5. Sex, Ecstasy, and Cinema

Hedy Lamar and Mae Wests lives are explored in this analytical look at women in the Hays Code Movie Era. Theres orgasms, magic mike, and and cradle robbing. A gorilla is even mentioned. Yes it is all relevant to sex, ecstasy and cinema. Your jaw will be on the floor to say the least.

Transcript

Hedy Lamar and Mae West: Ecstasy, Sex and Cinema 

Hello welcome to sexy history,  where we talk about two things as old as time, sex and history. Let’s uncover what was under the covers. So roll your condoms on cause we’re gunna go deep.

Foria:

But before I get into this episode I have to tell you about a sex experience I had a couple months ago. So to preface this, I had hurt the hell out of my knee from sex. I go hard what can I say? I was putting some CBD rub on it, while doing this I thought wait, why can’t I put CBD in coconut oil and shove it up my pussy to relieve menstrual pain? This way I can take a locally active pain reliever and spare my liver. I then did a little experiment with some supplies I had, and it worked. Being the little inventor I am, I looked up to see if this was already made. It was, it was a bummer but great to know my mind was on the right track. 

The company that had created this was named Foria. Foria is an all natural sustainable CBD suppository company. And what did I do in that moment? I went click click and then I got my own CDB pussy pills. They have a few different types, including one for menstrual pain. I went for the sex enhancement pills. This has 200 mg of CBD. I set up a lil sex date and laid like star fish on my bed waiting for him to arrive. So, let me give you our review. Btw I am not being paid for this, I just need the world to know. *clears throat in texan accent* A review from her: It had been a Fortnite since I had been takin down grope street, I made myself an appointment with a man I knew would please me. While things were consistent I wanted to spice it up. And boy did I? *laugh* did you notice my throw back to the last episode, grope street? Ok real talk though I was so sensitive I could literally feel every inch of him. Because the suppository melted inside me I was craving penetration. He did eat me out and that felt amazing too. Everything was more heightened, I know you are going to ask, yes I did get a little high from it. And yes that does help the experience. While I am not a girly that needs lubricant, it is always appreciated so if that’s an issue for you, I HIGHLY recommend this product. I couldn’t tell you how good it felt more how many times I reached ecstasy. He said he loves them and wants to use them again. He also felt a little high from eating me out. That is a warning if you are sober that you should be aware of. Foria pills will make you feel high. My lover said “it was a happy high, and he was exhausted at the end because he had such intense feeling and pleasure that he didn’t crave another round like usual. His orgasm was so fulfilling he didn’t need more. So for you and your partner I recommend Foria pussy pills. 

I love that I am able to tell you about this invention and talk so openly about sex. A right that only recently has been allowed. With that I am going to move into today episode about the inventor and actress Hedy Lamar and producer and actress Mae West. 

Hedy Lamar

Thank you for joining me for another episode, I’m sure with her recent Netflix Special “Bombshell” you have heard of Hedy Lamar, as it created an explosion of trendy content about her. She was smart, she was beautiful, she was an icon. Born November 9th 1914, to a jewish Austrian family, she would eventually become a Hollywood Starlet. After escaping from her first husband (who by the way sold military planes to help Hitlers war effort), she immigrated to America.

By the time Hedy got to America, she had been acting for a while and a world renown actress for her debut role in Ecstasy which came out 1933. This film featured her running naked through a field and falling in love with a man. They fall in love and like a good man, he goes down on young Hedy Lamar, we see her reach the apex of ecstasy. This film is credited as the first film to ever to show an orgasm on screen. Though it only showed her face and a string of pearls being thrown, it sparked international outrage. Yet at the same time it also became an award winning film. 

This movie is what inspired this episode. It made me think how directors can exploit young female actresses. Then the director becomes famous for pushing boundaries, while the actress must overcome the role she was cast as. It made me think, the line between art and porn is blurred, for men. But to a woman, it is crystal clear, that his art is her porn. 

