Latest news with #GentlemenPreferBlondes
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Piers Morgan accuses Beyonce of ‘appropriating' Marilyn Monroe in Levi's ad amid Sydney Sweeney row
After Sydney Sweeney's recent American Eagle campaign sparked debate, another ad is now making headlines - this time featuring Beyoncé. The music icon has found herself at the center of controversy over her new Levi's advertisement, which pays visual homage to Marilyn Monroe's signature 1950s glam. Beyoncé's Levi's ad campaign draws backlash from journalist Piers Morgan, calls it 'cultural appropriation'.(AP) British journalist Piers Morgan led the criticism, accusing the singer of cultural appropriation. 'Very disappointed to see Beyoncé culturally appropriate Marilyn Monroe in her new Levi's ad,' Morgan wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Marilyn reimagined - or misappropriated? The Levi's campaign shows Beyoncé styled with platinum blonde curls, winged eyeliner, and red lipstick - clearly channeling Monroe's old Hollywood aesthetic, particularly her look from films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. While some fans praised the visuals, others accused Beyoncé of stepping into a space that wasn't hers to claim - claiming that this was an attempt to 'look more white' or imitate a cultural icon from a different era and identity. Online backlash The ad drew intense reactions on social media, with comments flooding Levi's page. Some reactions were bluntly negative, like 'NO LEVI'S this looks soooo cheap' and 'Sydney Sweeney did it better. Beyoncé is culture appropriation but y'all won't admit it.' Another comment even took a direct jab at American Eagle, writing: 'HOTTEST IN THE GAME AMERICAN EAGLE COULD NEVERRR.' Morgan's tweet itself received a wave of mixed reactions, with many users pushing back against his accusation. Some dismissed his criticism as racially charged, with one commenter writing, 'Admit you hate Black people. No wonder you hate Meghan.' Others sarcastically remarked, 'Maybe you haven't heard. She identifies as 'white' now,' while one quipped, 'That's white culture, Beyoncé, and we want it back!' Also Read | Beyonce's 'Cowboy Carter' becomes highest-grossing country tour ever Defenders of Beyoncé argued that Marilyn Monroe is a widely celebrated pop icon - not a culture to be appropriated. 'Marilyn Monroe had blonde hair which means… Black people can't put on wigs? Is that really the argument?' asked one user. Another added, 'Emulating her aesthetic is no more 'cultural appropriation' than a British man dressing like James Dean. Beyoncé channeling Monroe is an homage - something white celebrities have done with Black icons for decades without critique. The selective outrage reeks of double standards.' Beyoncé remains chill As of now, neither Beyoncé nor Levi's have issued statements addressing the backlash. The singer has previously faced scrutiny for artistic decisions - most notably during the release of her 2022 album Renaissance - but has largely remained unapologetic in her creative direction. Whether the current campaign will be adjusted or pulled remains to be seen.
National Geographic
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
The wild, joyful, passionate world of Marilyn Monroe's superfans
The actress's greatest legacy might be the happiness she still inspires in so many people. More than 60 years after her death, photographer Amy Gaskin documented Monroe's international legions of admirers. Marilyn gives strength and hope to people worldwide. Through her remarkable rags to riches story, she inspires many to persevere against the odds. In Australia, Marilyn is the motivation for those whose lives are touched by cancer. They raise money for cancer research, support and prevention by swimming in the ocean dressed as Marilyn. Swimmer Belinda explains, 'My mum died of bowel cancer when she was 58, and I had a good friend whose son died at 32 of cancer. It seems everyone has a connection to cancer. This is our ninth year doing the swim.' Back left to right: Petal (Belinda's granddaughter, 6 years old). Mark, Monique Front left to right: Belinda, Wisha, Jacqui Brighton, South Australia August 4th marks 63 years since actress Marilyn Monroe died at her Los Angeles home in 1962 (her housekeeper discovered Monroe in the early morning of August 5th). Her tragic death at age 36 has undoubtedly fueled the world's enduring fascination with the actress and, more than half a century after her passing, she remains one the most recognizable faces in the world. Best known for her roles in the movies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955), and Some Like It Hot (1959), Monroe established herself as the archetypal blonde bombshell, marrying sex appeal with uncanny comedic timing. But her legacy is more complicated than the nearly 30 films she appeared in: she is simultaneously an actress, an American icon, and a woman whose life was mired in sadness. Monroe's multifaceted appeal continues to fascinate fans across the world, documented here by photographer Amy Gaskin. Over 500 people have