Bettie page dark angel12/25/2022 She looked empowered, not innocent, with her trademark raven bangs. Page was of course stunning, but her looks were quite peculiar for her times. I also believe Page can represent transgression, for she truly seemed to own her sexuality – something laudable since women often silenced their sexual preferences in the media, especially so in pornography which focused and still focuses solely on what men want from women, and rarely vice versa. Society's views on those "perversions" changed tremendously in 50 years, as they went from being considered dangerous to being more accepted, if not shrugged at. Her photographs opened the can of worms known as "deviant sexuality" and its mile-long list of fetishes by illustrating underground practices hidden from the general public. On the contrary, burlesque claims to be an elegant, non-discriminatory feminine art with a historical perspective rooted in theatre and performance which caters to a female audience.īut Page's legacy isn't just kinky pictures and magazine covers graced by her pretty face. Her style later on inspired burlesque artists such as Dita Von Teese, who pride themselves in producing erotic material departing from a traditional "male gaze" and its lust for big-breasted, slim, blonde models. Her image was, surprisingly, later reclaimed by different parts of the feminist movement as a symbol of female empowerment: Page was seen as fierce woman making her way through life, appearing in scandalous material in which she seemed to not only enjoy herself, but exercise her own agency. Her public image faded into oblivion until a revival in the 1980s, when her peculiar looks inspired graphic artists such as Dave Stevens. It was around that time that Betty converted to Christianity and withdrew from public life. She quit in 1957, apparently after being affected by the anti-pornography Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency, which followed the death of a young man from the results of sadomasochistic activities allegedly inspired by Bettie Page's images. Her popularity grew and culminated in January 1955 when she was nominated Playmate of the month (NSFW) and won the title Miss Pinup Girl of the World. It was there that she met police officer and amateur photographer Jerry Tibbs, who introduced her to nude portraits, erotica and the S&M scene for which she modelled, alternating between dominatrix and submissive roles. She married and divorced at a young age, which was frowned upon at the time, and moved to New York hoping to become a movie star. However, she managed to attend university, in the hope of becoming a teacher. Following the divorce of her parents, she lived in an orphanage for a year while her mother worked multiple jobs. She was the first American model to become famous for her – then illegal – fetish and S&M photographs, many of which would be sold under the counter to customers who could not, in puritanical America, legally buy erotic photography in stores.įor a woman of her generation, Page led a remarkable life. But most of us would recognise the face of Bettie Page, who has passed away at the age of 85. S adly, as it often goes in the sex industry, few people know her by name.
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