Hedy continued to act after playing that infamous role. At first casting directors didn’t want to cast her because of what she was associated with. And Hedy was just incredible to look at, it was hard for people not to see her as a beautiful object. Thus she was type cast as the beautiful stereotypical damsel in distress. Despite that her brilliance couldn’t be dulled, while waiting on set she would spend her time inventing different things. Ms Lamar quite literally had a chemistry set in her trailer. But her greatest invention would be frequency hopping. She designed this concept for WW2 missiles. Originally missiles when being fired they had to be on one frequency, so German and American soldiers were always trying to learn what frequency the other side was on to avoid their missiles. Hedy thought, well, why are they on 1 frequency? What if missiles could hop to different frequencies while on their way to the target? Because it would be consistently changing its frequency, it would thereby avoid detection. The American government did not use her invention until the Vietnam war. Then instead of paying her for her invention, they stole it under the alien intelligence act. Hedy did not see 1 dime from her invention. It wasn’t till recently was Hedy Lamar given credit and thanks for it, which was all she wanted. This frequency hopping concept would later be used to create WiFi. 

Hedy Lamar is a timeless icon. But the legacy of Ecstasy would and still does cloud her memory. In Hollywood she couldn’t get roles because of it, and today she is more known for the first onscreen orgasm rather than as an inventor. Ecstasy was like an ink stain on a fresh white linen dress. 

Mae West

While Hedy Lamar was constantly distancing herself from her sexualization, Mae West reviled in it. Mae’s white dress had so many spots on it, you’d think it was little black dress. Born in Brooklyn, on August 17, 1893, Mae West was perfectly placed in time to become one of the most controversial and beloved film stars of all time. 

Mae began performing at 7 years old. Her mother after seeing her perform helped to get her into vaudeville. 

I feel like it is pertinent to note who Mae Wests parents were. After hearing about them you can’t tell me Mae wasn’t destined to be a star. Her mother, Mathilde Delker West, was a corset fashion model. In fact she was THEE corset fashion model. Her body became the female standard of beauty. We still think of her body today when we think of 1800s fashion. Mae’s father, John Patrick West, also known as "Battlin' Jack" was a fighter, I believe he was a boxer, and a special policeman. Her father later created his own Private Investigating company. 

It is unclear who invented the dance move shimmying, but it is believed Mae popularized it.  I think she credits her way of movement to black performers she saw on vaudeville. I cannot say this for sure but one of my sources referenced this and I feel it is important to give credit to the black performers. Also for those of you that do not know, vaudeville was the more colorful version of broadway. Broadway was more white collar while vaudeville was more underground. That is the severely watered down definition of their differences.

Mae’s first Broadway performance was at the age of 18 in the show A La Broadway. While the show did not run long, she did catch the eyes of reviewers. Ms West was known for her signature walk and talk. Her Brooklyn accent and sharp masculine personality made crowds flock to her. She kept performing and eventually started writing her own scripts.

In 1926 Mae had her first starring broadway appearance as the lead role in a show she wrote titled Sex. There was no sex on stage but the story did involve a client, soldier, pimp, a rich socialite and 2 prostitutes. While reviewers hated it because of its sexual nature and immorality it had 325 performances and was a box office success. Sex was also the longest running show that year.

Do you remember that little thing called prohibition? Yea the thing that happened in 1919, well if you can’t tell people were being real sticks in the mud. Drinking was banned and you can see more and more indecency cases coming to trial. And guess who was up next to be burned at the stake? Yes our lil miss Mae. 