gathered, dressed as Marilyn, on the morning of the swim. The Marilyn Jetty Swim began in 2014 with just a small group. Founded by Sarah in honor of her mother, Esther, who died from uterine cancer, the crowd grows every year and has now raised over a million dollars.'As a breast cancer survivor, I am inspired by Marilyn for her ability to overcome adversity and to be resilient when faced with difficult situations. Whilst I was undergoing treatment, her story inspired me to remain strong and accept the many physical changes that I have had to go through,' explains Katrina.'Marilyn Monroe has inspired a generation of people like me to never give up, believe in ourselves, and always put our best foot forward, no matter how unattractive or depressed we feel,' says Cate. Cate lost both of her parents to cancer and had a scare herself. Brighton, South Australia Gaskin discovered this ardent fandom during the early days of the pandemic when she visited Monroe's crypt in Los Angeles's Westwood Memorial Park, a cemetery that is the final resting place for numerous celebrities. The photographer was intrigued by the 'wet lipstick marks decorating [Marilyn's] resting place,' present even while much of the world was social distancing. It piqued Gaskin's curiosity, and she began photographing visitors at the grave. They shared with her stories of why Monroe was important to them. In these photographs, Gaskin captures the undying dedication of the many superfans who visit Monroe's grave and demonstrate their devotion to the icon across the world. These fans don her iconic look because they find commonalities with the woman she was, not the woman they imagine she might have been. They find consistent, real joy in Monroe. For the superfans documented in Gaskin's images, Monroe is everything from a source of inspiration to an icon of resilience, a role model of body positivity, and a shared source of community. A mother hopes Monroe inspires her daughter; fans find community with one another and dress up in Monroe's iconic outfits, wearing the white halter dress with the pleated skirt from The Seven Year Itch or the platinum blonde wig cut to mimic Monroe's stylish bob. 'If you love Marilyn, I know you are a kind person,' a member of the Marilyn Remembered Fan Club told Gaskin. Established in 1982, the fan club, an international group of devotees, gathers online to post photographs of Monroe and raise money to place flowers at her grave. (To mark her 92nd birthday in 2018, the group placed flowers from Parisian Florist, the Los Angeles-based florist that Monroe's ex-husband Joe DiMaggio used, on her grave.) In Palm Springs, CA, Marilyn is a symbol of hope. The 26-foot-tall sculpture "Forever Marilyn" is being installed to revive the city's tourist economy decimated during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We are hoping she'll be a magnet and the 800-plus businesses downtown that have suffered will get some relief,' says Aftab Dada, Chairman of PS Resorts, the tourism group that brought the sculpture to Palm Springs. The sculpture was created by Seward Johnson and is based on a photo by Bernard of Hollywood. During installation, Karina R., of the Seward Johnson Atelier, carries supplies in the early morning during a record heatwave. That kind of devotion to the star isn't unusual. As these photographs make clear, Monroe's superfans continue to find their own sense of belonging in her life and work. Greg, the president of a fan club dedicated to Monroe and photographed here, collects the actress's personal items. He told Gaskin that his collection began as a way to 'get to know her better.' Surrounded by Monroe-inspired dolls and photographs of the actress, his attachment to her is clear. Undoubtedly, Monroe's biography inspires them as much—if not more—than her work. Born to a single mother in 1926, Monroe's childhood was unstable, spent moving between different households after her mother was institutionalized. Each turn of her story is marked by tragedy: sexual abuse, failed high-profile marriages, and an early death. Melissa in Dubuque, Iowa, shares a sense of intimacy with Monroe, relating to her 'hardships and traumas,' she told Gaskin. 'Marilyn taught me a lot of things without saying a word to me.' In Monroe's story, fans find a woman who persevered through hardship. She is a quintessential American success story: overcoming the odds to find fame and fortune. Though it's impossible to know what Monroe would have wanted her legacy to be, perhaps it's the legions of admirers who see hope and inspiration in her life. As Gaskin's photographs make clear, Monroe's appeal shows no signs of diminishing. With arms in the air, Kelly, left, from Los Angeles, and Haley, right, from Indiana, visit Marilyn's crypt. 'I've always felt connected to Marilyn. She was more than just a symbol of fame and beauty—she longed to be truly loved and accepted. She grew up feeling unwanted, searching for a sense of belonging, and that deeply resonates with me. I didn't grow up feeling good enough either, and knowing that someone as iconic as Marilyn felt those same emotions reminds me that vulnerability doesn't make us weak—it makes us human. Her story encourages me to embrace who I am, even when I feel like I'm not enough,' explains Haley. Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary in Los Angeles, CA Donna, from the UK, plans to be buried near Marilyn. She recently purchased a crypt near Marilyn's, even though she and her family live in England. 'I was the black sheep of the family. I felt different, but I didn't know why until I got older. When I first came out, my mom didn't speak to me for a year. She was born the same year as Marilyn, but they were very different in their views.' Donna said. 'Marilyn is very relatable, with what she went through and what she achieved. She stuck up for human rights and didn't like racism. She wasn't afraid to say what she felt. I wanted to be like that. Through her actions and acceptance of all types of people, she was trying to say 'love is love.' It doesn't matter your color, sexuality, or anything like that. She was very much ahead of her time. I feel close to her when I visit LA. I get so emotional. I just cannot imagine my life without her in it.' Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary in Los Angeles, CA The Marilyn Remembered Fan Club hosts the annual memorial service for Marilyn Monroe in the same chapel where Joe DiMaggio (Monroe's ex-husband) held her funeral more than 60 years ago. The club was formed four decades ago by a group of people who met by chance on the anniversary of Monroe's a Club member, says, 'Marilyn brings us all together. If you love Marilyn, I know you are a kind person.'Another Club member, Jeanne W., says, 'Marilyn's story of coming from a background of having no real stability inspires me. I love her resilience and determination to create a beautiful life for herself.' Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary in Los Angeles, CA Greg is president of the original Marilyn fan club. He has a vast collection of personal items that belonged to Monroe. 'I wish that I had known her, and that's why I started collecting— so I could get to know her better. She started from nothing and rose to being one of the greatest movie stars of all time.I didn't know her of course, but I've met dozens of people that did know her. They said that she had a very warm, giving, loving personality. She was the kind of person you'd want to hang around. She overcame so much, and that inspires many people. She fought the studio system and got her own production company. She had no major education yet she kept studying and learning on her own to become the accomplished person that she was. As a child, she was shuffled to several foster homes and lived in an orphanage. She never had a stable home. Her mother was alive, yet was unable to take care of her. This must have been very difficult for Marilyn to deal with. Her story is inspirational.' Los Angeles, CA Swim founder Sarah helps her daughter, Isla, 11, dress as Marilyn to help raise money for Cancer Council SA. Sarah believes that participating helps her daughter learn body positivity, while honoring her grandmother, who died from cancer.'I want my daughter to have these values about her body and to help others. I want her to feel good about herself in the world,' Sarah says."I hope my kids never get cancer. But if they do, I hope treatment can be easier, more effective, smarter. Somebody has to do something to get us there, and it might as well be all of us. I like to think, 'Just give us the right bathing suit, a blonde wig and a touch of red lippy and we can conquer the world!'' Brighton, South Australia Melissa always travels with her suitcase full of Marilyn photos. She has come to Los Angeles from Dubuque, Iowa, for the anniversary of Monroe's death and has decorated her hotel room with all things Marilyn.'I'm not alone. I have Marilyn all around me. I talk to her every day. Marilyn taught me a lot of things without saying a word to me. I relate to her hardships and traumas growing up.' 'Marilyn brought us all together. There's something inside each one of us that she loves about each of us,' Melissa said. "You'll be surprised how many Black women love Marilyn. Marilyn was one of the first people to help Ella Fitzgerald get a performing job. Marilyn gives me the strength to be who I am. She has given me strength at my lowest points. Be true to yourself. Don't fake it. Do it for yourself, not anybody else. She really loved African Americans and didn't discriminate at all. I love that she used her privilege for something good. It makes her goals board is on my wall. It has motivational quotes and pictures of Marilyn which inspire me to chase my dreams.' Saviyance Detroit, MI 'Marilyn brought us all together. There's something inside each one of us that she loves about each of us.' Dolls in a collection. The doll on the left holds a bottle of Chanel No. 5. perfume, which Marilyn had a passion for. She was famously said to wear only this perfume to bed and was rumored to have 26 bottles. Simon, center, gets ready for the big swim with help from friends Kaerena, left and Cate, right.'I lost my mother to cancer, and I started taking part in cancer fundraising walks. Sarah came to our office looking to recruit people for the swim. It sounded like a bit of fun to raise funds for cancer research, so I joined up and have taken part now for many years,' Simon explains. Hallett Cove, South Australia Marilyn parties attract a range of enthusiasts. Monica enjoys dressing like Marilyn for special occasions and is bringing a dish to the party. 