My brother Jack sent me a note: "One of your porn buddies is dead." Marilyn Chambers, the Ivory Snow Girl-turned smut star, had died in Los Angeles. She was 56. Truth is, I did not know Marilyn Chambers. Yes, I had some contact with the Mitchell Brothers, Marilyn's benefactors (if that's the right word, and it's not) in the old days. I wish I had met Marilyn. I never heard a bad story about her. I'm told she was very sweet. The porn business is, and was rife with brutality. I think about the pain that was inflicted on her. I sure hope she had some fun along with it. When I first came to San Francisco, the young male denizens (and a few females, too) would brag about their salacious conquests. What was missing from the news stories about Marilyn's death is this: porn in the 1970s was part of the fervent insurgency that was a hallmark of the time. That's partly why it was attractive to restless, young people looking to rattle the status quo. Shocking the public was one method. Porn was as political as it was prurient.
Is the world a better place for having Marilyn Chambers? I dunno. It's certainly not a better place without her.
Now that "Firing Line" is no longer on the air, and the deadline for "Bill Moyer's Journal" had passed, it's a good thing we have the Miss USA Pageant. This is where political and social topics of the day can now be examined.
As one floor manager barked backstage at the contestants during the competition, "This is not your mother's beauty pageant!"
Too bad.
My mother would have insisted that Perez Hilton not be invited, not be a pageant judge, and certainly may not use the towels.
I'm referring to the now-famous dust-up between Perez Hilton and Miss California, Carrie Prejean. Unfortunately for Ms. Prejean, she randomly picked his name to pose a question to her as millions of TV viewers watched. He eagerly asked her what her position was on same-sex marriage. She uneasily explained her family background and religious instruction compelled her to believe that only men and women should be married.
It was a no-win consequence for her. She didn't win. She came in second. Hilton certainly voted against her, perhaps other judges did, too. She told Matt Lauer on the following Monday on the "Today" show that she knew her dream to be Miss USA was over the minute she answered the question. She explained, gracefully, at the pageant, that she meant no offense to anyone, but this is what she believes, and she will not compromise her resolve.
Is that not called freedom of speech? It also takes guts.
Perez Hilton, the man with the preposterously manufactured name, promptly uploaded a video on his site where he called Ms. Prejean a "dumb bitch." I guess that form of free speech is acceptable to many. It didn't faze many in the enlightened world of show-business.
Perez Hilton calls himself "queen of all media." I guess he wanted to wear the tiara.
What did she say?
Hilton asked her: "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?"
Prejean paused for a moment then said, "Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage."
She continued: "And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman."
I'm not sure what she meant by choosing "same-sex marriage or opposite marriage." You can't. That's the issue.
Aside from this rhetorical cloudiness, Hilton decided to exploit the moment with a well-designed ambush on the gal, and derive all the publicity he could out of it in his typically crude fashion.
In Hollywood, one might not recall that Prop 8, California's anti-same-sex ballot measure, was approved by a majority of voters in California last November. The state remains just about split on the issue.
"Hollywood isn’t just liberal, it is fearfully liberal. It is easier in Hollywood to say you’re a drug addict or to pretty much anything than to admit to being a committed Christian," Hollywood publicist, Michael Levine told FOXnews.com.
Despite media reports, Perez did not do his cause any good. He said, "Miss USA is supposed to represent all of us." He's kidding, right?
It's a very touchy topic. Perhaps the pageant's owner, Donald Trump, should have rushed in to lecture us all on the sanctity of marriage.
The would-be, could-have-been Miss USA did what she was supposed to do: remind us there is such a thing as free speech. Free speech trumps, if you will, gay marriage -- or any other kind of marriage -- any day.
And, Perez Hilton, wash your mouth out with designer soap -- and don't use the towels.
Bruce Bellingham is also a columnist & arts writer for the Northside newspaper in San Francisco He has an idea for a new book. He'd like to call it A Brief History of Time. We think the title's been taken already. But that's all right, it's not likely Bellingham will find the time to write it anyway. Advise him: bruce@northsidesf.com
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