Golden Goddesses author at book store
Golden Goddesses author at book store. Jill Nelson
Burlington author Jill Nelson admits she has an ulterior motive in writing Golden Goddesses.
It is as much a biography of 25 women who worked in the adult film industry during its so-called golden era, as it is a history lesson about their contributions to the sexual revolution of the time.
“They were all forerunners who couldn’t take credit for blazing a trail,” said Nelson.
Golden Goddesses: 25 Legendary Women of Classic Erotic Cinema, 1968-1985 profiles women who wrote, acted, directed and produced such films when it was illegal to make them, but not watch them.
Nelson gives the back-stories to famous names of erotic film, such as Marilyn Chambers, Nina Hartley and Amber Lynn.
“The goddesses wanted to talk about their careers and who they are as people, starting with their childhood mentors, hobbies, teen years and integrating into society afterward — how tough it was to adapt to mainstream life and having to keep their adult film careers a secret,” said Nelson who was in her teens during this era.
Three of the 25 women started their careers in the industry well into their 30s and 40s, something you wouldn’t hear of today, said Nelson. And they came from previous professions such as mainstream film production, copy writing and teaching.
“My intention is to escort readers toward a clearer understanding of the beautiful and intrepid females who favoured an alternative profession in adult cinema that was cultivated at the apex of the 1960s sexual revolution,” Nelson said.
It was considered a golden era for the layered scripts, high-calibre performances and artful direction that built a loyal following and often culminated in red carpet premieres.
“Several individuals, and particularly women who began working in loops and sexually-oriented films, became legitimate silver screen stars,” Nelson said.
The Aldershot writer wants readers to stop believing the hype that all of those women who got into the porn industry did so because they were abused in childhood and then by the industry later in life. Nelson wants to give these women credit for the cultural shifts they helped move.
The erotic film industry became legal in 1988 through the landmark California court case of porn film director and producer Harold Freeman.
“It was sheer hypocrisy to deem the craft illegal because those who condemned it also watched it,” said Nelson.
She got the idea to interview the women of adult films while working on her first biography about celebrated, then tortured porn star John Holmes. That biography was four years in the making and Goddesses was a 3-1/2 year effort to research and interview all of the women, as well as film historian William Margold; and in gathering the 300 photos contained in the 950-page book. The book also includes 125 film reviews.
“Their common denominator is their strength. I would go into a foxhole with any of these women,” said the married mother of two grown children.
While Nelson launched Golden Goddesses in California late last year, she is making a stop at the Chapters bookstore, on Fairview Street, tomorrow (Friday) starting at 7 p.m., accompanied by one of the goddesses.
Article by Melanie Cummings
Golden Goddesses Author at Book Store
