{alltv} In defence of Pamela Anderson

"Mutton dressed as lamb." This is a wry, old British idiom I heard the other day that wickedly describes how older women can look when they try to dress in young, hip clothes.

I've heard it uttered a few times before, but this time, I haven't been able to get the sexist term out of my head.

So, I plugged the words "mutton dressed as lamb" into a search engine. Lo and behold, up popped a whole bunch of photos of current celebrities considered to be on the "mutton-dressed-as-lamb" list.

There were the Sex and the City gals (all in their 40s and 50s), singers Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, actresses Joan Collins and Goldie Hawn and "¦ Rod Stewart. (Apparently, the British tabloids are still keen on this expression.)

I disagree that any of the above should make any inappropriately dressed list. Because they're over 40 they should be frumpy and not fashionable?

But most irksome of all was seeing our Pamela Anderson on this denigrating list, complete with links to a slew of other creepy blogs and websites devoted to ripping her apart.

While Anderson has certainly cultivated the title of Canada's cleavage queen by installing and maintaining large fake boobs and wearing revealing clothes, the fact is, she deserves a lot more respect than she gets.

Anderson has never misrepresented herself. She is, and always has been, a sexy girl.

"There's no way I set out to be a certain kind of symbol," she said. "The way I dress is the way I am, the way I live my life."

At age 21, she began her modelling career as a Playboy playmate (after being spotted at a BC Lion's game and getting a big cheer from the crowd) and her first foray into acting was the 1990 video, Playboy: Sexy Lingerie II.

She has since appeared on the cover of Playboy more than any other woman in history. Sexiness is her deal and she single-handedly set the standard for "blond bombshell" when she became world-renowned in the 1990s playing the hot lifeguard C.J. Parker on the TV series Baywatch.

This sexiness did not erode when she turned 44 last year -- just check her out dancing up a sensual storm in those sexy outfits on last season's Dancing With the Stars.

Hollywood is a tough town and now that Anderson is getting older, the talons are out.

OK, it's easy sport to poke fun at her for endorsing this month a new Bobblehead of her called Bobblin' Boobs. But I think it's funny and good spirited.

There's certainly nothing to laugh at Anderson's business acumen: Her perfume deals, her world-wide appearance and Las Vegas casino deals, plus plenty of guest-acting gigs on international TV shows such as last year's Bollywood series, Bigg Boss.

She also makes plenty of lingerie -- her body is, as always, fine and firm. And, last month, she launched her own line of stockings through an online company, Secrets in Lace.

"Mutton dressed as lamb?"

More like "If you've got it, flaunt it!"