The Iconic Rise of Pamela Anderson to Generation Z

The headline hitting Generation Z’s phone screens is the comeback of Pamela Anderson. She is swiftly becoming an icon for the social-media obsessed generation.

Credit: Dazed

What is it about Anderson’s aesthetic that captured the attention of Generation Z? Let’s dig a little deeper…

The Insatiably Intense Short-lived Marriage of Tommy and Pamela

The marriage between Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee Jones was short-lived. The ‘X’ rated marriage between the baywatch sex-symbol and the rock n’ roll drummer of Mötley Crüe was infamously known for the unauthorised release of their sex tape in 1995.

Credit: Glamour UK

The notorious couple met in 1994 on New Year’s Eve at the Sunset Strip club ‘Sanctuary’ and married in Cancun, Mexico on the 19th of February. Their allegedly stolen sex tape makes it into the public as a revenge move by their electrician, Rand Gauthier. This is following a dispute wherein the couple did not pay him for services. He was led by the misapprehension that the safe he’d stolen contained jewellery and guns. Only to find and release the actual contents which was the infamous video that contributed to the split of their marriage. Their wild and insatiably consuming relationship has caught the eye of Generation Z. Hulu is promoting the release of the controversial new series ‘Pam and Tommy’, starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan.

 

Her Aesthetic Influence on Generation Z

Credit: Missguided

The blond goddess and Barbie-like sex symbol Pamela Anderson is a Canadian-American actress that is known for her countless appearances in Playboy magazine and leading role in the original Baywatch series from 1992-1997. Much of nineties fashion consisted of low-rise jeans and semi-revealing clothes that hugged the female body. According to The Guardian, Kameron Lennox calls Anderons’ aesthetic a “mix of Bridget Bardot and Barbarella, with a rock’n’roll undertone.”

According to Ebay’s statistics, searches for the “red swimming costume” and Pamela’s infamous “black leather corset” increase by 74% and 45%, since the release of the trailer in December. Generation Z’s fashion aesthetic is constantly fluctuating. Fashion from a mixture of decades is continually influencing the unapologetic, youthful aesthetic. There is a comeback of skinny handbags and low-rise jeans from the nineties, corduroy and boot-leg jeans from the seventies, platform shoes and tie-dye from the sixties that influence Generation Z’s wardrobe’s and Instagram feeds. 

The Message She Sends to Youth

Credit: Glamour UK

Generation Z has grown up in a multicultural, diverse society that prioritizes equality between gender roles, sexual orientation, religious differences and races. The generation has a brave and bold outlook that transcends into aesthetics.

The unauthorised release of the sex tape means that Pamela has to endure harsh labelling, public shame and unwanted attention. Through her aesthetic and survival of backlash from the video release, she is sending a message to Generation Z to be beautiful without fear of scrutiny, sexy with confidence and independently strong as a woman.

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