At this point Mae West was roughly 33 years old. She was completely financially independent, no husband, only flings and boyfriends. She blatantly disregarded the box males put females in. Mae made her own money, bought her own things, and hung out mainly with men. Her father was a fighter and she was frequently seen at these sporting events. People adored her, but the law and churches did not. She was seen as an issue, her behavior and shows incited immorality. So after 325,000 people saw the show Sex, the city charged her on morals. Keep in mind, lawyers, judges, cops, church folk all saw it, then they stormed the theater and charged her. They believed her to be corrupting the youth, the city gave her the option of a fine or jail time. She chose jail because she knew how much press it would garner. I believe it was also to cement her image of being a tough independent woman. West spent 8 days in jail and she was correct in how much national attention she amassed. 

If you didn’t already love her you are about to. After getting out of jail she wrote another show called The Drag. Yes it was about homosexuality in the 1920s. Mae was always a supporter of gay people. For her time West thought quite openly. 

The stage wasn’t enough for Mae though, she wanted to be bigger. She wanted Hollywood. Usually they say women don’t have a place in Hollywood after 30, sadly a statistic that still rings true today, luckily that was not true Mae West. She came in and stole the show at 40 years old. In her films she also tried to cast black people. While the black actors were still maids they had more lines than just “Yes Ma’am”. They had more depth because you could see their character and Mae’s character had a relationship, they cared for one another. It isn’t perfect but it was enormously progressive for her time. If you can’t tell, being progressive and pushing the envelope was her thing. By this time it is in the early 1930s. Censorship boards were creeping in and becoming stronger by the day. This is going to be a real pain in the ass for Mae. 

Despite groups trying to shut her down, she continuously sold out movies. She was a star. She was the star. She was the second highest paid person in America and on her first film contract scored 5k a week, or 110,000$ a week in today’s money. Mae invested her money and bought huge tracts of land outside of Los Angeles. She made sure her money Was Her Own. 

At some point someone found out that the notoriously single man eater Mae West had been married at 17. This really affected her reputation. In the 1940s she finally got a divorce and it forever affected her. Personally and in all her roles she refused to be wed to a man. When the public found out, they were shocked. She did have to answer to the press on having a husband. 

Hays Code

I keep mentioning the censorship board, and I know what you are thinking, who the heck is doing all this? It was the government and churches. Congress enacted the Hayes Code 1934- 1968. This was a set of rules that production companies had to follow if they wanted their movie to be able to be shown in theater. It was guidelines on what could show on screen. The overseeing body was the Hollywood Production Code Administration. Studios were required to send in scripts to be approved, then there had to be a final review of the cinema after it was finalized. 

And guess what man was in charge? Mr Joe Breen.  Mr Joe Breen was a devote catholic who enforced strict censorship laws. It is theorized that he was also antisemitic and tried to suppress jewish film makers. What is surprising to learn that even though women are disproportionately affected by censorship laws, during the hays code era, rules seemed equally enforced. It wasn’t till after the code did it become abhorrently inequitable. Although there was relative equity for appropriateness , there was still the glass ceiling, women were only allowed to play the lover, mother or wife role. But they and men were not allow to be sexually explicit at all. I’m talking two separate beds for married couples, go look it up in I love Lucy.

In Mae Wests film Bell of the Nineties (1934), the censorship board made the studio refilm the ending. The couple was originally supposed to reunite romantically at the end but Breen said nope, not going to happen under my catholic watch. Paramount was made to change the ending and they forced Mae West’s character get married. They had to do this to release the movie. It is the only film she is ever seen married in. The board did this to Mae to crush her. They did it to show her who is in charge of the film industry and it wasn’t her. They wanted to humiliate her personally and professionally. 

I think it is interesting how the morality board told film companies that if a deed was done, it must be punished. In the Bell of the Nineties Mae’s deed was engaging in sexual activities not in wedlock. Her rebellion was her lack of ownership. During one of her earlier relationships around 1914, she fell pregnant. She aborted the baby and they broke up. Ms West was left infertile from this illegal abortion. I believe her infertility is what made her able to stand up against the hierarchy of men. Yes it was her innate personality, but she never had to worry about getting pregnant and needing to leave business or the press for extended periods of time. It made it so no man could claim ownership of her. Her inability to have children kept her free. 

