bombshell

This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (March 2008)

The term bombshell is a forerunner to the sex symbol and originally used to describe popular female sex icons.

Sexual connotations

Modern slang refers to a bombshell as an extremely sexually attractive woman.

Bombshells are a special kind of sex symbol. Bombshells are popular icons recognized for their curves, sex appeal and larger than life personas. The term carries an implication of a voluptuous female sex icon. Some icons of popular culture who have widely been referred to as a "Bombshell" include Jean Harlow, who starred in the 1933 film Bombshell, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors, Jayne Mansfield, Rita Hayworth, Carole Landis, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Russell, Ava Gardner, Brigitte Bardot, Lana Turner, Kim Novak, Sophia Loren, Ann-Margret, Raquel Welch, and, in more recent popular culture, Anna Nicole Smith, Pamela Anderson, Monica Bellucci and Megan Fox.

During World War II, "Bombshell Girl" referred to the "pinup" girls who were painted onto the sides of WWII planes, bombers, and their bombs. Such photos are now readily available on the internet and historical archives. For many, sex and vehicles are intertwined symbols. See Howard Hughes, Top Gun, etc. Carefully maintained machinery was referred to with terms of endearment. The military evidentially allowed artists to create such work for amusement and recreational viewing in order to help boost morale for the pilots and other military personnel, perhaps as a replacement for a photo of the girl back at home.

Other connotations

The term bombshell is also commonly used as an expression describing a sudden/unexpected event. For example, one may "drop a bombshell" in the form of releasing some controversial statements made by a prominent person. This is the original figurative sense of the term, dating back to 1860.^[1]

See also

• Pin-up girl
• Sex symbol
• Sex appeal
• Supermodel

Footnotes

References

• Stephanie Smith, Household Words: Bloomers, sucker, bombshell, scab, nigger, cyber (2006) on changing usage of the word.

External links

• Wordnet

This sociology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e