Dolly Parton, a cultural icon to many, passed away in August of 2026 at the age of 80. While Parton is primarily known for her flashy aesthetic and title as the \u201cQueen of Country Music,\u201d it\u2019s important to remember that her legacy encompasses so much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was an outspoken supporter of LGBTQIA+ rights, created The Imagination Library, which gives free monthly books to children in underserved areas, and donated extensively to disaster relief all over the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her philanthropy is an integral part of who she was and had a large effect on many people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe made the world a better place in her philanthropy \u2026 in the way that her music brought people together. She was just like a really positive light in the world,\u201d Berkeley High School junior Scout Wheat said.<\/p>\n
Parton also became a unique symbol of self-love, as she was known to be dressed in big, blonde wigs, colorful makeup, dramatic rhinestoned outfits, and had openly undergone various plastic surgeries. Parton was clear that her appearance was curated, and her transparency showed women that they should have the freedom to make choices about their own bodies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would say, \u2018I don\u2019t fit into these beauty standards normally,\u2019 and I think that\u2019s really impactful for a young girl watching TV (to see), \u201d BHS sophomore Ruby Katz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dolly Parton didn\u2019t just reject beauty standards, but also the sexist stereotypes within the music and TV industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was quite iconic because she was unafraid of her femininity,\u201d Wheat said. She showed the world that loving traditionally feminine things didn\u2019t diminish her own intelligence or talent. She was the first woman in country music to host and star in her own variety show, and broke gender stereotypes in songs like \u201c9 to 5\u201d and \u201cJust Because I\u2019m a Woman.\u201d She used her music to expose sexist double standards, to subvert stereotypes, and to call attention to issues that women faced.<\/p>\n
Parton also used her music and her platform to support the LGBTQIA+ community. She wrote the song \u201cTravelin\u2019 Thru\u201d for the transgender film \u201cTransamerica.\u201d She also\u00a0 publicly opposed anti-trans legislation, and consistently emphasized love over judgement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just solidified herself as one of the greats in the queer community, someone that everyone in the queer community looked up to and respected, and she\u2019s definitely still a queer icon today,\u201d BHS junior Ellah Altman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was one of the female voices who established country music, who could sing her story and sing other people\u2019s stories without shame, but with honor and with pride and with dignity,\u201d BHS ethnic studies teacher Hasmig Minassian said, speaking on Dolly Parton\u2019s impact on music.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Country music was forever changed by Parton, who made the genre much more mainstream with her pop-forward sound and honest lyrics in songs such as \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d \u201cIslands in the Stream,\u201d and \u201cHere You Come Again.\u201d Both die-hard country fans and those who had never listened to the genre could agree that she was a singularly talented musician, evidenced by how her songs topped both country and all-genre pop charts.<\/p>\n
Her music appealed to people across the political spectrum, largely because it allowed different types of people to all feel seen, whether that be the drag community or working class Appalachian communities similar to where Parton grew up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk to conservative people and liberals, and they all love her. Like everyone loves Dolly, and she\u2019s just so universally loved,\u201d Altman said. In a country that is constantly divided over politics, she was able to unite people through her music and foster mutual respect.<\/p>\n
Parton will always be remembered for many things, including her broadly appealing music, her iconic aesthetic, her extensive philanthropy, and for always being true to herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dolly Parton, a cultural icon to many, passed away in August of 2026 at the age of 80.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-461455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}