness. Finding internal happiness starts with loving yourself first before anyone else.

I think one of the reasons I wrote this article is because I can relate to her. It is hard to gain acceptance with others. Some people want you to act one way while others want you to act another and eventually you can lose your identity by this confusion. I have struggled with figuring out who I am for a while now. Am I the silly girl who was a blonde in her past life or am I the serious future sociologist who worked her butt off in college because reading does not come so easy for me? Am I the girl who is scared to love her boyfriend because I think that I will be so consumed with him that I will lose my identity or am I the girl that will let a great relationship die to better her career aspirations? Marilyn reminds me that perfection is just a dream. She reminds me not to make it my reality. I just need to surround myself with the people who know how smart and funny I am. And to leave the ones that have too many expectations of me.

So while Marilyn did not feel loved when she was alive, she will always be in the hearts of her true fans.

Rest in peace Marilyn, You will be forever missed!