http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/q/chi-0410030501oct03,1,4634652.story
It finally came out! I thought it would be more since they asked for a release.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------GATHERINGS
Their cups runneth over
`Pinup' fans get all the `glamor' their cameras, and wallets, can manage
By Chris McNamara
Special to the Tribune
Published October 3, 2004
Boobs. They are the first and second thing you notice upon entering Glamourcon, the largest pinup and glamor-related show in the world. They are omnipresent, massive, bulbous and as fake as the names of the women heaving them throughout the convention hall.
"Mine are 36DD, but they're not as large as they look," insisted adult film actress Taylor Wane.
OK, Taylor.
About 900 guys (it's nearly exclusively guys) turned out on a recent weekend at the O'Hare Holiday Inn in Rosemont to browse dirty magazines and meet the models who pose between the pages. "These guys are like any other hobbyists," said Glamourcon founder Robert Schultz. "And Chicago has the most intense collector types."
There was a broad range of "glamorous" items to choose from. X-rated mouse pads, anyone? Oil paintings of naked she-warriors straddling dragons? Teri Martine of Lake Geneva-via-London pushed a particularly British product--raincoat fetish photos and videos.
"I have no idea why anyone is into this," she said with a hint of an accent. "But I know that the raincoats have to be transparent. It's a crazy world, especially in this business."
Elsewhere at the show, the items for sale ranged from silly to oh . . . my . . . word. A model named Netmichelle sold snow globes containing topless photos of herself. Wane sold bars of soap that are anatomically, if not politically, correct. "I'm the second adult star to be cast in resin," she beamed.
OK, Taylor.
In one corner a booth sold corsets that are designed to accentuate the busts of models whose cup sizes boldly venture toward the center of the alphabet.
"These are work clothes for girls in this industry," said Dorothy Jones of The Other Woman corset shop, based in St. Louis. "All our corsets are customized because all these women are customized."
Case in point: Anna-Lee Jackson, a 22-year-old erotic model from Evansville, Ind., who, without a trace of irony, wore a corset named "The Virgin." The white lace pumped up her inflated breasts to within inches of her chin.
Pressing the flesh
Perhaps more valuable than the merchandise at Glamourcon was the chance for attendees to mingle with their favorite models and actresses. The nearly naked women chatted as they signed autographs (for a fee) and posed for pictures (for a fee). And the guys, many lugging professional cameras, were expert shots.
Deauxma (it's pronounced "do me") was dressed as some sort of leather cop/dominatrix/Matrix thing. She was there to get exposure for her career of exposing herself.
"The guys get to see that you're a real person," she said behind mirrored sunglasses.
Across the aisle sat Marilyn Chambers, who gained notoriety in the early '70s when her image as the wholesome mother on the Ivory Snow box coincided with her appearance in blue films.
At 52 she still attends these events, signing autographs for fans and peers alike, who view her as a porno pioneer.
"I'm a porn star," Wane said. "But she's a legend. She graces us with her presence."
OK, Taylor.
One fan presented a few of the models with a screenplay he wrote "just for them." It reads like a smutty form letter--a C-level attempt at a B movie: "The beautiful [actress' name] entered the room and took a seat upon a large, very comfortable sofa."
This screenplay made most of the women very uncomfortable.
"It's always the same guys," sighed Tailor James, June 2003 Playmate.
Kevin Gelarden, 33, said he has been to every Glamourcon since 1999. "It makes them more of a person when you meet them," said the Elk Grove Village resident. "And they have to be friendly. That's what they're here for."
Out of their element
As she sat behind a table covered in nude photos of herself, model Jennifer Taylor admitted that she does feel awkward.
"Sometimes I just want to cover these photos up," she said.
Soon enough she could. It was late afternoon on Sunday, the last day of the show. And some of the women seemed tired, uninterested. They may have been sick of answering the same questions for the guys who drool at them all day. They may have been tired from Wane's birthday party in the hotel bar the previous night.
Or maybe they were tired of trying to live up to their images. To maintain their appearance from the photos, where they are airbrushed and posed and properly lighted, not sitting behind a card table, hustling dollars under harsh fluorescent lights.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
