The Sex Tech

Bettie Page became a representation of health, sexuality and perhaps most famously, BDSM, in the 1950s. She had a rocking body and a trademark look with dark hair and brow-brushing bangs. She was smart, sexy and talented and now she's gone.

Born on April 22, 1923 and married in 1943, Page's life seemed rather normal. She earned her Bachelor's in 1944 and filed for a divorce in 1947. It wasn't until 1950 that she would begin modeling for Pin-Ups and this would give the world a face for erotic art for decades to come.

Bear in mind that at this time, many models for erotica still refused to show their faces. Many pictures from the time, though not as frequent as in previous years, featured girls who would position their hair so that it covered most of their face, or would turn their heads away from the camera or even just ask the cameraperson not to include their face. Bettie Page, though, was very open and relaxed and unashamed of what she did. She always appeared to love the camera when she was in pictures and she gave a powerful sex, sultry look whenever she could and her bondage pictures were amazing and eventually would help make her famous.

Even though Page did vanish into the background for a short time, in the late 1970s her work began to resurface and her appeal had not been lost. Page's life itself, though, remained mostly in the background with the exception of two well known interviews - one with Mary Harron in 2006 and with Tim Estiloz in 1996. In the latter interview, Page states that she doesn't want her fans to remember her as an old lady and I'm going to maybe step out on a limb and suggest that it is likely that even in her death, she would have wanted her fans to remember her as the curvy sensation that inspired the movie, The Notorious Bettie Page.

Thus, in rememberance of  woman who has had far more erotic influence on the world than most of us could ever dream of and who's gorgeous body became an icon for her time and her profession, may her impact on the world be remembered.

P. S. This article was started because of Bettie Page going into the hospital. In the process of trying to finish it, the news was released that she had died. Regardless, I decided to leave what I had as an article starter and to simply add a mention of her death. This is, I feel, in line with the same sentiments about her fans remembering her as she was. I will return to some discussion about her again later, both to discuss things that may not seem as appropriate in the moment and also to reinforce her memory.

Note, this article has been edited due to me accidentally switching the dates with the Estiloz and Harron interviews. Thanks to Estoloz for pointing this out.