Sex Toys, a History

By: Femme Vivre LaRouge

Depictions of sexual devices have been found in the art of cultures worldwide from as far back as 30,000 years ago.  Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians all had their own inventions and don’t appear to have been shy about using them.  What the Greeks called olisbos, the Renaissance Italians termed diletto, meaning delight, and that is what we now know as the dildo.  Of course, they’ve come along way – they are no longer made of dried camel dung coated in hardened resin (as in the ancient Middle East) or bronze (as in ancient China) and olive oil is no longer the lube of choice.

Then came the Victorians, a group riddled with dichotomy.  Repression was the word of the day, especially when it came to sexuality and even more so when it came to women.  However, it was during this time period that rubber made its debut, not only for tires, but also dildos, and butt plugs were no longer just carved ginger root or frightening medical devices made of glass.  These newfangled wooden eggs were designed and prescribed by doctors to prevent the loss of sperm by forcing it back towards the female reproductive organs.  At least that was the theory.  In those days, many practices or contraptions that we now consider sexual cloaked themselves as medicinal.  Talk about your sexual healing!  The steam age also made health spas popular with both men and women, who visited these establishments for therapeutic water jet massage made possible by steam power.

And then there was the hysteria craze.  Both psychological and physical in nature, this affliction had many symptoms, including convulsions, choking sensations, heart palpitations, fainting, and sudden, violent mood swings.  In this era, women were thought to not only be quite simple, but governed almost entirely by their uterus, and the term hysteria is derived from hustera, the Greek for womb.  Neurologist Horatio Bryan Donkin, a man ahead of his time, wrote the description of hysteria for the 1892 Dictionary of Psychological Medicine, in which he pointed out that the suppression of activity in girls and the enforcement of sexual inhibition was a contributor to the disorder.  Indeed, it became a quite popular ailment, along with anorexia, especially for aristocratic and intelligent young girls, perhaps because they lacked many avenues of control over their lives and were expected to be completely devoid of libido.  Young hysterics even became celebrities of a sort, ‘performing’ their attacks, under hypnosis, in front of audiences and for medical study.  They were photographed extensively and would often copy the poses of tragic heroines and figures in Romantic art, as well as influencing the aesthetic their time.

One of the more prominent treatments for hysteria was clitoral massage, performed by a physician, to induce ‘paroxysm,’ or as we know it, orgasm.  This was meant to calm the patient and it wasn’t long before the first (steam-powered) vibrator was invented, by an American doctor, George Taylor, in 1869.  Then, in 1883, the first electromechanical version was patented and it began to be marketed as a cure-all for women.  Advertisements described how much happier, healthier, and more vivacious women would be if they bought these massagers for their face and head; and these ads often described more than healing properties, if one read between the lines.  Woman’s  Home Companion and Needlecraft magazine sold them by mail order and, in 1918, Sears Roebuck advertised their product as a ‘marital aid’ that no woman should be without.  Men were even encouraged to buy vibrators for their wives in order to keep them young and pretty, relaxed and content.  In the 1930s, however, the sexual nature of these ‘health aids’ was made more obvious through erotic cinema and without the cover of medicine, vibrators went underground until the sixties.

Sex toys began to flourish again in the sixties, fitting in nicely with the atmosphere of free love.  Then, in 1983, Patty Brisben opened Pure Romance, based on the in-home sales party plan, so that women would have a way to comfortably talk about and research sex toys and other erotic goods.  The company now does sixty million in sales, annually.  As Brisben asserts, “When another woman explains something in a group of women, it becomes ok; they can ask questions without feeling inadequate.  Parties are a great place for women to empower themselves to take control in the bedroom.”  In the nineties, advances in internet commerce made it even easier to shop for bedroom gadgets anonymously.  These instruments became more varied, finally taking into account the specifics of the female anatomy and capitalizing on it.  Now all sorts of colors, sizes, rabbits, dolphins, pearls, and even ‘the Cadillac of vibrators,’ the Hitachi Magic Wand are up for sale at a Condoms to Go near you.

The booming sex toy industry has suffered no losses due to the state of the economy, either.  Sales are up, from Amazon to independent shop owners.  As more couples stay at home to save money, they seem to be spending their time, and a little money, getting more adventurous in the bedroom.   The 2010 Venus adult toys exhibition in Berlin broke records, with 273 vendors offering millions of products to nearly 30,000 attendees.  And, yep, there’s an app for that.  The iPhone now offers an Apple approved application, MyVibe, with adjustable vibration speeds.

