"Marilyn beyond the cover", at the Museum of Erotica of Barcelona (MEB)

A hundred years ago, one of the most photographed, admired, and interpreted women in contemporary history was born. A century later, Marilyn Monroe remains a universal icon of popular culture, cinema, and the erotic imagination of the 20th century.

At the Erotic Museum of Barcelona (MEB), Marilyn also holds a very special place. Her image welcomes thousands of visitors every year and has become one of the museum's most recognizable symbols, as well as of the city's entire cultural offering. The guided tours conducted by guides dressed as Marilyn Monroe have, for years, been one of MEB's most popular and photographed experiences.

To mark the centenary of her birth, the museum presents "Marilyn Beyond the Cover," a special program inviting visitors to discover not just the myth, but also the woman behind one of the most influential images of the 20th century.

This initiative is based on one of the most emblematic pieces of the museum's permanent collection: the cover and centerfold of the first issue of Playboy, published in December 1953 and featuring Marilyn Monroe. Hugh Hefner at the time published the actress's nude against a red background-a picture that would forever mark the history of contemporary visual culture and help consolidate the construction of an icon whose influence remains alive a hundred years after her birth. But behind that cover was a complex woman, an actress of extraordinary talent, a professional who fought to control her own career, and a figure who still prompts us to reflect on fame, desire, femininity, and the representation of the female body today.

"Marilyn Monroe is part of the identity of the Erotic Museum of Barcelona. Her image is recognized by visitors from all over the world and has also become one of the iconic images of cultural and tourist Barcelona. Yet, beyond the myth, we are interested in championing the woman, the artist, and the person behind this universal face," says Sarah Rippert, director of the Erotic Museum of Barcelona (MEB).

Marilyn Monroe at the MEB

Throughout June, the emblematic guided tours led by the MEB's Marilyns will roam the museum's rooms, accompanying visitors and finishing the route in a special way in the space dedicated to the actress, where the construction of her public image and her influence on contemporary culture are explored. Through these tours, the public will discover how a young woman named Norma Jeane became one of the great cultural icons of the 20th century.

Special visit with the museum's sexologist: "Marilyn: Desire, Myth, and Femininity"

As part of the special program, Sigrid Cervera, MEB's sexologist and Head of the Education and Cultural Mediation Department, will offer a themed tour proposing a different reading of Marilyn Monroe.

From the perspective of sexology and cultural mediation, the visit will address topics such as the construction of beauty ideals, the representation of femininity, and the relationship between desire, identity, and celebrity in popular culture.

"Marilyn Monroe is not just a woman turned icon; her image helped create the contemporary erotic imagination. From the perspective of sexology and the history of erotic art, her figure allows us to study how symbols of desire are created and how ways of viewing the body and femininity have changed over time," says Sigrid Cervera, sexologist and Head of the Education and Cultural Mediation Department at the MEB.

This tour is part of the line of activities developed by the Art and Sexology area, a pioneering project that incorporates a sexological perspective on the interpretation of erotic art and heritage education.

Roundtable: "Marilyn Monroe, One Hundred Years Later"

The museum's director, Sarah Rippert, and sexologist Sigrid Cervera will converse in a roundtable open to MEB visitors about the ongoing relevance of Marilyn Monroe as a cultural phenomenon.

Why are we still talking about Marilyn a hundred years after her birth? What does she represent today? What has changed in the way we look at her image? How does her figure connect with current debates about femininity, desire, and representation?

The activity proposes an interdisciplinary approach to one of the most influential women of the 20th century.

? When: Tuesday, June 16, at 6:00 pm

? Where: Erotic Garden of the MEB

*Activity open to all visitors and included with the general admission.

Grand Marilyn Celebration on Sunday, June 28

To conclude the program, coinciding with the international celebration of LGTBIQ+ Pride Day, the Erotic Museum of Barcelona (MEB) invites all its visitors to become Marilyn for a day.

All visitors who come to the museum dressed as Marilyn Monroe will have free admission throughout the day

White dresses, red lips, beauty marks, blonde wigs, or any creative reinterpretation of the character will be welcome at this collective celebration dedicated to a woman whose image continues to inspire entire generations.

Because a hundred years later, Marilyn still invites us to look beyond the cover.