Material Girls

Abstract

Chapter Five considers representations of gold diggers in the final decades of the twentieth century. During these years, several changes occurred in American family life, including the erosion of the social safety net, a widening gap between the rich and poor, the widespread adoption of no-fault divorce laws, and the popularization of prenuptial agreements among the middle class. Representations of gold diggers revealed broad economic and cultural change consistent with the gender, racial, and class dynamics of advanced capitalism and neoliberalism. The chapter examines the use of the gold digger stereotype in accounting for Anna Nicole Smith’s legal fight over her husband’s estate. Model Anna Nicole Smith’s protracted legal battle over her deceased husband’s wealth speaks to the complex intersection of gender, sexuality, class, and race in the final decade of the twentieth century. Throughout the 1990s, the press and public characterized Smith as both a gold digger and “white trash.” As the preeminent gold digger of the late twentieth century, one who consciously modeled her image after Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith was consistently portrayed as a symbol of cupidity and malevolent white womanhood.