Burlesque Arrests: Lili St. Cyr

By: Femme Vivre LaRouge

This month’s installation of Burlesque Arrests illustrates the ongoing decency debate through the life and trials of Lili St. Cyr, billed as the Anatomic Bomb.  Lili, a sophisticated chanteuse, played quite a part in elevating the art of the striptease from a solely burlesque house existence to one on the glitzy new stages of Las Vegas.  Miss St. Cyr dressed and undressed herself very finely, testifying in 1951that she currently had $4,200 invested in her costumes and $11,750 in her props!  After retiring from the stage, she went on to open her own line of high-end, mail-order lingerie like the garments she wore onstage; packages were delivered tantalizingly marked “Intimate Secrets by Lili St. Cyr.”

As a burlesque queen, Lili St. Cyr reigned over Montreal’s thriving nightclub scene for most of the 1940s, but in the early 1950s, a campaign to clean up the nightlife was sweeping the city.  Religious groups began protesting about Lili’s show, claiming that “a stench of sexual frenzy plagues the theater the whole time this dancer’s exhibition lasts” and demanding that the authorities ban any shows given by her in the city of Montreal.  Although the police initially observed her performances at The Gayety and decided there was no cause for action, public pressure eventually drove officials to re-examine the existing laws dealing with performance and public morality.  As a result, Lili received a summons to appear in court to “answer charges under a section of the Criminal Code dealing with offensive, immoral, or indecent exhibitions,” in 1951.  The evidence offered against her was rather flimsy and Miss St. Cyr was acquitted, with the judge noting, “It seems to me that those who made the most noise here today were persons who didn’t even see the performance complained of.”  As Lili herself told a reporter, “everyone has a right to his opinion, but a lot of people are prejudiced who would not be if they could see my act.  I don’t like vulgarity – I think it is ugly – and on the burlesque circuit they think I’m high-hat.”

Naturally, the brouhaha only served as publicity for her, as is usually the case with these matters.  The victory was celebrated in an article from Commerce Montreal, which described Lili’s performance thusly: “With a sparkling light she executes the most fantastic dances of eternal theme…She gives a wake-up to adolescence, a stimulant to the young man, comfort to the middle-aged man, sweet memory to the old man…Lili is the goddess of love reincarnate.”  The article also warned that if the reformers triumphed the city would not only lose its reputation as the capital of nightlife, but millions of tourist dollars as well.  Unfortunately, the Commerce’s advice went unheeded, The Gayety was shut down, and Lili St. Cyr moved on…to Las Vegas.

That same year, the Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce led an investigation on political corruption, the Mafia, and its connection with strip joints.  As the U.S. drifted out of war times and into the family-focused fifties, public consensus about decency took a conservative swing and the pin-ups and burlesque dancers who had been praised for helping to win the war were now being told to cover up.  Even Sin City wasn’t yet ready for St. Cyr; her act was in interrupted at El Rancho and she was arrested in September of 1951.  She was let out on $1,000 bail, skipped her hearing, and hoofed it to Los Angeles.

In L.A. Lili had been headlining a swanky Hollywood club, Ciro’s, where she entertained the likes of Dean Martin, Ronald Reagan, and Humphrey Bogart with her famous bubble bath, even selling her own line of bubble bath in the gift shop.  Although Lili kept herself covered by bubbles, a bath towel, or her ladies’ maid, there were those who took umbrage to her act.  In October 1951, club owner Herbert Hover and Lili St. Cyr were arrested, and her g-string and net bra seized for evidence.  The charges were giving an indecent performance and lewdly exposing her person.  Despite the insistence of the club’s publicist that the whole debacle had been an orchestrated media stunt, the D.A. pursued the case and Lili hired renowned defense attorney Jerry Giesler.  Giesler had already successfully defended Charlie Chaplin, Errol Flynn, and gangster Bugsy Siegel, just to name a few.  He noted, of his tendency to take cases revolving around sex, “It’s because sex is not only one of the facts of life, it’s also – at least in my experience – one of the most prevalent bases of legal strife.”  Giesler insisted that Lili’s act was artistic and refined and requested that her jurors be made up of “people capable of judging such things on their artistic merit.”  Accusations against Lili included that her towel was see-through, which was refuted by examination of the towel in question, and that her dance involved a pelvic bump.  Captain Walker Hannon described this hip motion as “Mae West wiggles” and the short, rotund Hover, when asked to demonstrate a bump, shyly sent the courtroom into fits of laughter.  Captain Sutton testified that he had not seen either bumps or grinds and the jury soon acquitted Lili, after which she stated, “This is a real victory for the profession.”  Once again, the trial increased her fame and the Hollywood Report gossip column ranked her with Lana Turner and Ava Gardner in their Pucker-Up Poll, while an ad for Ciro’s touted, “See What Hollywood Saw! – Was the Jury Right?”

