Reply #67: You don't think the arts are a worthy pursuit for an intellect?

[jobycom]

She didn't come from a wealthy family. Her father died when she was three, her mother was a schoolteacher. She started out poor, struggled against the odds in her chosen field while raising children, and just when she hit it big, her career was over as America changed its mind about what they wanted to oogle on screen.

I guess what I find sad is that she's looked at as a sex symbol and a shallow person because of her gender, and her looks, and was given a set of options based on her looks, and every time she tried to do more, America told her they weren't interested. Even when she did more, she often had to do it in Europe.

Bill Gates didn't give a damn about charity until he was 40 and was richer than God. His family was quite well off, he never had to struggle for anything. If he had died at 34, he would fail your test, too. Allen also came from a comfortable background, never wanted, and didn't get into philanthropy until his mid 30s.

Both have lived every day of their lives better off than Mansfield was at any point in her life, and never had to deal with the personal issues she did. Neither lost a parent, neither was poor, neither had to make it in a world run by the opposite gender for the enjoyment of the opposite gender. She accomplished a lot with what she had, considering how far she had to go.

I just find reactions to her very telling, I guess. Not you, just everyone.