Naked Ambition: Women Who Are Changing Pornography

by Dashka Slater and Carly Milne

When adult entertainment first appeared on the pop culture radar as an underground film phenomenon, women were little more than starlets, who--for the most part--answered to men. But as pornography... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786715901
• ISBN13: 9780786715909
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Women empowering themselves

This book consists of essays by a number of women working in porno or related fields although not prostitution. There are no victim stories here, which may or not give a misleading impression of the industry as a whole but it demonstrates that sassy young women of certain kinds can make a living and find their identity and indeed enrich their lives and understanding of themselves in this area as in any other. I recommend this book as a contribution to understanding sex positive femininity if not feminism itself and as a demonstration that many women are taking back the night of their own sexuality through the making of and enjoyment of porn. Porn is no longer totally male dominated as this book amply demonstrates. My only disappointment was I would like to have seen an essay by Candida Royalle.

Bite size autobiographies of adult industry professionals

Carly has done a good job of collecting stories from people inside the adult industry. As a member of the industry, I'm aware of the back story on some of the people listed here. What I can tell you is that the stories are certainly accurate from their perspective. I would have preferred to see more commentary from Carly in the book. Since she has had the opportunity to work with some of the adult industry people in a professional capacity, she could have given us some perspective on the stories. Or, even brief side comments on how she chose the people involved and the process to get them to offer their stories. With the people involved, I'm sure there were some interesting events. In its presented format, her involvement seems nominal, and almost a deception as "author." She's a talented writer, and could have used this platform to introduce herself to the literary world. I'd like to see more of the cover promise of "how they are changing the sex industry." As another reviewer here says, some of those included in the book are certainly not writers. In contrast to that opinion, I find it refreshing to hear their words directly. not through the "make it sound nice" filter so often used in autobiographical works. This format also doesn't take a story that warrants a very long chapter and tries to stretch it into a full blown book. (No pun intended) I've been disappointed by some of the other biographies released in recent years that were thin, and obviously puffed to fill a book. Here, we get many mini books for the price of one. In that sense, it's a bargain for the price of the material. If you want to start doing research on people in the industry, this is a good place to start. All in all, a very good read from the professional pleasure creators.

A pleasant surprise!

My boyfriend is a big Tera Patrick fan, so I got this for him after finding out she wrote a chapter. He hasn't had a chance to read it yet because I have been hogging it. After reading this, I am not only a fan of Tera's, I am fan of most of the women that contributed to it. This book is fascinating! There is so much more to the porn industry than meets the eye. I feel like a jerk for saying this, but I had no idea how intelligent some of these women are. I know that this is supposed to be a review and not a live journal entry, but I have to share this. I think it really shows the spirit of the book. I actually bought the book from one of the women that contributed! My boyfriend dragged me into Eros Boutique, in Boston, a year ago to get an outfit for a party. I've only been in there a few times, but everyone that was working seemed nice. There was no creepy vibe so I wasn't afraid to go back by myself to get his birthday presents. The girl working (not Sheila) told me about the book after I bought a few of Tera's videos. After reading it, I went back to get another copy of Naked Ambition for a friend of mine, and I bought it from Sheila Rae! Her chapter was one of my favorites. She wasn't a snob or anything when I asked her to sign it, either. She was pretty busy so I didn't get a chance to talk to her for long, but I did enough to think that she seemed pretty down to earth. These are just normal women with very interesting stories to tell. I didn't realize how judgemental I was until I read this. It's kind of a wake up call. You don't have to like porn to like this book.

A good easy read

As a female director myself in the more kinky side of porn I really enjoyed and related to the women that wrote for this book. I loved that the articles are all around 10-15 pages each which is the perfect length to read in a single sitting at a coffee shop, over lunch, etc. Some of the women I know, some I know of and others from more behind the scenes had a really interesting perspective on what they do. Agood, easy, lighthearted read from women proud of what they do in pornography. My director name: Chanta Rose

Perspectives from the industry

I bought this book expecting to find a lot of cliches, some of the same ole industry hype. Instead I was given the perspectives of many people in and around the industry that I found refreshing and at times ironic and funny. I was particularly intrigued by the chapter dealing with the ErosBoutique Sex Toys and Adult Products store owner. ([...]). A day at the waterslides with mom and the kids.. and on the phone talking sex toys with the Ricki Lake show is a fabulous little story and so very human. I've worked in the adult industry for years, and I too have been a woman who has taken control and benefited, improved and dignified what has far too long been left to bring nothing more than cheap unimaginative trash. Bravo for the book and Bravo for all the women who are taking the reigns instead of being barrled over by the horse and cart! Patricia