Lili, whom journalist Walter Winchell said outstripped even Gypsy Rose Lee, stated, “If I do demoralize an audience, as some people say, then I’m glad I do it.  People need a loosening up.  Most of the people in this country are hypocritical, too many put on a front of being shocked at certain kinds of behavior.  It’s a joke to think I could demoralize anyone with this little act.  If one has morals, then they can’t be taken away by me or anyone else.”  As the line goes in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, “God bless Lili St. Cyr!”

More on Lili St Cyr

Editors note: When Femme came up with the idea to do an article on burlesque arrests, I thought it was fabulous.  When she came back and said there were just too damn many for one article, I thought- even better!  What better way to kick off a new monthly series than with the delicious Mae West & the legendary Sally Rand.

Burlesque Arrests: Sally Rand & Mae West

By: Femme Vivre LaRouge

Burlesque house raids are as infamous as those of speakeasies during prohibition, sometimes being one and the same.  As performers pushed the envelope further and further, policing agencies and government lobbyists went tit for tat trying to pass new laws of censorship and to enforce a moral code.  Many a famous burlesque performer has come under the scrutiny of the law; here we shall spotlight fan dancing pioneer, Sally Rand, and 20^th century sex icon, Mae West.

Born Harriet Helen Gould Beck, Sally Rand was a teenage runaway, circus performer, cigarette girl, model, dancer, stage actress, and silent film star before she ever picked up a pair of ostrich feather fans.  In 1933, at the Chicago World’s Fair, she not only wielded her fans wearing nothing but Max Factor body paint, but also appeared as Lady Godiva, riding a white horse, apparently nude.  Thus began her arrest record, with a total of four arrests in a single day!  Though Rand was charged with lewd conduct, Superior Court Judge Joseph B. David dismissed the case, noting that, “Some people would want to put pants on a horse…if a woman wiggles about with a fan, it is not the business of this court.”  The incident’s publicity made her a burlesque sensation, her weekly pay escalating from $125 to $3,000 in a single summer.   Never actually baring quite all, Sally Rand was noted for saying, “the Rand is quicker than the eye.”

1946 found Miss Rand back in court, charged with indecent exposure, corrupting the morals of an audience, and conducting an obscene show.  She was taken into custody after an engagement at the Savory in San Francisco, where six police officers witnessed one of her fan dances, in which she decreased her costume to a flesh-colored triangle.  Rand hired renowned defense attorney, Jake Ehrlich, who had kept both Billie Holiday and Gene Krupa from going to jail on drug charges.  Ehrlich made the point that nudity was respected in the art of the great masters and suggested that the court view the dance in question, as evidence of its artistic nature.  The judge agreed to this and even granted Miss Rand a release to continue her performances, unaltered, until the trial was over.  That very same night, however, Rand began her dance, but was stopped for arrest by the San Francisco Police Department.  Imagine their surprise when the lights came up and it was revealed that Sally Rand was hiding a pair of flannel long-johns behind her fans.  Furthermore, in place of her customary triangle of costume, was a note marked “CENSORED.  S.F.P.D.”!  The next morning she performed her usual routine for the judge and jury and was promptly acquitted, on the grounds that, “Anyone who could find something lewd about the dance as she puts it on has to have a perverted idea of morals,” as Judge Shoemaker pronounced.

From flapper to fan dancer, Miss Rand continued to strut her stuff into the, and also her, sixties.  As she said herself, of her illustrious career, “I haven’t been out of work since the day I took my pants off.”

Mae West, a household name to this day, began her career in Vaudeville, working her way up to radio, Broadway, and later the screen. Her entire career, which lasted her a lifetime, was based on one infamous character: herself.  Known for her sexual candor, wit, and double entendres, she coined many famous phrases, such as “Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me” and “A hard man is good to find.”

Not only an actress, but a producer and writer, as well, Miss West titled her first Broadway show “Sex.”  The play was not such a great success until it was brought up on a morals charge, sparking a heated debate over the role of censorship in the theatre.  After being arrested and released on $1,000 bail, West continued her show, to packed audiences, for a lengthy run.  As with Sally Rand, the publicity did her nothing but good!  However, in 1927, the play was again brought up against charges of obscenity and West was convicted of corrupting the morals of youth, for which she served nine days out of a ten day sentence, getting out early on good behavior!  She served her sentence at Welfare Island Women’s Workhouse, where Mae West, never a quitter, gathered a great deal of material from observing her inmates and wrote her play-turned-film “Diamond Lil.”  During the scandal of “Sex,” West was also busy writing and producing “The Drag,” which the New York Times described as the play that “caused the sudden action…toward cleaning up the stage.”  Although the show was a success at its out of town previews, it was not allowed to open on Broadway.  This didn’t stop her from staging “Pleasure Man,” which also featured drag performers, and landed West, once more, in jail and, once more, released for $1,000 bail.  The lady certainly had a fighting spirit and, as she said herself, “Those who are easily shocked…should be shocked more often.”

