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CSUN lecture to explore “The Life and Times of Xaviera Hollander” on Friday
By Donnella Collison

Dr. Kristyan Kouri will present a lecture titled “The Life and Times of Xaviera Hollander” about famed sex columnist Xaviera Hollander on Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. at the California State University, Northridge, in Sierra Hall Room 451.

Hollander, who was once a call girl and a famed New York madam in the 1970s, achieved mainstream success with the release of her bestselling book, “The Happy Hooker: My Own Story.” According to Kouri, Hollander then became known as someone who could write about sex positively and who could talk about women’s sexual pleasure.

Kouri’s lecture is part of a series of six colloquium presentations by CSUN faculty organized by Dr. C. Jacob Hale, the director of CSUN’s Center for Sex and Gender Research.

Hale said this series gives “faculty members an opportunity to present their scholarly work in progress in a supportive environment and to make more visible the expertise of CSUN faculty about sex, gender and sexuality.”

Kouri, who holds a doctorate in sociology from USC, describes the presentation as a “social psychological analysis of Hollander’s life.”

“I think that if she had had more opportunities, maybe she could have been a CEO. Her story speaks to the social constraints of society,” Kouri said.

Kouri added, “Prostitution is a Pink Collar occupation (jobs that are held primarily by women e.g. typists, secretaries). She fell into something that paid better (than her job as a secretary for the Dutch Consulate) and women are permitted to go into socially. Women are valued for their sexuality.”

She said that call girls like Hollander were usually poised, well-educated women, who moonlighted in the “high-class” profession.

“I believe that more women did than let on,” Kouri said.