'My Marilyn friends are like my second family. They watched me grow. I can't imagine my life without Marilyn. I find peace and solace whenever I think of her. Her vulnerability and the things she has conquered and accomplished are both inspiring and relatable. She means everything to me,' says Monica. Los Angeles, CA This is a long-term project by award-winning photographer Amy Gaskin, who lives in Los Angeles, and who has been studying the Marilyn phenomenon for years. What began with noticing fresh lipstick on Marilyn's crypt has now taken Amy on a worldwide journey. 'I didn't realize Marilyn inspires so many people,' Amy said. 'The more I researched, the more facets of Marilyn I uncovered. I discovered that people relate to Marilyn on many different planes. They relate to the person and her life experiences, rather than the film star. Her influence and inspiration has spread like ripples in a pond throughout the world." Amy's research has involved interviewing and photographing hundreds of Marilyn admirers from many continents over many years.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Materialists' review: Are Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, and Pedro Pascal perfectly miscast?
All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Materialists, Celine Song's highly anticipated follow-up to her critically heralded debut feature Past Lives, may be too clever for its own good. On paper, Materialists is perfection. It's a love triangle romantic comedy, headlined by three movie stars with which the Internet is absolutely obsessed: Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, and Pedro Pascal. SEE ALSO: Please stop killing Pedro Pascal! The plot feels like something out of a Golden Age Hollywood movie. A cynical career girl (Johnson) in New York City plays matchmaker to the rich and shallow. But when she meets a suave, handsome, and outlandishly wealthy man of her own (Pascal), will she choose him? Or will her heart lead her to the struggling artist (Evans) with no savings, no prospects, and only annoying roommates and a cater-waiter gig to his name? Such a humorous heroine role used to go to the likes of Jane Russell (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Lauren Bacall (How to Marry a Millionaire), or Katharine Hepburn (The Philadelphia Story). In the '90s revitalization of rom-coms, you might have seen Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts in such a part. Though she has done romantic dramas (Fifty Shades of Grey) and comedies (How to Be Single), casting Dakota Johnson now in such a role is a spiky choice. It's not that Johnson doesn't have the range to play the hard-nosed career girl who might, at her core, be a hopeless romantic. However, her public persona is one of a snarky cynic, who refuses to take anything Hollywood too seriously. And this attitude has been embraced by Materialists' beguiling promotional campaign, which flaunts her and co-stars Evans and Pascal's chaotic chemistry. Yet her attempt at earnest romanticism in the movie itself hits shallow at best because of this persona — and similar problems afflict her co-stars as well. While the actors in these lead roles might be performing them well, their personas are so big beyond the movie that they overshadow what Song is attempting to do with Materialists. Let's break it down. Credit: A24 As Lucy M., Johnson is the kind of sleek sophisticated Manhattanite that Sex and the City fans aspire to be. Like Carrie Bradshaw, Lucy can wax poetically with a broad smile to sell the concept of perfect love and great sex to her hungry clientele. But she's not a true believer like Carrie. When she speaks with her coworkers, it's all about numbers: height, salary, and BMI. When she lectures coolly on matters of matchmaking, it's as if she's talking about interlocking puzzle pieces that just need to fit. Talk of actual love is shunted to the side as inconvenient, which is reflective of Lucy's background. Nine years before, she was an aspiring actress with no rich parents to supplement her ambitions. Like many a romantic heroine (reaching back to Jane Austen), Lucy doesn't want to end up poor. To her, being poor guarantees being unhappy, because she's been both. So a future with John (Evans), who is still pursuing his dream of acting all these years after they broke up, seems a foolish move. In a telling flashback, Johnson throws herself into a public argument over money, but her desperation feels like a performance. The sight of her wide eyes drinking in the lavish gifts of her millionaire boyfriend is funny, but likewise it also feels false because of what we know