Her involvement in the film business was fraught with the same battles over censorship as her Broadway career.  She caused such scandal on the silver screen that some authors jokingly credit her with singlehandedly bringing down the hammer of the censors that resulted in the Hollywood Production Code of 1934, which was the mode of film censorship until 1968.  But Mae West outlasted the production code, using her same shtick in 1978 for her final film, Sextette and still using her most iconic quote, “Why don’t you come up and see me sometime…when I’ve got nothing on but the radio.”

Burlesque Legends : Candy Barr

By: Hella Goode

If I had to come up with the recipe for Candy Barr’s candy bar, it would have to include coconuts, white chocolate, ruby red frosting, some illegal substances and a dark gooey and mysterious center. Oh, and it would have to have some pot somewhere in there too. Why? Well, these ingredients, in the right combination would be the story of Ms. Juanita Dale Slusher, a. k. a. Candy Barr’s life.

Juanita was one of our own, a Texas girl, born on July 6, of 1935 in Edna of humble beginnings. She was barely into her teens when she made history as what some would say was the first ever pornographic movie. She was only 15 at the time. Some say it was willingly, others say it wasn’t. Needless to say, Smart Aleck (1951) isn’t exactly available on Netflix to decide for yourself.

At that point, she was still Juanita Dale Slusher. Her dark center was there, but she was still working on her sweet exterior, what would earn her the stage name Candy Barr and the adoration of many.

A short time later, she began working at Dallas’ own Weinstein’s Theater. Weinstein saw that with the right wrapper, Slusher could be a sensation. He encouraged her to become a blonde and named her Candy Barr.

Candy had undeniable appeal and signature talent, known for her spicy and risqué cowboy outfits and for her association with gangsters and bad boys. She later worked as a dancer at Jack Ruby’s Las Vegas Club. Unfortunately for her, Ruby had a dark center himself, later becoming infamous as the man who gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald before his trial for assassinating President John F. Kennedy. Candy was interrogated about her association with Jack Ruby after the assassination, and cleared of having any prior knowledge of the events.

Despite her innocent name, it seemed Candy Barr just couldn’t stay out of trouble, with or without a bad boy on her arm. She apparently had a taste for pot brownies, just without the brownies. She was busted for possession more than once and even spent time within the notorious prison walls of Huntsville in 1959. Huntsville’s Prison Museum features a Candy Barr in their most infamous inmates display to date. Ironically enough she did time for the brownie-less pot brownies, but not for shooting a violent husband.

Ran Away From Home 9th grade
Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Jan-1956), charges dropped
Drug Possession: Marijuana Texas (Oct-1957)
Violating Bail Los Angeles, CA (30-Apr-1959)
Pardoned by Texas Governor John B. Connally (1967)
Drug Possession: Marijuana Brownwood, TX (1969), case dismissed

She was highly successful as a pinup model for pretty much every magazine there was in the 1950’s and danced everywhere from Dallas to Los Angeles to Las Vegas. She married and divorced multiple times then going on to be the true arm Candy to gangster Mickey Cohen as well.

Then like many entertainers, she went back to her roots, went underground and lived quietly during her later years working regular jobs and blending in with the crowd. She tired of the attention and just wanted to be herself again.

So that is exactly who she was, herself, right up until December 30, 2005 where she succumbed to pneumonia in Victoria, Texas.

RIP Stay sweet, Candy Barr.
December 25, 2009 http://www.Streetswing.com/histburl/1index0.htm eMail:
StreetSwing.com

Herstory of Jayne Mansfield

by: Hella Goode

http://www.jaynemansfield.com/about/quotes.html

“When I’m 100 I’ll still be doing pin-ups,” said a young, beautiful Jayne Mansfield. Too bad that was not meant to come true. At the still maturing age of 34, Jayne, a passenger in the front of a car with her children riding in back, was killed when the vehicle collided with a large truck on her way back from Mississippi.

Jayne was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 to Herbert and Vera Palmer. She was a kind and generous child, who always had hope in her heart and stars in her eyes. Yet, those stars dimmed when her father died and Jayne was only three years old.