While most men loved Mae West, I think it made Breen and this type of man deeply angry. Its because they believe in moral karma, eve ate the apple and because she was bad all women had to bear the pain of childbirth. A pain Mae would never know. This making it so men viewed women as bad, and less than.  

She was a sexual icon because she took control of her fertility. This choice gave her the opportunity to not be controlled by man. This had me thinking about the financial laws in the early 1900s. Women couldn’t have checking accounts without a cosigner, who was most likely a husband or father. It makes me question whether Mae’s secret marriage was able to help lead her to financial success. Mae worked hard for her money and was smart about it, but because I will never see the names on her accounts I’m verbalizing my curiosity. 

Maes decline

The hays code put up an invisible wall in film. It lead to some pictures to success and others to rot because they were not “appropriate” for audiences. It also took a huge toll on Mae’s success. She was constantly being censored. Eventually the studios stopped working with her, because despite her early success and box office sales she was no match for the board. Studios went from snappy smack talking West to Shirley Temple. Whom I would like to note looks an awful lot like a mini Mae West. I’ll let you do what you want with that information.

Mae saw what was coming so she created a “regency” in Vegas. That wasn’t a thing yet but she did it. Mae self appointed and installed herself as a regent performer in Vegas. She literally couldn’t be more of a baddy. She had men on her side, but she knew for her to get back on screen but she needed the support of women. So What else would Ms West do besides start, oh idk, magic Mike before magic mike was a thing. While she would sing act and dance she had scantily clad body builders on stage with her. She said “the men come to see me and the wives come to see the men”. And here’s some juicy lil tea, later down the line she became romantically involved with one of her strong men. 30 years his senior, she fell in love with Paul Novak. With love and affection he cared for her until the day she died. He is quoted as having said “I believe I was put on this earth to take care of Mae West”. From the photos and videos I saw of them, he loved and doted on her. Its a very sweet thing to see. 

Other notable things Mae West did, she is considered to have molded modern day drag. Drag was a vaudeville show, she didn’t create it, but she boosted the currency of drag. Many drag queens model themselves after her. Men dressing as women had already been a thing but she pushed it into the lime light. 

In fact because of her masculine personality many people thought that she was a man performing as a woman. People did not see Mae Wests femininity as legitimate. This made me think that the hays code put women in a box, a passive box, the men on the board showed American women what it was like to be a woman by not allowing “different women”, like Mae, on screen. Showing us that femininity is man made. Men told us what we were allow to do and say. If they didn’t like you they made you get married on screen and would try to ruin your reputation. Oh you mean exactly what happened to Mae. 

Hedy Lamar and Mae West have never been able to separate their success and societies constant sexual exploitation of them. So what if Hedy Lamar ran naked through a field and had a on screen orgasm. So what Mae used sexual innuendo and used men the way they use women. Theses two ladies where smart powerful women who changed history. Their sexual escapades are apart of their story, sex is apart of a woman’s story. 

People have been Filming Sex since the 1800s 

Id like to go back to the first on screen orgasm. Let’s set the record straight on that, while Hedy is credited with this, she by no means was the first. Ever since moving pictures were invented people had thought “oh I can film that” this includes sex. Lamar was acting, where as some people just blatantly filmed real sex. The precode era movies had stronger female characters and more nudity. In fact “The sign of the cross”, a precode film, featured a woman naked and tied to a cross getting eaten by a gorilla is a testament to this. In that same movie there was also a lesbian dance. Yes I am not joking, this movie was shown in theaters. If you go watch Lamars “orgasm” it is absolutely nothing in comparison to this movie. In pre-code era, there was naked women, women kissed women, and women could be unapolgetically in charge of their own destiny. 