of Johnson herself. Her persona is one of no-bullshit, fueled by the glimmering privilege of being born into a wealthy and very famous Hollywood family. Her sophisticated, surly attitude toward movie press for years has bolstered this persona, along with her pushback on daytime TV's former queen of nice, Ellen DeGeneres. Here, this persona works against her. In this movie, though she wears less chic clothing than a movie star might on a nighttime talk show, she is very recognizable as sleek and meticulously groomed Dakota Johnson, queen of fuck-you money and its accompanying attitude. So even if she dons an off-the-rack sundress, it just doesn't feel real with a haircut that costs more than John's rent. Credit: A24 It might have helped if Johnson had the kind of chemistry in the film that she and her co-stars share on their promotional tour, which has been full of cheeky videos of reciting lines from famous romances and challenging each other to trivia or light-hearted questions. However, Lucy has such a devoted distance to the idea of love that even when she's falling, it's hard to feel it from her. This is further frustrating, because both of her options are dazzling. John, played by Evans, is a pretty familiar figure in New York City. A struggling actor who's taking survival jobs in waitering gigs, he has a mischievous smile and a worldweary stare. Evans uses this to express the willpower and sheer exhaustion of daring to be a dreamer in a city that has no patience for the poor. Choosing John is meant to seem like a risk, because he can't promise Lucy financial security. It's a cliché that most couples fight about money, but it's a cliché for a reason. And yet it's hard to think of choosing John as a leap of faith when Song cast one of the world's biggest movie stars to play the struggling actor. It's impossible to look at Chris Evans' face, even bulked down from his MCU days and covered by an inviting sheen of scruffy facial hair, and not think that John's gonna make it. Even if Evans convincingly plays the role of working-class actor, such glossy optimism fights the realistic tone of what Song is doing with this movie. Credit: A24 Pascal plays Harry, a hedge fund manager who takes Lucy to astonishingly expensive restaurants, and then his jaw-droppingly luxurious apartment. (With a $12 million price tag!) He's a gentleman. He's tall, dark, handsome, and generous, or as Lucy puts it 'a unicorn.' The catch is that while he is a rational choice for what Lucy says she wants, she fears that neither of them are really in love with each other as much as they think they could be good partners. To choose Harry would be a business decision. What's fascinating about Materialists is that the casting of Pascal might seem intended to cover up some sort of horrible secret that Harry is hiding. (For evidence of this, just see how fans of The Last of Us will excuse all of Joel's crimes because of just how much they fawn over Pascal). That to choose him would be, White Lotus-style, a kind of complicity. Thankfully, Song doesn't take such an easy out in structuring her conflict. Harry is not a bad guy. He just might not be the right guy. But to be perfectly frank, when the whole world is deeply, deeply obsessed with Pedro Pascal, it is a wild choice to cast him as the guy we're supposed to root against when it comes to getting the girl. Don't mistake me, I deeply admire what Song is doing with this movie. She sets up a traditional rom-com in scenario and characters, but then rejects the buzzy optimism and whimsy of standard Hollywood romantic comedies to create something cuttingly modern. The tone of this comedy is not broad. The banter is not bouncy. Instead, Song commits to an earnest indie understanding of love and relationships. Her characters are not necessarily looking for love as much as they are fleeing from loneliness. Desperation mixes with hope, cynicism with rationale. New York City is not a heaven of designer shoes and an endless supply of eligible bachelors. As John shows, it is a place of bustling bodegas, grimy street corners, hole-in-the-wall theaters, and embarrassing squabbles that interrupt Times Square traffic. Through all the film's conversations about money, the undercurrent is about worth. What do we think we are worth, and what will we risk to be with someone who really sees that? In that, Materialists is a deeply romantic film. Rather than opening with a typically glossy Manhattan rom-com montage, Materialists opens with a strange scene, where a caveman and cavewoman exchange gifts and bind themselves together with a ring made of a small flower. This suggests that marriage has always been about what we can offer each other in a relationship. Song bolsters the sincerity over Hollywood romanticism by choosing a color palette that's less vivid than those of the '90s rom-com heyday. Likewise, a subplot about one of Lucy's clients going on a truly heinous date risks derailing the film's potential feel-good energy. There's a sense that Song is making a romance comedy for cynics. And in an online dating scene that seems increasingly bleak, with