It was no crime. There was no need for Jayne’s real-life daughter, Mariska Hartigay, who plays Officer Olivia Bennett on Law & Order’s SVU series to investigate. Vera wouldn’t be kept down about it and neither would young Jayne. Jayne married Paul Mansfield in a hurry and gave birth to Jayne Marie Mansfield. She kept the name even after she didn’t keep him. It just sounded right.

Jayne began to work in Hollywood as a model but found that the 1950’s world was a little taken aback by her large chest. But her potential shone through. She liked to say, “A forty-one inch bust and a lot of perseverance will get you more than a cup of coffee-a lot more. But most girls don’t know what to do with what they’ve got.”

Jayne was working her way up and starting to outshine the crowd when she became distracted by Mickey Hartigay, 1956’s  Mr. Universe. Soon there were three more twinkles in Jayne’s eyes: Micklos, Zoltan, and Mariska. The pair were very dedicated parents who did not let their work take from their children, nor did they let their children take work from them.

Soon Jayne starred in “The Girl Can’t Help It,” and “The Wayward Bus,” as well as “Rock Hunter” and “Kiss Them For Me.” She began to perform at the Tropicana in Las Vegas and was thrilled to be able to have more personal live contact with her fans. She did cameos on television and was up for almost anything the fast lane of the world of entertainment could throw at her. Apparently she did not have room for Mickey anymore, and they divorced.

Jayne had once said, “I will never be satisfied. Life is one constant search for betterment for me.” Unfortunately neither she nor the world can be satisfied by a glowingly beautiful life cut so short. But se la vie, thus is the life of the 1950’s superstar.  Only the good die young, right?

Herstory of Corsets

By: Hella Goode

Ah, the hourglass….a symbol of passing time, and a woman’s curves. And who wouldn’t want to spend an eternity on an hourglass figure?

The best way to achieve such shape is with a corset. A corset is technically defined as a stiffened and fitted item of clothing that gives shape or reshapes a woman’s torso, usually to fit the fashion of the moment. Some women today wear corsets to help keep in what they want in, others enjoy the feeling of being bound and supported, while still others use corsets and similar pieces to help improve their posture. Jennifer Gonzalez, custom corset maker-Jupiter Moon 3 says, “Some of us wear corsets just for the sheer fact that it makes us feel so damn SEXY!”

Many people today are still convinced that a corset is torture, which is meant to impose impossibly tiny measurements on women just to please men. It makes them imagine a throwback to less free times for women, a throwback to when a thirteen inch waist, as in what 16^th century French royal Katerina Di Medici was rumored to require of her helpers, with the help of a corset of course.

Some cite the corset’s origin back to the binding habits of ancient Greek women, although their binding tools would hardly be recognized as similar of a corset today.

Venitian ladies of the upper class began to wear stiff conical garments to elongate their necks and flatten their torsos in the 1500’s. This is where the more identifiable practice of corsetry is documented.

“Stays” were then developed. These “stays,” or two piece corsets enhanced the bosom. The pieces were laced together. These laces are what allow for the practice of ‘tightlacing’ or training the body to stay in a certain shape by tying it tightly and binding it for most of the day. Stays were often pretty and decorated since they would be seen as outer garments. Corsets tended to fluctuate between being underwear and outerwear as time and fashion deemed necessary.

With time this method can help create a new shape for the torso. This is also what began to alarm doctors. Doctors noticed that the extremes in corsetry, such as creating the tiniest waists possible were shifting women’s organs in their abdomens, creating strain. They began to advise against these extremes.

Busks, usually made from bone were beginning to be employed as a way of keeping the stomach straight, and eventually to support the cups that held breasts apart in the 18^th century. Corsets were once again an obligatory part of fashion, a woman not wearing a corset seen to be improper. Yet, doctor’s warnings about the damage to inner organs made many worry. Thus, corsetry took another twisted turn. New corsets featured a straight front so as not to force organs back into the body. It was a valiant effort, but fashion extremists intervened again and forced the new corsets so tight that although their stomachs were straight, wearers’ backs were arched backward, creating havoc on their backs. Doctors again issued warnings about this “S-line” corset.

With the onset of the World Wars, women’s roles changed. They went from wives and mothers to workers who needed to be able to move freely and get dirty. Corsets did not make sense anymore. They did not disappear completely however. Instead they morphed into two different pieces of clothing-a supportive bra and what is more like a girdle which helped keep the tummy in. The pieces were no longer one big garment, but two separate necessities. The materials used to make corsets were also changing. They became more flexible and were given the ability to stretch.

Then Madonna came along and rocked everyone’s world when she wore a tight bodice as an outer garment for a performance. Madonna made underwear-in, by showing it off and started a new fashion craze. Leave it to Madonna.