If you would like to see some of these movies, a couple of mention are, Baby Face. A movie about a woman who literally sleeps her way to the top of the company. She gets gifts and jewels, she is made rich. Then the man that was spoiling her made some bad financial decisions and asked for some of the gifts back. She said no and went on merrily living. After this movie came out men were so enraged that the studio had to re-release Baby face with a different ending. They made her lose everything, this was how the studio had to settle with the men. I don’t know about you but men are some of the biggest snowflakes I know. Like just stop, quit it. Another movie is the Redheaded Women, it has a very similar plot. In precode and during code, it is my opinion that female characters received more karmic discipline. For example, if a female did something bad she had to be punished, and it had to be that of equal or more value to what she did. If a man did something bad, he too needed to be punished, however the karmic discipline was not as bad. Look at James Bond, sleeping with multiple women, all unwed to him, then his punishment is for HER to die. Which may I add shows the unimportance of females as a whole. His punishment was losing the woman he quote “loves”. James clearly isn’t that broken up about it because he will keep doing the same thing! This also happened with Indianna Jones. Shockingly the modern ones they brought back his love (I believe because she was the least annoying of the bunch). *Pause* To punish man, they inadvertently punished women. Female actors had less shelf life, fewer parts, and parts that did not have depth. Hedy Lamar tried to play characters with depth but was continuously cast as a love interest. Mae West made herself the object of sexual attraction but flipped the script by embodying masculine traits. This is why she was able to hold on a bit more. Lets say Hedy didn’t have that role in Ecstasy, if we are being honest about the film trends, would she have gotten better parts? Given the patterns of the industry, I don’t believe so. I think she could have received more roles but they would still be damsels in distress. Something she and Mae were not. 

The enforcement of the Hays Code disproportionate affected the roles women could play and the movies they could see. Margaret Sanger, the founder of planned parenthood made a movie called Birth Control, this film was rejected and not allowed to play. In this, Margaret went around to the urban poor and offered the message that if they had less kids, they would have a better life. The board considered it publicly indecent. Was it birth control they were afraid of or the possibility of women being able to control their fertility..? The possibility of autonomy over their body was not a subject the board thought was appropriate for women to learn. 

From my research, I believe the Hays Code and censorship have created the what I am going to call the false female identity. This identity is that women are passive, supposed to be pretty, lack depth and education. We have to be weak for male characters to look stronger. Even in todays movies about women spies, she will love a regular ass Joe Schmo, who she the teaches him some fighting moves, then all the sudden he a master fighter? Something that took her years to achieve?? Men really be out here thinking that they can pin down a MMA fighter. I mean this sincerely, Wtf. 

It is incredible to me that women were forced into this box because of male fragility. If they actually want to the strong then that means men should be able to joust us in all arenas. All of us have been forced to play roles which we did not create. Many of the women history has deemed as a worthy role model were picked by men, for male power. Female subjugation is little dick energy. For example I just learned that the fastest man in the world, Hussain bolt’s record as the most decorated track star in the world was beaten by a woman. Allyson Felix, beat his record 1 year after giving birth. She had to take time off to have the baby and to recover, Hussain could train all year, yet he was beaten. But somehow we don’t know who she is? 

Men do not know what it means to be a woman, women do not know what it means to be a man, but we haven’t tried to tell them what a real man is. I am calling on women now, to end the active occupation of the female identity. And I call on men to stop plundering women’s bodies for riches. I identify a lot with Mae, I mean hello, clearly look at my podcast. Men are intimidated by me because I act and talk like them. This has hurt me professionally and personally. But I will not subdue myself to protect their facade of strength. 

Both Hedy Lamar and Mae West are dead. What they stood for and invented is not. I invite everyone to speak more kindly of women. Do not let the opinions of the past cloud your reality today. These women deserved better, they should have gotten recognition when they were alive and paid out the ass for it. I would like to thank them and the females before me for their service against male occupation. Thank you Hedy Lamar and Mae West, y’all are absolute icons. 

Thank you for coming to my Meg Talk.