Raquel Welch, 69, has just published a book.
The actress and sex symbol Raquel Welch, now 69, talks about her new book Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage.
Your book is part autobiography and part practical advice. But a lot of it comes down to your ideas on how a woman should carry herself, right?
It's my personal philosophy of being a woman. I feel women have had a radical role change since I first came on the scene as a young girl.
Is the change positive?
Some of it is, in that new opportunities opened up for women outside the home. But, in general, I don't think the private woman has been represented by younger women in a way that is constructive, for their personal lives or for society.
Do you mean the poor examples set by Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears?
No, I'm not talking about them per se. Because I don't want to judge people I only know through the media. I find both of them to be very attractive and talented in their own way. I'm talking about just regular folk out there. I mean, when you have 13-year-old girls that are performing fellatio on boys in school, and they think that's just fine - "everybody does it, mom" - that's a little daunting. You wonder how it got that way.
You must have some idea.
I went to school in the 1950s, and there were some things you just didn't do. The sexual activity now is so prolific that it borders on devaluing the whole of society, and women in particular. I don't think women have gained anything by that - imitating porn stars.
Is there something to be said for empowerment, though?
I think women should hold themselves with some pride, and as if they are a person of value - and not just for any taker. Let's face it, these are the future mothers. We want them to be protected, and we want them to protect themselves.
You say in your book, "keep your legs crossed and protect your womb." Again, are we looking at someone like Britney Spears here?
I would rather not put a name on somebody. I think Britney has had her share of bashing, and I don't want to add to that. I think that young girls, including Britney, have been impressed by older women who have set a rather provocative, and a very promiscuous, role model for them.
In the book, you say your famous doe-skinned bikini is in mothballs. Did you mean that figuratively ?
It is in a trunk somewhere. I still have it with all my old costumes.
Was the image of your cave woman in One Million Years B.C. a healthy one?
I think it was. What I liked about it is that she is a very strong woman, and not somebody who is a pushover. And I liked that.
That movie came out in 1966, a time when sexual mores were changing.
I think there was a kind of celebration then. It was an awakening - that this was a new generation. Certainly the women's movement helped a lot. But I think it morphed into something quite a bit different than we imagined.
Did you burn your bra back then?
No, I didn't. But, then, I didn't really have to wear one at that point.