Since most of us are not Madonna even on our best day, we tend to go for comfort. Today’s standard underwear for a woman is pretty much all stretch. So when a woman needs some control, she can find a corset, most similar to the style of the 19^th century. This style of a curved bust and flat stomach is the motivation for most modern women who wear corsets. “We have the benefit of bendable steel boning now, which makes corset-making much easier, and corset wearing MUCH more comfortable,” corset-maker Jupiter Moon 3 adds.

For those of us who are a little daring, who want our curves in the right places, and enjoy  being in control, the best corset is a custom made corset-one that is made to fit our specific shape and our exact measurements. A corset built for you can be as comfortable, as restricting, and as scintillating as you want it to be. Find out for yourself.

Custom made corsets:

~Jennifer Gonzalez

Jupiter Moon 3

www.JupiterMoon3.com
www.etsy.com/shop/jupitermoon3

Burlesque Legend Wild Cherry talks New Orleans, burlesque revivals, and “taking it outside”.

By: Divertida Devotchka

New Orleans burlesque legend Wild Cherry grew up travelling the carnival circuit with her family, and her first performances were carnival girlie shows.  She began dancing in New Orleans night clubs in the late 1950s. “I just wanted to make a living, because I had not had any formal schooling.” explains Cherry.  Her stage name was given to her by a club owner who found it was befitting of her feisty personality. Cherry danced in various clubs throughout the French Quarter over the years and has fond memories of dancing, drinking, and of course, fighting. According to Cherry, there were certainly some clubs she didn’t stay at for very long. “I worked at some clubs with bad reputations- girls fighting a lot, and some managers even hit the girls. That never happened to me though,” Cherry said.  “Maybe because my name put them off, I don’t know.”

There’s known to be intermittent cattiness and drama in some aspects of the burlesque scene, but Wild Cherry says things are nothing like they used to be. “There wasn’t a lot of that catfight stuff. Nah, these girls were pretty rough,” Cherry said in an interview with Rick Delaup, producer of New Orleans’ own Bustout Burlesque and the New Orleans Burlesque Festival. “And if they did decide they didn’t like somebody, in theaters I’ve seen, they would take a rolling pin and a light bulb, and grind that glass up fine like a powder and put it in your face powder. They would put shoe polish in the eye mascara tube. They could get really rough. They didn’t play.”

I found the “crushed glass in the face powder” gag to be rather shocking, so when I asked Cherry about it in our interview, she casually replied, “Well, I was glad I didn’t use powder, for one thing! I used pancake makeup instead and I suppose I would have seen crushed glass in that.”

In recent years, Wild Cherry has performed in several of the Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend Legends showcases, as well as performing occasionally with New Orleans troupe Fleur de Tease, and she’s also done a comedic monologue in some Bustout Burlesque shows. She’ll be appearing again at this year’s New Orleans Burlesque Festival, where she will participate in panel discussions and sign autographs. I asked Cherry for her opinion about the current boom in modern burlesque.  “There are girls out there who are bringing back the classic style and I’m excited about that,” Cherry said. “There are troupes all over doing that now, thank God. But I’m dead set against most of the new Bourbon Street. So many girls just go on stage and stroll around begging for money. Most of them don’t even dance, and some of them may be good at working the pole, but soliciting money has no part in burlesque.”

According to Cherry, burlesque isn’t the only thing that she has seen change over the years. She was known for being “scrappy” and argumentative, and admittedly used to go looking for fights some nights as an outlet for her rage. “I don’t go looking for trouble like I used to. People who knew me before would definitely think I’ve mellowed out over the years,” Cherry said. She may be calmer these days, but the old Cherry is still in there, and is known to make an appearance from time to time, much to the chagrin of her family. “I haven’t been in a good fight in years, but I wouldn’t back down from one even today, doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman. A few years ago I embarrassed my granddaughter in Wal-Mart because I was threatened by two young women and I said, ‘Let’s take it outside.’ Of course, the girls backed down.”

Traveling Tent

by Hella Goode

Pole dancing originated-you guessed it-from the Polish! Not really, it was practiced to keep warm and to entertain Santa Claus on the North Pole…

Just kidding, there are a few very different theories though, on how pole dancing came about.
The first one is probably the most logical pole dance. Although not intentionally erotic, the Maypole dance did have sensual roots. This pagan ritual was a fertility dance dating back to around the 1100’s, with the pole representing (but not obviously resembling) the typical phallic figure. Basically, people danced in a circle around the pole, often holding ribbons that were attached to the pole. This was done on May Day every year until Christianity became the mainstream.

