It is hard to believe that she was only a regular on 'Charlie's Angels' for one season, yet when anyone thinks of that classic 70's show, Farrah as Jill Monroe is the first character they think about. At the time the show experienced a lot of feminist backlash which is unfortunate since it was one of the few television shows that really fired the imagination of girls...and believe me, I know of what I write.
Granted no one, woman or man, has perfect hair days 24/7, but the idea for girls who watched the 'Angeles' religiously was that we could bridge the cusp of playing with Barbie to cops and robbers. We could have a fantastic wardrobe AND shoot the bad guys - seriously folks; it was a win-win. 'Charlie's Angels' demonstrated that girls could grow up to be women who controlled their own destinies without looking like we just mowed the lawn and scrubbed the floor.
Besides Farrah's famous poster that sent a million teen boy hearts a flutter, there was an iconic picture of her from an episode of the show where she is on a skateboard wearing a red baggy shirt, jeans, and Nike shoes. She looked like the coolest thing ever, even though it was pretty obvious that she couldn't skateboard to save her life. Because she looked so cool doing it, I took up skateboarding and continued to do it up and down a steep hill until I fell and had to acquire stitches - I still display the scar with pride. The Angels made it okay to remain a tomboy and still be interested in fashion.
I know at the time of the series many social critics took it on because the women were dressed in the hootchie mama styles that were the height of fashion in the 1970's. My goodness, we couldn't have an army of woman released in the workplace who displayed the curvy contours of a woman's body. There were also feminist critics that didn't like the show because it was geared to a male audience. I'm sure that all of the arguments about the program had validity, but for me the Angels were the first portrayal of women, not girls, who just wanted to have fun. They were depicted as being close friends despite working together and despite being judged by their prettiness (let's be honest shall we - no one wanted to be Sabrina...God bless her) yet despite all the things that media had taught girls and women prior to that time (you know, the BS that we should all be attentive wives and mothers and live for everyone else besides ourselves) here were three women, though fictional, that were living their lives for themselves.
Years later when I was studying the first phase of Women Studies at the University of Missouri - Columbia, I coined a term that I still use; 'Charlie's Angels Feminism.' It meant basically that women can do everything that men can do and still have fabulous hair.
As you can probably tell, the hair thing is important to me. Funny, as in odd and not ha-ha, that both Farrah and I have experienced hair loss due to chemo treatments. I'm feeling much better and my hair is growing in quite nicely I must say, in fact for the first time in my life my hair naturally curls the same way that Farrah's used to do so many years ago. I know that Farrah has been fighting her cancer with everything at her disposal and I'm glad. None of us know if she will win her battle, but all of us hope that she will.
The truth is that despite everything she will remain the forever glory girl in our minds that she has been in image for the last...could it be?...forty years. In many ways she was the first feminist sex symbol although a lot was made at the time of her 'Angel' days that she would have to be released each evening to make dinner for her hubby who was the 'Six Million Dollar Man' at the time, Lee Majors. Can you even imagine now a female star bragging that she has to be home at a certain time to make her husband dinner? Let's face it; some things are way better now than they used to be.
My point about Fawcett, who skyrocketed to fame, was that she displayed something much different than the perennial sex symbol favorite Marilyn Monroe. Granted both were blonde and could persuade men to do their bidding by batting their eyelashes, but Fawcett was unlike Monroe in that she had a strong face and she used her body not only to entice the opposite sex, but to be active on her own terms. Part of her appeal to both women and men was that she was very natural looking. Despite her hair, which she claimed was naturally curly and dried in her famous style (I suspect some fibbing on her part) she looked like she could go on an afternoon hike, shower, and then dance the night away. Monroe on the other hand looked like she would sleep all day, take some of her 'dolls,' bathe (bubble bath of course) dress up in some elaborate dress and then sing/dance/fall down, take some more 'dolls,' and pass out.
