Pamela Anderson is one of those divas that I appreciate for her public persona more than her body of work. I admit to never having seen an episode of Home Improvement or Baywatch…Tim Allen and The Hoff never did it for me. I may have seen her movie Barb Wire once back-in-the-day on VHS when our local video store (we’re talking pre-Blockbuster) had a rent-one-rent-one-free deal. However, I was always drawn in when I saw her on entertainment or talk shows because she came across as genuine, funny and unapologetic for getting her start in the business by posing nude. So many celebs shunned their nude modeling past but Pamela owned it. She’s also a huge animal rights activist which I appreciate.
My stalking peeps, I was there a half hour early for when the line was supposed to start forming, when did these people get here?
When I saw Barnes & Noble Union Square in New York City was having a signing for her new autobiography, “Love, Pamela,” I was lucky to get a ticket which quickly sold out. The book signing was an eye-opening event. The line up had the usual suspects. Since Pamela was gracious enough to sign her book and one piece of paper memorabilia, “The Masturbators” were there with their well-worn Playboy magazines, unlike my pristine copy. “Mom Of The Year” was dragging her whining toddler behind her telling him he’d have to wait a “little while longer” (this was a half hour before Pamela was scheduled to show up and at least another half hour before getting through the line). A parent after my own heart, “Bitch, I got priorities, there’s divas to stalk.” My personal favorites were the “Pam Bots” who are women that alter their faces and bodies to unnatural proportions to look like caricaturized versions of Pamela. We’re talking bra-overflowing saline boobage, collagen bee-stung lips, and cheeks and chins so sharp and Botoxed that they could cut through diamonds. I had found my tribe.
Pam Bots gone wild.
“Love, Pamela” is welcomely written. A little bit poetry and a little bit dish, but never trashy which was a little disappointing. It’s a total rags to beyond-riches fairy tale story. Pamela had a rough start, being sexualized and assaulted at a young age. She took that trauma and cashed in on it, her first Playboy centerfold earned her $15,000 and that was before she became a household name. I can’t even imagine how much she earned for shoots afterward. The stories throughout “Love, Pamela” are all about excess and luxuries that the majority of people will never experience. Pamela’s writing style may be very accessible but her lifestyle is not.
My DNA-free copy of Playboy bought for the articles. It was all about Madonna at the beach, 20 questions with Nicole Kidman and Alex Haley remembering the real Malcolm X. Real news with a pictorial tribute to nurses…everyday heroes.
“Love, Pamela” is a stream of consciousness and memories spanning her entire career and personal life. Pamela’s first visit to the legendary Playboy mansion was equally as legendary. Her three marriages (I only knew of the one to Tommy Lee) all happened very spontaneously and ended dramatically with a sex tape scandal thrown in the mix. She talks a lot about her two kids and being a mom. However, my favorite chapters are when she knowingly uses her looks to get her foot in the door to political meetings so she can influence men in power to improve their stances on social justice, environmental and animal rights issues. She uses what God gave her and a little extra to get what she wants, and that’s bad ass, in my gay opinion.
Last chance for photos, cameras weren’t allowed past this point.
At the signing, when I finally got through the line (the whining kid was at least fifteen minutes from freedom), Pam was super friendly and had a warm smile. We exchanged pleasantries and a laugh as my book kept closing on her as she tried to get to the signing page. Our time together was very short but sweet. I was soon on my way with a skip in my step, my book and Playboy clutched to my chest and hearts in my eyes. The whole signing experience and reading her book, have made me an even bigger fan.