Other areas of the world were also learning to dance with poles. In India, there have been non-erotic forms of pole dancing or exercising since around the same time as the Maypole. Men would do yoga on a wooden pole to improve their strength, called Mallakhamb. Another variation is called Mallastambha which used an iron pole for building strength. Mallakhamb is still done today but only by males.

Pole dancing took a sexier turn in the heyday of traveling tent shows. Each act was housed in a tent. Poles holding up the tents tended to be in the way of the dancers performing inside, so a few innovative ladies began to use them as props, swinging and dancing on them from time to time.

The pole really began to be used for pole dancing as we know it today, was reportedly first used by Belle Jangles as she danced in Oregon at the Mugwump club in 1968. However, this was not the norm and did not catch on right away. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that strippers really began using the pole regularly. The rumor is that pole dancing first became the rage in Canada, and then spread throughout the US.

Today poles are making their way from strip joints into mainstream fitness program, even being given a less scandalous name, the fitness pole. They have yet, however, to shake all of the stigma of their past. What is left to see is whether or not they will stay in the spotlight or, like many a fad, return to whence they came….and whether or not Polish girls will dance on them again (ha!)

Herstory of Bettie Page-What Would Bettie Do?

By Hella Goode

What would you do if a random woman walked up to you and asked you if you had found God? You’d probably brush her off. Bettie Page walked the Jesus walk for many of her latter years, unrecognized and hardly recognizable, even participating in the Billy Graham Crusade.  She felt she had quite a bit to reconcile, but nude modeling wasn’t really what she wanted to wash clean.

In fact, Bettie was known to say that nude modeling came naturally to her and that it was only once Adam and Eve sinned that they needed to wear clothes. Bettie did not regret most of her modeling, however, the government probing into Irving Klaw’s photography; accused of being pornographic and derogatory could have made Bettie begin to feel a bit dirty about her work. The photos taken of Bettie in various dominatrix outfits and gear were not blatantly sexual and did not involve nudity, yet filth is in the eye of the beholder. Just as a mother nursing her child in public can be seen as beautiful and natural by some, yet overexposed and even a turn-on by others, the images of Bettie became seen as something to be ashamed of.

Bettie modeled for fun, for the money (which paid better than her prior secretarial work), and for attention. She had never had a stable home life, unconditional acceptance, or stability, and strangely, her modeling-risque at the time, gave her all she sought after.

Bettie Page, born Betty Page on April 22, 1923 to Walter Roy Page and Edna Marie Pirthe in Tennessee, had no idea that her childhood longing for attention and acceptance would help bring about a cultural revolution.

She was the second of six children, and as any innocent child does, she needed attention. She wasn’t getting much of it. Her father wasn’t around much and wasn’t pleasant when he was. He was abusive and in and out of jail. Her mother became so desolate that she sent Bettie and a sister to live in an orphanage until she could afford to have them back. Yet, Bettie kept smiling and enjoying the simple joys of life. She and her brothers and sisters competed at keeping a chicken feather in the air using their breath, and she dabbled in art with the oil from her fingers. Bettie would always find a way.

Then,  in 1950, while strolling along Coney Island, a random photographer snapped her photo. His name was Jerry Tibbs, and he had just discovered black gold. Although yet to have her signature bangin’ bangs that would be emulated for generations to come, she was still pretty and charismatic. The bangs came later as a suggestion to keep her face from appearing too long.

Bettie was a hit! She appeared in numerous magazines including Playboy, a move which would prove unexpectedly helpful later in life. Her career shot as high up as the Rocketeer, whose girlfriend in the movie was inspired by Bettie’s look. This is the part of Bettie’s life, from 1950 to the beginning of the 60’s, that we know the most about.

Then, just as Jesus disappeared for a few years, so did Bettie Page. Until recently, little was known about what she did for so many years. She was often assumed dead. Then she popped up as a Golden Girl of the faith. Turns out that between her three failed marriages she had become part of the Christian faith and devoted herself to God. Also a motivator in her newfound Christianity, her trouble with her temper.  Bettie had been arrested for the attempted murder of her landlady after a fiery dispute. She was deemed mentally instable and diagnosed with schizophrenia. She served out many months in an institution, trying to heal herself.

During these turbulent years she had no way of supporting herself, not realizing that others were rolling in green by selling her images. Yes, the sexual revolution of the sixties and seventies, had Bettie blowing up years and years later. Playboy’s Hugh Hefner extended his hand to Bettie, helping her bring in some profits from her images, most of which she did not own the rights to. After the government’s investigation of Irving Klaw, she was surprised any of the images still existed.