people lying on their profiles or gaming the system by choosing sexual inclinations that don't actually appeal to them or even dating AI in lieu of other humans, perhaps we've all become cynics. SEE ALSO: Is dating an AI chatbot considered cheating? Others may be able to watch Materialists and divorce themselves from the immense and immensely charming personas of the cast. For me, I struggled to feel the movie as it truly is, as opposed to the movie the marketing campaign with its flashy stars had me expecting it to be. I suspect years from now, I'll rewatch this movie and think more kindly of it. For now, I admire that it's a big swing, with big stars, who might be, despite their incredible charm and sincere performances, its biggest flaw. For as grounded and real as Materialists aims to be, it's hard to overlook its big, shining stars to see that gritty authenticity. In the end, Materialists feels like it's trying to check all the boxes of a rom-com, much like Lucy's clients aim to check the boxes of what they think they want. But Song wants to give us what we need. And as much as I wish she pulled that off, I was left cold. Materialists is now in theaters.
Spectator
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
There is no dignity in dyeing
Growing up, like a lot of English girls, I was what was known as a 'dirty blonde'. (An evocative phrase, the Dirty Blondes are now variously a theatre troupe, a pop group and a restaurant.) In the summer, I would put lemon juice on my hair and watch in wonder as it bleached in the sun; I mainly did it to irritate my mother, who found overly blonde hair 'tarty'. When I grew my impressive rack and shot up to 5ft 8in at 13, what I thought of as 'The Bothering' started – grown men attempting quite openly to pick me up, especially when I was wearing my school uniform. Blonde hair was the last thing I needed. Like many a dreamy teenager of the time – I'm not sure it still happens – I was drawn to the mythical beings of Hollywood. I remember a poster I owned, jostling with pin-ups of the very contemporary David Bowie and Bryan Ferry (both themselves Hollywood obsessives), which was a drawing of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe bearing the legend WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD TIMES GONE? This could be seen as somewhat insensitive in our touchier times, considering that they'd both been unhappy people who died young. But though I adored Marilyn – as one would adore a wounded animal crossed with a goddess – it was the swashbuckling brunettes of Hollywood I saw as role models: the Liz Taylors and Ava Gardners. I was probably one of the few teenage girls ever to watch Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and want to be the Jane Russell character, with her tough good humour and straightforward lust. When I got the news that I'd bagged my first job in journalism and could scarper from the family home, I dyed my mousy hair jet black and never looked back. I've identified as a brunette all my life, and when my roots started coming through white a decade ago, in my fifties, there was no question that I'd be trooping off every three weeks to the hairdresser to have them covered up, and damn the expense. I viewed women in the public eye who let their grey/white hair grow out with something approaching moral panic; from Angela Carter to Mary Beard, I saw them – ludicrously – as in some way negligent of their personal care. I had no such feelings about famous men going grey, though I've never bought the 'Silver Fox' nonsense. To be fair, I viewed my own reflection with its three inches of pure white roots with a similar horror during lockdown, and when the hairdressers were allowed to open, I was straight round there. Which makes my current attitude to having increasingly grey – white, really – hair all the more surprising. I haven't had my hair dyed since November 2024; after emergency spinal surgery in December I spent five months in hospital, emerging a cripple, in a wheelchair. I've lost my legs, my front teeth, my splendid rack – and my lovely thick, glossy, tossable brunette mane. Due to medication and stress (I always swore I'd never use that word, but I reckon it's allowable when you lose the ability to walk) my hair is much diminished in every way, wig-fulls coming out with every brush-stroke. It's real sparse, scalp-showing old-lady hair of the kind I arrogantly believed I'd never have. I'm aware that it would be easy to correct – there are lots of home-visiting hairdressers, especially in my senior-friendly 'hood of Hove. But I appear to have had something of a satori. Doing everything in my power to appear youthful and robust, once highly important to me, now seems rather silly and self-defeating. I'm a disabled 65-year-old, soon to be an actual OAP; what's the point in pretending to be anything else? Last summer a cross ex-friend wrote me an angry message about this very issue, apparently perturbed by my upbeat, Pollyanna-ish nature and my pleasure-seeking sociability. Knowing her as well as I did, I knew that much of the impetus came from her