In years after the 'Angles' Fawcett made some interesting choices in movies and plays such as 'The Burning Bed,' 'Extremities,' and 'Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story.' Most of her memorable parts were in the television medium which is where she got her start in commercials (for awhile people thought she was married to Joe Namath because the two starred in several spots together).
If you stumble upon this article you might ask yourself why I felt compelled to write it. After all, as of this writing, Thursday night, all reports are that Fawcett is still living. I'm writing it because I think often we pay tribute to people after they are gone and that is a damn shame, although I doubt seriously that Fawcett would ever read this or have someone read it to her, I felt that I needed to write it. I just wanted to proclaim in a public way that this woman meant something to me while I was growing up. I want to wish her well and I hope that her journey - weather it is life or death, brings her peace.
Westerfield © 2009
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Comments: 42
I knew why you were interested in her and am glad your hair is growing back nicely. Illness is such a difficult thing.
If I ever get seriously ill, I am NEVER having chemo or surgery.
Interesting information.
I always liked Farrah.
I guess I missed out on the feminist movement, but I do know that I have JC change diapers, vacuum, cook meals, etc. Why shouldn't he? Maybe my attitude was formed by Charlie's Angels.
Thanks for posting to Fugitives from Ignorance, Conformity, and Peer Pressure
I always wanted to be Jaime Somers when I grew up, even if I had to have a bizarre parachuting accident in order to become bionic. I thought she was every bit as much a feminist icon as Charlie's Angels were, plus the added attraction of being paired with Lee Majors occasionally (he may have been my first TV crush) and the bionic German shepherd, whose name, I think, was Max. Jeez, they even got to fight Bigfoot.
I always remember that Farrah poster on the wall of Tony Manero's room in "Saturday Night Fever," too.
It's difficult to see the sex symbols and stars of our youth getting old and sick. I understand, a little better, the shock I remember my mother expressing over the death of Marilyn and Jane Mansfield, now.
Fawcett was talented, I agree. But what image have we been seeing all over? Her perfect nipples in a red swimsuit. It kind of pisses me off.
Jaime and Jill pretty much did whatever they wanted to and never got overwhelmed, as opposed to the "Baby Boom" mom in the following decade who was portrayed as both doing too much and missing out. I like the image of independent women in the '70s who weren't shoved back into the corners society was more comfortable keeping them in.
(You know, I don't think I've ever noticed the nipples before. I always got hung up on the hair.)
You did such a phenomenal job exploring the phenomena that she was back then, and I'm stealing "Charlie's Angels Feminism" from you. Thanks in advance.
In her later work she proved to be a superb actress, not just a pretty face.
I salute you and her.
here ... here !
Where? Where?
;-)
Thank you for posting to this group whose only purpose is to thank you for posting to this group.
Hope all is well by now and this article is really great.
You have tried in this humble way to project your own soul.
May the divine healing be with you
As far as the show, I think that it had an effect on all of us who were children when it was on. Despite what the three actresses may or may not have believed in terms of feminism, I would argue that their roles, despite all of the wiggly and giggly, provided a template for girls who wanted to go into the work force, have friends, and be somewhat attractive. I know the whole attractive/beauty thing is still debated by women, but I’m saying that my view of feminism, which had been planted prior to the show’s debut, flourished because the angles were, to quote Beyonce, “were doing it for themselves.”
Renee, you know, if given the opportunity, I would still play ‘Charlie’s Angels.’
Lori, yup only one season.
Marilee, if your mom looked like Kelly Garret then your mom was smoking! I think an offshoot part of the feminist movement is responsible for men feeling quite at home changing baby diapers and being far better fathers then earlier generations of men. I’m sure you are like this as well, but I don’t automatically assume now that a mother is a better parent in terms of custody issues. I think most father’s today believe that being a good father is being an involved father – actually knowing your children and having them know you, which is different than an ideal about just providing for a family. Overall, I think that is a great benefit for parents (mother’s aren’t expected to provide ALL of the emotional support) and father’s get gratification for being a good parent (besides the idea that they put food on the table) and children get to know both parents.
