Hollywood’s Second Sex

“Women stars in Hollywood were invariably in two categories,” said director Otto Preminger. “One group was of women who were exploited by men, and the other, much smaller group was of women who survived by acting like men.”
Beginning with silent film vamp Theda Bara and continuing with icons like Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch, this study of film industry misogyny describes how female stars were maltreated by a sexist studio system—until women like Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis fought for parity.
The careers of Doris Day, Brigitte Bardot, Carole Landis, Frances Farmer, Dorothy Dandridge, Inger Stevens and many others are examined, along with more recent actresses like Demi Moore and Sharon Stone. Women who worked behind the scenes, writing screenplays, producing and directing without due credit, are also covered.

Author and critic Aubrey Malone has written many books on the cinema. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Aubrey Malone
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 244
Bibliographic Info: 41 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7978-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1951-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Preface  1

Introduction  3

Birth Pangs of a New Medium  9

Entrances and Exits  20

Rigors of the Code  32

Outside the Trenches  46

Postwar Transitions  64

Scandals and Torments  69

The Eisenhower Years  78

The Lipstick Sex  91

Changing of the Guard  103

The Swinging Sixties  114

Life After Marilyn  124

The Sexual Revolution  135

Leaving the Doll’s House  144

The Beginnings of Cynicism  160

Fatal Attractions  168

Outrageous Fortunes  182

The Stone Age  195

Epilogue  205

Chapter Notes  207

Bibliography  217

Index  223

“This is undoubtedly a book for the film buff…a well-informed and critical one, both an enthralling read and an excellent introduction to what goes on today along the boulevards of Hollywood”—The Irish Catholic.