fathomless dissatisfaction with her own life, but I wonder if there wasn't something in it when she accused me of 'making a fool of yourself prancing around like a teenager when you're almost a pensioner'. Perhaps she had a point; maybe it wouldn't kill me to be more age-appropriate? Indeed, if I hadn't been intent on acting like someone much younger and tougher, I'd have gone to the doctor when my health problem started rather than leave it till it was too late. Doing everything in my power to appear youthful and robust, once highly important to me, now seems rather silly and self-defeating. I'm a disabled 65-year-old, soon to be an actual OAP Letting my hair grow out white could be the way I force myself to accept that my gallivanting days are over. It helps that in the bed opposite me at the rehabilitation unit was Sue, a gorgeous woman of a certain age with pure white hair and a look of Helen Mirren. But I know myself – and my hair – well enough to comprehend that if I carry on down the au naturel route, I won't be a Sue – I'll be a Struwwelpeter. Is letting one's hair grow out as Nature intended a white flag or a gesture of defiance? I veer between the two schools of thought. The publication of Victoria Smith's excellent book Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women in 2023 clarified thoughts which had occurred to me since I passed the first flush of youth, and which became amplified during the height of the trans debate, when my side had the word 'old' flung at it as though it was a word on a par with child-killer. Reviewing the book in the Guardian, Rachel Cooke wrote: The surprise is that I find myself on the receiving end of as much sexism and misogyny now as I did when my bum was pert and my breasts very bouncy – and nearly all of it comes from those far younger than me. Was the harassment I experienced when I was young better or worse than the dismissive contempt that's aimed at me today? I'm not sure. Why are so many men angry at women, past the first flush of youth, who let themselves go? I think it may have something to do with the drastically different levels of sex available to heterosexual men and heterosexual women. Women find sex very easy to come by; by the time a woman reaches the menopause, she will have had all the sex she wanted – and perhaps quite a lot she didn't. Unless a man is very good-looking, or rich, or famous, the same certainly won't be true of him, unless he has a very low sex drive. Giving up seeking male attention is an acknowledgement of this; letting one's hair whiten the most obvious aspect. Whatever the reason, the rude invitations from strangers in the street that started when I was 13 and lasted until I was into my sixties are well and truly over; now men smile pityingly at me as they hold the door for my husband to push me through in my wheelchair. I wouldn't have chosen to be a balding, white-haired 'halfling' – but I'm damn well going to make the best of it. And only in a slightly age-inappropriate way, I hope.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Maj Gen Sir Christopher Airy, eminent Guards officer appointed Private Secretary to Prince Charles
Major General Sir Christopher Airy, who has died aged 91, had a distinguished career in the Army; after he retired, he accepted an invitation to become Private Secretary and Treasurer to Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In 1974, after serving with the Grenadier Guards for 20 years, Airy transferred to the Scots Guards and assumed command of the 1st Battalion. Regiments are by their nature tribal, and a commanding officer from a different regiment is always going to be viewed with a certain amount of misgiving. While never disavowing his pride at having been a Grenadier, Airy launched himself into his new assignment. Having swiftly absorbed the regimental history, he assembled the warrant officers in the sergeants' mess and asked them to help him become a Scots Guardsman. He then summoned the Pipe Major and invited him to play a different company march each day in the Orderly Room until he recognised them all. With his natural charm and courtesy, Airy soon earned the loyalty and respect of his battalion. He was a shrewd observer of individuals, and when necessary he could be tough with those who did not live up to his high standards of behaviour and performance. He ran a very successful and happy battalion and his wife, Judy, was a great support. Christopher John Airy was born at the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, Woolwich, on March 8 1934. His father, Lieutenant-Colonel Eustace Airy, served in the RAF in the 1920s, gaining his wings before transferring to the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment). In the late 1930s he and his family were stationed in Gibraltar, and during the Second World War Eustace Airy was involved in intelligence work in the Far East. Soon after the outbreak of war, the family returned to England by ship. Young Christopher enjoyed going up on deck; he was fascinated by ripples on the surface of the sea which kept appearing, until it was explained