Rudy
Not Guliani.
I’ve mostly been ignoring Cassandra’s Female Desire Week, because I’ve been under the weather and not in the mood for desiring much more than water and vitamins.
But, alas… no Female Desire Week is complete without a discussion of Rudolph Valentino.
Look how pretty!
And, he could dance, too!
Now, the thing about Valentino is that he’s basically the first male mass media sex symbol. He’s the damned prototype all those other dudes are based on… At a time when it was pretty much unheard of to put an Italian in a movie at all (We’re talking white Zorro, here, folks), Valentino became the original Latin Lover. People tend to think of the “sexual revolution” as something that happened in the 60’s. But, the 1920’s were incredibly revolutionary as well, and Valentino was right there on top of the carnal re-imagining of the Western world.
The earnestness of his fan base was unrivaled until Elvis hit the scene decades later. When he died in 1926, 2 women allegedly committed suicide in their grief, and 100,000 people crowded the streets of New York to pay their respects.
tags: movies, sex versus romance
You’re right! this is a wonderfully witty and well-informed post. Thanks.
Janet Grace Riehl
www.riehlife.com
— Janet Grace Riehl Mar 21, 06:11 PM #
Oh. you’re right on. Hubba hubba. But, with all the ultra-suave pretty boys I’m kind of torn: do I want fuck them or be just like them?
— Vanessa Mar 24, 12:53 AM #
Is it just me or was that man just the feyest straight sex symbol evar?
I mean, my God.
He looks like Wani in The Line of Beauty, although I couldn’t find any pictures of his sidelong looks:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/lineofbeauty/alex_wyndham.shtml
Hee. “Download photos of Alex Wyndham.” Why, yes, I would like that very much!
— piny Mar 24, 10:20 AM #
But, with all the ultra-suave pretty boys I’m kind of torn: do I want fuck them or be just like them?
Why would it have to be one or the other?
Okay, you know who’s damn pretty? Alex Wyndham.
— piny Mar 24, 10:26 AM #
He was called “The Powder Puff” when he was alive. It was quite a scandal. He threatened FISTICUFFS!
— Veronica Mar 24, 01:44 PM #
Butch!
— piny Mar 24, 05:33 PM #
Alex Wyndham is my boyfriend’s best friend from school. They actually lived together for about a year after leaving university. There was a point when I was living there too, before I got a job and could afford my own place.
Jealous? ;-)
— Lucy Mar 25, 07:11 AM #
Of course I am.
— piny Mar 26, 09:49 AM #