The term bombshell is a forerunner to the term "sex symbol" used to describe popular women regarded as very attractive.[1][2] The Online Etymology Dictionary by Douglas Harper attests the usage of the term in this meaning since 1942. Bombshell has a longer history in its other, more general figurative meaning of a "shattering or devastating thing or event" since 1860.[3]
The epithet rose sharply in popularity after the death of Marilyn Monroe in 1962, and declined in popularity in the late 1960s due to emerging ideological conflicts.[14]
^ a bJordan, Jessica Hope (2009), The Sex Goddess in American Film, 1930–1965: Jean Harlow, Mae West, Lana Turner, and Jayne Mansfield, Cambria Press, p. 213, ISBN 978-1-60497-663-2
^Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow by David Stenn, page 151, 162
^The Guide to United States Popular Culture, 2001, ISBN 0-87972-821-3, p. 922
^Grant David McCracken."Marilyn Monroe, the Inventor of Blondeness", Culture And Consumption II: Markets, Meaning, And Brand Management, page 93, Indiana University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-253-34566-0
^Richard Havers, Richard Evans, Marilyn, 2010, ISBN 1-84912-026-9, p. 16.
^ a bKatie King and Debra Walker King, Body Politics and the Fictional Double, page 157, Indiana University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-253-10832-6
^Callahan, Dan. "Get To Know Rita Hayworth, The Reluctant Bombshell". Nylon. Retrieved 2020-09-16. Nylon Magazine
^Rozen, Leah. "The British Marilyn: Blonde Bombshell Diana Dors". BBC America. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
^Nolasco, Stephanie (2020-02-27). "'50s sex symbol Mamie Van Doren on leaving Hollywood after Marilyn Monroe's death: 'There were a lot of drugs'". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
^"Brigitte Bardot's Best Bombshell Moments at the Cannes Film Festival". W Magazine | Women's Fashion & Celebrity News. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
^ a b c dStephanie Ann Smith (1 January 2006). Household words: bloomers, sucker, bombshell, scab, nigger, cyber. U of Minnesota Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-8166-4553-4. Retrieved 13 September 2011.