Farewell to two sex goddesses of old

Glamorous film stars attract because they are unattainable; porn stars titillate because they give an illusion of accessibility and possession. Those porn stars who acquire a cult following make their fans think they know them by creating an idealised yet pseudo-realistic sexuality.

In the real world, they are as inaccessible as any Hollywood stars. I once interviewed a highly profitable porn website owner and a couple of his stars in the US. The women each had a 24-hour bodyguard.

By turn objects of scandal and pity, porn stars are alternately treated as victims and temptresses. By coincidence, two celebrated conjurers of fictional sex died last month: Bettie Page in America and Ai Iijima in Japan. Page, the pin-up queen of the 1950s, died after a heart attack, aged 85.

She was not a household name in Asia. But classic photos of her in nude, mild (and humorous) lesbian bondage scenes had an irrepressible impact on the American psyche. If you remember the alluring iconic poses of Marilyn Monroe and, more recently, those of Madonna and Uma Thurman, they all borrowed from Page. Her centrefold for the Christmas issue of Playboy in 1955, wearing nothing but a Santa hat and winking naughtily, was the most joyous depiction of the festive season I have ever seen.

Hers was the Disneyland of porn, compared to the savage material prevalent on the internet today. But it was provocative enough in 1950s America for her to become a symbol of wanton depravity and earned her a summons to the US Congress to give testimony against the evils of pornography.

In the end, she was not called to testify. She was credited for helping to launch the sexual revolution of the 1960s. But it would be more accurate to say she was a sign of what was to come. At the height of her fame, she disappeared and struggled with poverty and mental illness for decades. She eventually found God as a born-again Christian. But, in her old age, she came to accept her porn legacy as a positive cultural force.