Teresa, I think it is sad that some of her medical information was sold to the tabloids by medical personnel. She seems to have been fighting her cancer with grace.
Donna, you are welcome.
GayLynn, her personal life may have been a mess. From what I know of it in terms of posing for ‘Playboy’ and acting out of it on Letterman she seemed to have been medicated on something and trying to grasp at fallen glory. I don’t think that negates the iconic status that she had for many of us in the 70’s. Despite her relationships with some abusive men, she sought out roles that were very progressive for their time. Was she flawed? Yes. Was she, and is she, inspirational? Yes.
Michael, yup, it probably is some Trivial Pursuit answer. She was on one season, but she did make several ‘guest appearances’ in the (I think two) seasons following because she broke her original contract and that was the settlement was for her to come back. I think there was also a backlash within the entertainment industry because she couldn’t be employed in movies due to the contract she had under Aaron Spelling (husband of Candy and father of Tori) and ABC. Here’s some other trivia, she was supposed to have the Goldie Hawn role in ‘Foul Play.’
Dee, my friends and I jumped on the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ bandwagon like it was a lifeboat. I was as proud as punch that I could wrestle and beat all the boys in my neighborhood (of course they weren’t the strongest lads ever, but I was still proud).
Jan, how ironic is this, my hair is growing out to be very Farrah like, although it has about six inches. One thing I’ll give chemo, if your hair grows back it does have a nice wave to it.
Sharon, ‘Burning Bed’ was quite shocking at the time I remember.
Sally, I wouldn’t miss that show on, I think it was on Wednesday nights, even if I had internal injuries.
Ron, what a lovely compliment, thank you! I’m sure that she is receiving a lot of e-mails, letters, and cards voicing support.
John, you know you were Bosley, don’t pretend otherwise. I just remembered how Gail and I always made her brother Bosley. Pardon me as I laugh to myself.
Kris, they had a bionic dog? Get out of here! I liked the ‘Bionic Woman’ but I think I liked the Angels better because they didn’t have anything amputated. I do remember Farrah making a guest appearance on the ‘Six Million Dollar Man’ and she ended up being the villain or something. Can you imagine six million dollars now? Pocket change. I swear I still use that “We can make him stronger, faster, better…” whenever I can fit that joke in. Sigh, of course less people get it now.
Ina, great point. I think for me that was the saddest part of watching Farrah’s career in the past decade or so. Granted, I haven’t been a huge fan in keeping up with whatever she was doing, but when she posed for ‘Playboy’ it came across to me as if someone who had tried to break out of just being thought of as a ‘sex symbol’ then tried to desperately embrace now that it was fading away. In some ways it really educated me about the power of allurement and how we (because some men fall under the category as well) play like it doesn’t matter when we are young, but when we are older and we no longer turn the heads we once did, how we realize the power of it.
E. M., I totally believe that there is a patriarchal image that is impossible for women to achieve, but unlike sex symbols of previous generations, I would argue that Farrah was more relatable. Like Julia Roberts fifteen years later, Farrah had a smile that seemed as enchanting to women as it would be to men. She looked like she would be someone you could be friends with despite her beauty – whereas someone like Marilyn Monroe did not. Monroe came across to most people as someone you had to protect, while Farrah looked like she was athletic and modern and could protect herself – especially in her role as a crime fighter.
Kris, her hair was divine, unfortunately for millions of American women, she was one of the few women who could pull it off. I agree with the observations of others that she had some nipples, but then again women do have nipples. There was a ‘Sex and the City’ episode with Miranda and Samantha running around with faux nipples and all the men chasing after them.
I think the Reagan Era represented a repression of something that could not be repressed. It was the decade of the power suit feminist. The one with really big hair (the type of hair that made Farrah’s do look small in comparison). I think that there was more of an awareness of the need for equal pay and the general idea that a woman could have it all – career, marriage, motherhood, and still be put together. I don’t think the expectations are like that today. In fact one of the benefits of a dress down business culture is that there seems to be less distraction with (*&%^& things like pantyhose. Further, people can be more culturally reverent in that say black women are allowed to wear braided hair (something that generally looks better on them than your average woman) without some old fat white guy wanted them to look more like an old fat white guy.
