GREEN & GLOVER: Naomi hearts Angelina

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Naomi hearts Angie

Feminist author and Democratic political consultant Naomi Wolf has a girl crush on screen goddess Angelina Jolie.

With Miss Jolie's "curtain of hair and those crazy pillowy lips, she is an obvious male sex fantasy," Ms. Wolf writes in an essay for fashion bible Harper's Bazaar, now on stands. "But more suggestively, polls show that her appeal and magnetism play at least as powerfully in the fantasy life of females."

Ms. Wolf, the former wife of Clinton administration speechwriter David Shipley, notes that it's normal for women to daydream about the partner of Brad Pitt because "polls also show that if women - not just lesbian and bisexual women but straight women - had to choose a female lover, they would want to sleep with Angelina Jolie. In other words, women both identify with her and desire her."

The author of the best-selling manifesto "The Beauty Myth," which rails against the cosmetic industry for its supposed sexism, Ms. Wolf says Miss Jolie should be celebrated as a feminist role model "because she has created a life narrative that is not just personal. Rather, it is archetypal. And the archetype is one that really, for the first time in modern culture, brings together almost every aspect of female empowerment and liberation."

Ms. Wolf says the magic of the unmarried mother of six, Academy-Award winner, U.N. Goodwill Ambassador and tattoo wearer is that "she makes the claim, with her life and actions, that, indeed, you can get away with it. All of it. Against every Western convention, she has managed to draw together all of these kinds of female liberation and empowerment. And her gestures determinedly transgress social boundaries - boundaries of convention, race, class, and gender - giving many of us a vicarious thrill."

Whew! Take a cold shower, Naomi!

Ms. Wolf ends her piece with the vow that "I for one will keep watching, since Jolie's image is not just a mirror of one woman but also a looking glass for female fantasy life writ large."

Hot mama

Speaking of ladies who need a cool-down, Gloria Vanderbilt, the socialite mother of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper known for her sexy line of designer jeans, has just released her new novel, "Obsession: An Erotic Tale."

"I'm often surprised by my mom, but always supportive of anything she does. She is totally unique and cool. At 85, whatever she wants to write is fine by me, " Mr. Cooper tells G2.

Not ones to shy away from sleazy reads, we picked up a copy of the book, and here's what we found.

Ms. Vanderbilt's heroine is Priscilla Bingham, who is described as having "copper-burnished hair swirling into patterns as if by mild breezes" and eyelashes that "swooped up into a sooty fringe accentuating eyes the blue of true sapphire."

Married to a filthy-rich architect named Talbot, Priscilla is described as "cold and frigid" and inhabiting the rarified world of WASPy culture among lavish estates on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Soon widowed, Priscilla stumbles across her husband's personal papers after his death. After some digging, she learns that her dearly departed had a mistress who doubled as a sex slave and discovers that in their passionate trysts, they dabbled in spanking, binding with "silken chords" and creativity in their use of inanimate objects such as hairbrushes.

Use your imagination, folks. This is stuff that would make Anne Rice blush.

Ms. Vanderbilt herself is rich and widowed and knows a thing or two about the opposite sex: She was married four times.

Perhaps CNN will do a special documentary on the bedroom antics of bored heiresses. That would be a boon for ratings.

• To contact Stephanie Green or Elizabeth Glover, e-mail undercover@washing tontimes.com.