Bettie had no desire to create new images though. She wanted to be remembered even in life for her heyday moments, those glorious images of Jungle Bettie, fetish Bettie and the gorgeous Playboy shot of her, naked hanging the ornament on a Christmas tree. She couldn’t understand why anyone would want to see her growing old. Meanwhile, Bettie was more popular than ever, with countless websites, books (including the great The Real Bettie Page: the truth about the queen of pin-ups by Richard Foster), and movies about her, including 2005’s The Notorious Bettie Page, starring Gretchen Mol.

That’s how Bettie chose to live her last quiet years, with psalms on her lips, her signature bangs (peppery gray) on her face, and memories in her head.  A rarity amongst the legends of her day, Bettie did live a long life. At the age of 85, on December 11, 2008, Bettie Page passed away as a result of pneumonia and a heart attack in Los Angeles.  Impossible to forget, rest in peace, Bettie Page.

So, next time someone approaches you thinking you look like you need a bit of faith in your life, look closely, you never know who you might find.

God Bless Lili St. Cyr!

By: Hella Goode

“God bless Lili St. Cyr!” Janet belts out in the mock-burlesque musical number “Wild and Untamed Thing” in the movie Rocky Horror Picture Show. I tried for years to figure out what she was saying. Thanks, Pin Curl, for guiding me to my answer.

Mike Wallace interviewed the legendary burlesque striptease icon, Lili St. Cyr in October of 1957 expecting to meet a run of the mill, heart of gold, bad girl who is really a good girl who fell into an unfortunate lifestyle according to standards of the day. What he found was something entirely different. He met a brutally honest woman who had no qualms answering his questions of how she really felt about her profession and herself.

Lili St. Cyr, born Willis Marie Van Schaack, on June 18, 1918 in Minneapolis, MN into a family where she wasn’t necessarily wanted or needed. Her unstable childhood, although still producing an intelligent, beautiful and talented woman seemed to have left its mark on her self-esteem.

St. Cyr never really aspired to become a burlesque star. Lili was first hired as a dancer by accident. She accompanied her sister to an audition and was offered a job as well. She danced at venues such as Florentine Gardens and the Music Box, and began to concoct her own signature style of fanciful and creative numbers beyond simply removing clothing. Anyone can do that. St. Cyr created storylines in her routines that came to be what voyeurs expected from her, to be enticed, but also entertained. One such move was the ‘Flying G’ in which her G string would be caught by a fishing rod and pull her off stage. Some of her most well-known numbers were “Jungle Goddess,” “Persian Harem,” and “Ballet Dancer,” the latter in which she incorporated the years of ballet lessons from her youth.

Lili St. Cyr was photographer, Bruno Bernard’s muse, too. She was also in a few films, but usually as a striptease artist and was not granted acting roles that other actresses were offered. She was meant for live performance and continued to wow audiences with routines that included bubble baths and even a backward strip. In the backward strip, St. Cyr entered the stage barely covered and would provocatively redress herself.

This backward strip might have been symbolic of her struggles with her self-esteem and her career. Audiences applaud at the end of an act, so if they could applaud her for being herself and fully-clothed, she might begin to feel legitimized about her career again.

In the Wallace interview, after about 15 years in the scantily-clad spotlight, Lili admits she wasn’t proud of what she was doing for a living and was embarrassed by it. She expressed wanting to leave the business but needed to support herself. Sadly, she did not feel herself capable of doing anything else to make a living. St. Cyr, married at the time, wanted to quit her lusty life of burlesque as soon as she could be supported by her husband at the time. He was one of six she had in her lifetime.

Lili also admitted to not being part of any major religion and had no desire to bear children. In the 1950’s coming out with these statements instead of slopping frosting on her feelings to say that of course she one day dreamed of dancing around the kitchen surrounded by babies and attend church in her best every Sunday, was somewhat shocking.

These were not rash statements Ms. St. Cyr gave. They were truth. In Kelly DiNardo’s biographical book on the star, Gilded Lili, she reveals that she has had more than one abortion. Grief after an abortion as well as low-self esteem or failed marriages, or disconnect in her family life or all of these factors may have lead her to experiment with heroin. However, Lili herself had said that using was part of the Hollywood lifestyle and that some did it for attention from others, and others still to have a non-existent moment of privacy in the public eye.

She continued to battle with heroin years later and was seen less and less in public. She died January 29, 1999 in Los Angeles at the age of 80 (thus not a death likely caused by heroin, more likely from old age), but like a stained shroud, left her mark in burlesque herstory.

For the above mentioned Interview with Miss St. Cyr, please click here.