Bettie Page is often referred to as “Queen
of the Pin-ups.” Born in Nashville Tennessee on April 22nd, 1923,
she had a difficult childhood. She and he sisters were sexually abused by their
father, and when her parents divorced, ended up in an orphanage. Despite all
this, she graduated high school as salutatorian of her class and received a
scholarship to Peabody College. Intending to be a teacher, she soon realized
that her ideal career was acting. In 1943 she married her boyfriend, Billy
Neal, moved to San Francisco, and got her first modeling job. Her pinup career
began after her divorce from Billy, with a move to New York. In 1950, she began
to model as a pinup and her popularity exploded. She worked in this field for
seven years, before removing herself from the public eye in 1957, after some of
her more controversial photos were linked to a court case against the
photographer.
Bettie Page’s style has been emulated
by many people in the past few decades. Though her fan base was originally
mostly men, she is now a fashion icon to many women. Bettie Page often made her
own outfits, particularly for photoshoots. Bettie Page knew how to dress for
her body, and emphasized that over current trends. She combined demure with risqué. In her daily
life, Page wore swing and wiggle dresses, tight sweaters, and strappy heels. Many
women seek these classing pin-up inspired fashions today. Many also don her
signature “Bettie bangs.” Her lingerie photos are also imitated, in rockabilly lingerie
collections.
The garments she wore in her pinup
photoshoots were scandalous at the time, as they were more revealing than deemed
acceptable in the 50s. Page had no problem posing nude, as she found nothing wrong
with nudity. The sexually repressed society of the time fought her overt
reclamation of her sexuality. She was confident and body-positive, and her
revealing photoshoots expressed this. Page was a sex symbol, and in contrast to
many of the pinup photos of the time, she was not portrayed as shy and
submissive. The lingerie she wore in many photoshoots made her look powerful. Page's image was not the ideal passive woman of the 50s, she was in control of her sexuality and her garments helped to display this.
Bibliography
"About Bettie Page." The Official Bettie Page. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
"Bettie Page Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
Sharyn Jackson. "Bettie Page Revealed: 6 Little-Known Facts on the Pinup Legend." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
