Why Gen Z is obsessed with the Marilyn Monroe effect

The Marilyn Monroe effect has fascinated Gen Z for the past few weeks, who say it’s the key to gaining confidence and improving your looks.

Mikaela Wilson, from Canada, took to TikTok to explore the term originally coined by Amy Greene – the wife of the blonde bombshell’s photographer.

The 21-year-old, who is a content creator and psychology student, laid bare her own experience of the Marilyn effect before telling her followers how they too can mimic it.

And other social media users were quick to praise Mikaela’s tips before sharing their own success stories.

In the clip, which has been viewed more than 1.3 million times to date, Mikaela speaks directly to the camera as she gets ready.

She begins, “If you’ve never heard of the Marilyn Monroe effect, listen up.

“I first heard about it in one of my psychology classes, and what it is is a psychological phenomenon that explains how Marilyn Monroe from Norma Jeane Mortenson, who was just an average, everyday person, became Marilyn Monroe and was recognized on the streets, all by changing the way she behaved.

She could actually walk around wearing exactly the same thing and do her shopping completely unnoticed, or she could switch on her Marilyn persona and people would come up to her, people would recognize her and she was suddenly in the spotlight, a star.

“Psychologists use this all the time to explain to their patients that self-confidence is really how you conduct yourself and being attractive is really just about your body language.”

Mikaela continues, ‘I used to really struggle with confidence and self-love and then I tried to implement the Marilyn effect in my daily life and I noticed it really changed how people reacted to me and in turn how I felt about myself.

“These are the ways I did it: smile more and be warm, be kind, really just be nice to people, have a good attitude, sit up, stand up straight, carry yourself with confidence, look people in the eye, shake their hand, introduce yourself when you meet them.

“If you’re lost, try imagining yourself as if you’re writing a book and you’re the character—except the character is the light-up version of you—the Marilyn Monroe to your Norma Jeane.” ‘

She concludes, “Discover that character and emulate it if you don’t feel confident enough to be yourself.”

Dozens of other social media users were quick to praise the comments before sharing their own success stories.

One of them wrote, ‘I’ve now mimicked this aura and it’s changed exactly how people see me. This is 100% correct.’

Another added, “I love how you explained it, so precisely.”

And a third simply said, “This is so true.”