Smart and Sexy: Pamela Anderson’s Twin Peaks of Success

A certain strand of feministism detests the idea of feminism “objectification” Women in entertainment through the “male gaze.” This patriarchal lens, they say, uses masculine desire (think: the sex symbol), to minimize the importance of female characters. Pamela Anderson’s famed career as a model and television star as well as political activist is a warning to all who view the world this way: Kiss my empowered rack.

Anderson loves to make fun of her. “breasts had a career of their own and I was just tagging along.” You might be surprised to know that the blonde bombshell, a childish boy who loved to play with others, was a childish tmboy. “anything that creeped and crawled.” She was an a “complete contrast” With her mother, who was made from a cosmetic fabric. Pamela would hear her tell her that she was a cosmetic shopper. “no excuse not to look good” “no such thing as natural beauty.” It took hard work and mirror-time to be a great looker. This was more than vanity. “You are more powerful if you’re pretty.”

The famous question that Derek Zoolander, the fictional supermodel, often pondered was: “I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really good-looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.” Anderson’s new memoir, Love, Pamela, celebrates life without limits. “imperfect people living imperfect lives” She is on a journey to appreciate what these things are.

Anderson was born in a small Canadian village. Her father was loving and kind, but he was also an abuser and angry. One time, she is horrified when her father puts her kittens in a bag to drown them. A babysitter molested her and she is raped 12 years later by a man almost twice her age. She moves to Vancouver after graduating from high school.

Good-looking people are important in this world. “big city” She is fortunate to find the right people who will help her on her path. Labatt’s Brewing Company is her neighbor. They take her to a professional football match and provide her with a half-shirt with beer branding. Pamela is captured by a cameraman and broadcast onto the Jumbotron. Anderson believes she looks great “old and ugly.” The clamorous crowd prompts an epiphany. “People were screaming… for me?” Labatt’s quick pounces make her a featured model on television and posters. Are you a hot gal who sells cold beer? Pamela “realized that you could actually make a living this way.”

Hugh Hefner’s scouts could not have called at a better time—Pamela had been arguing with her

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