to him that they were actually torpedoes. Airy was educated at Marlborough and became fluent in French after attending a course at the Sorbonne in Paris. After RMA Sandhurst, in 1954 he was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards and was posted to the 3rd Battalion. He was stationed at Windsor, and one day while he was on guard, he received a telephone call inviting him to join the Queen and the Royal family for dinner that evening in the Castle. There were about 20 guests present, and after the meal, they played charades; Airy was in a team with Princess Margaret. The Queen drew all the cards, and he had to mime Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a rather daunting role under the circumstances for the 21-year-old. After two years in Cyprus during the Eoka Emergency, followed by an appointment as military assistant to the Secretary of State for War, Jack Profumo, in 1970 he commanded the Queen's Company of the 1st Battalion during a period of increasing inter-communal strife in Northern Ireland. He served as brigade major of 4th Guards Brigade in Munster, West Germany, before transferring to the Scots Guards. After relinquishing command of their 1st Battalion, he commanded 5 Field Force in Germany. In 1982 he was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff of UK Land Forces and played a key part in the decision to deploy the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards and 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in 5 Air Portable Brigade for the conflict in the Falklands. He was promoted to major general in 1983 and posted to the Royal College of Defence Studies. The appointments of Major General Commanding the Household Division and that of GOC London District followed. One day, when he was taking the salute at the first rehearsal of the Queen's Birthday parade on Horse Guards, he invited his family to watch from his office immediately above the saluting base. His four-year-old grandson was so excited when he saw his grandfather appear beneath him on his horse and wearing his plumed hat, that he decided to sprinkle him with a colourful selection of canapés from the office window. One of Airy's duties as GOC was to inspect the regiments under his command. On one such inspection with his ADC, they pulled into a lay-by a few minutes early so that he could put on his Sam Browne belt and emerge at the saluting base exactly on time and immaculately turned out. On their arrival, the whole regiment was formed up on the square. A guardsman lent forward, opened the car door and saluted, but the great man did not appear. He was tethered to the back seat of the car by the entangled Sam Browne and the seatbelt. Airy retired from the Army after 35 years' service, in 1989. The following year he was offered the job of chief executive of the British Heart Foundation. Out of a sense of duty, however, when he was invited by Prince Charles to be his Private Secretary, he accepted. The Queen and Prince Charles knew him well from his time in command of the Household Division, and he got on well with Princess Diana. It was thought that what was needed was a man of Airy's integrity, background and experience to re-organise the administration of the office, ensure that it could manage the workload efficiently and see that there was a smooth flow of correspondence. The Prince's interests and activities, however, were growing fast and the Princess was showing an increasing readiness for high-profile public engagements of her own. For Airy, it was a difficult time and he resigned after only a year. The Queen received him on his departure, a mark of her respect for him. He was one of the multitude that lined the route at her Coronation in 1953. In 1995, Airy and his wife moved to a farmhouse near Wiveliscombe in Somerset, and lived there happily for the next 30 years. He raised funds for a number of charities including the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance, the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and the Society of Martha and Mary. He was also chairman of the Not Forgotten Association for eight years. He cycled some 1,500 miles by himself along the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and raised £50,000 for the Association. Holidays with young families, travel, parties and shared celebrations played a large part in their lives, as did a menagerie of dogs, cats, ponies, donkeys and some rather temperamental alpacas. In retirement, he was a great supporter of the Scots Guards and regularly attended commemoration dinners and the Regimental Remembrance Sunday Service and Parade. He was appointed CBE in 1984 and KCVO in 1989. A friend of the family wrote: 'I can think of nobody who so embodied the principles of honour, decency and respect for others in the unassuming way that Christopher Airy did.' Christopher Airy married, in 1959, Judith (Judy) Stephenson. She predeceased him by three months to the day and he is survived by two daughters and a son. Sir Christopher Airy, born March 8 1934, died April 8 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
