16 April, 2007
The Cadillac of porn memoirs
Although it’s increasingly unfashionable to say this I’ll admit to being loathe to engage with the porn industry. But this doesn’t mean I am immune to the occasional salacious and low brow porn memoir. And the Cadillac of porn memoirs is Jenna Jameson’s How to Make Love like a Porn Star.
Jameson - a sullen, ambitious, diva-like personality - goes full tilt in her rather hefty book (592 pages). It’s peppered with topless “glamour” shots of Jameson – a periodic tap on the shoulder to remind you of what you are reading. In fact, narrative innovation abounds! In one chapter that fascinated me entirely, Jameson discusses the injuries strippers are vulnerable to in a comic book format.
Her devastating childhood, lack of parental guidance and sexual abuse are described vividly. Jameson takes on her life with a spirit that quickly garners our admiration. At one point she goes home and rips out her braces with her bare hands to convince a strip club owner she is not underage for the job.
When dishing dirt, Jameson spares few. She describes tawdry encounters with Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone who are cruising for sex with a porn star. She has jaw-dropping, lurid descriptions of sex with other celebrities.
Jameson is famous for making her exploitation into her own successful entrepreneurial venture. In her memoir, we get to know the woman and how she gets there.
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