St. Joy, feel free to steal ‘Charlie’s Angels feminism’ I think it is a concept that most people in our age range recognize immediately. In fact, I think the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ movies got the idea which was why, the first one at least, was successful.
You had her Nikes! Color me jealous.
Norene, it looks like you are doing well, if I can judge by your icon. I’m with you girl, my hair has finally gotten to the point of not looking so stupid short, so now I have no excuse about doing something about exercise.
Leo, thank you. If she does die soon I know that the world will be flooded with tributes. I wanted to write a tribute while she was alive and what she gave me.
Mugg, I liked Cheryl Ladd, but she wasn’t Farrah.
Kris, as long as you were right about the Bionic dog, that’s all I cared about.
Sarah, I really like Molly Ivins, I met her once when she was doing a book tour. I like Margaret Mead, but I read a book her daughter wrote which I thought was the oddest most boring book I have ever read (if you are someone who reads this is Mead’s daughter…GREAT BOOK!) One would think that being the offspring of Mead and her anthropologist husband (whose name I have forgotten) would make for an exciting life, but it didn’t, and she had a weird encounter with her father that still makes my stomach do back flips. I read the book for one of my women’s studies courses. It has always tainted the way I think of Mead.
Sonia, exactly! When we would play we would do that whole hair flip thing and then shoot.
Dame Ruth, I don’t care if she is making a buck off her cancer. It’s not like she is the first to do so or the last. Hey, if you have to go through cancer and chemo you might as well use it for a platform. I still jokingly complain that my cancer didn’t have a cool color of ribbon to distinguish it.
Marinela, thank you. I’m feeling better than I have in decades. One of the strongest and proudest moments of my life was upon learning that I indeed had cancer my first thought was that it was a blessing. That kept me strong and full of humor (as much as cancer and chemo can bring the funny). In many ways I consider myself blessed of which I am still very grateful.
Aniko, I think so. I also think that a lot of my viewpoint comes from what she and the show meant for me when I was a girl.
In your DREAMS,
When Farrah Fawcett-Majors blossomed into “Farrah”, the timing was nothing if not ironic. The feminist movement had evolved from burning bras to searing publicly staged intellectual debate; women were donning suits and taking to the workplace en masse, thanks, in part, to the equal opportunity push supporting them. Some of us even stopped setting our hair and let our frizz flags fly. And then there was Charlie’s Angels.
Full of college-injected attitude, I steadfastly refused to tune into ABC that fall of 1976. Without even checking it out, I just knew any show about a group of scantily clad, pretty girls solving crimes while answering to a paternal otherworldly voice was a huge step backward just when the old Virginia Slims cigarette (for women!) ads proclaimed we’d “come a long way, baby.” I insisted on going out instead of staying in, tuning in. Interestingly, the streets were oddly quiet. It seemed a whole lot of people were home, watching Charlie’s Angels.
http://awfj.org/2009/05/11/awfj-women-on-film-a-tribute-to-farrah-fawcett-joanna-langfield/
I do feel sorry for Farrah Fawcett. I found her very compelling in The Burning Bed and the movie about the woman who killed her children(can't remember the name and I even read the book!).
... getting past the events of her death ... FF was NOT the icon i wished my daughter to look up to or aspire toward - period.
... another tortured soul in the end.
Yes, she was a drug addict and alcohol abuser and certainly not an icon.
Aren't you capable of interesting and thought provoking editorial that doesn't abuse human judgment?
How interesting that I wrote a similar article when I read she passed away (but obviously not articulated as well:). Not usually my thing to write about, but I felt compelled to do so with Farrah, because like you, I felt a connection.
Thanks for posting to Fugitives from Ignorance, Conformity, and Peer Pressure