View behind the scenes video footage of Ashlee James

Ashlee James drips with raw sexuality in her imagery, but once you get to know her in real life, she’s truly the girl next door.

Yet in her Savvy.com interview, she presented some provocative views on sex, her Internet persona and what really makes women tick.

Ashlee is passionate and sexual but she also values romance and loyalty. For many Savvy readers, she has taken on a larger-than-life quality that she finds puzzling.

“I get a ton of emails -- so many that I get overwhelmed going back and forth,” she said. “Some guys write in almost like I am some untouchable being. While that is flattering, it also makes me feel guilty. Men put models on some pedestal that is unattainable. I am just a normal girl and if any of these guys who wrote to me live in the state of Arizona, they could catch me out at Albertson’s in the middle of the day. They would find me with no makeup on, hair pulled up, sweaty from the gym. This happens to be what I do for a living.”

A lot of men would still hit on her, sans makeup, when they caught sight of her 36DD-26-36 figure in the fruits and vegetables aisle. A native of Detroit, this daughter of attractive Scottish parents first moved to Arizona at the age of 15. She moved to Miami but found the South Beach scene a bit fast for her, so she returned to Arizona.

Ashlee gave Savvy her thoughts…

Savvy: Your thoughts on winning the contest and having so many fans?

Ashlee: This is actually the only Internet modeling contest like this I’ve ever done. I was really surprised because I entered it on a whim. I was home recovering from surgery, I had nothing better to do, and I kept hearing about Savvy.com. I just uploaded my most recent pictures that had just been taken a few weeks prior. When I discovered the blogs is when I started to get really popular.

Savvy: I recall. You sort of took a commanding presence there.

Ashlee: I would just write about things in my everyday life that I either got kind of pissed off about or I found humorous. I would write in a sarcastic manner, sort of venting, but then also making it into an entertaining little story. That’s when everybody started to catch on and then it really took off when I discovered Chelsea Riera’s page and we started playing off each other’s comments, some playful competition. The rest of the models did not have much to say. I think that’s how I rose to the top, the blogs and answering emails.

Savvy: So you had a strategy to win it?

Ashlee: Some models carry themselves like they are on some unattainable level, like they don’t give these guys the time of day. That’s inappropriate because without emailing back and forth and developing relationships, these models wouldn’t have any type of career. Let’s face it: If you are not with a major agency or get discovered overnight, you are not going to become well-known. I work hard. Every Yahoo member I get, I work to keep them there, answering emails and letting them know where they can see me. Believe it or not, I would like every Savvy member to know that every email I get, I read it even if I can’t respond in a timely manner. Every compliment means the world to me and I do enjoy hearing feedback.

Savvy: Are you still getting penis pictures in your email? That’s our most-read blog still.

Ashlee: (Laughs) I was actually not sent any penis pictures whatsoever. I have a friend who was sent one penis picture. I was just bored and created a story about it because I thought it was funny. I did not say that people had sent me pictures.

Savvy: I got that impression. It sounded like you had a flood of them.

Ashlee: I know that other models receive pictures of men’s genitals or sex acts or just really lewd things. It was more of a sarcastic thing, which I did admit to in my Yahoo group. Also, I wanted to see how people would react to my using the word “penis” because every time I use that word, people are always either cracking up or they’re shocked.

Savvy: Speaking of shocking, you’ve done some modeling that might be deemed adult content.

Ashlee: I do a lot of work that other glamour models consider themselves above doing. I do bondage and fetish modeling because I think modeling is a lot like acting. On the really risqué nude stuff, I just kind of think to myself that I am actress and nudity is just a costume I’m wearing for this particular shoot. The shoots don’t feel sexual necessarily. Nobody is talking to me sexually or anything like that. I’ve had a lot of photographers contact me for adult content because they know I can execute that properly. I can convey a very sexual, erotic photo even when I’m not necessarily feeling that way. I do it because I enjoy it and it is challenging.

Savvy: But you are a super freak in real life, right?

Ashlee: No, not in my private life. I am actually pretty old-fashioned and conservative. I don’t believe in multiple partners, like, swinging or threesomes or orgies or anything like that. I don’t sleep around. I don’t do anything really kinky in my personal life at all. (Laughs) Maybe that’s why it is so easy for me to do these kinds of erotic shoots is because I can detach myself from that. It’s not a personal interest, just a character I take on. In real life, I pretty much keep it in the bedroom with the lights off and the door shut and under the covers with one person.

Savvy: At least that one guy gets to have fun with you. Have you ever had a girlfriend, I mean, sexually?

Ashlee: No, I think I just love men too much. I think men are so sexy that I’ve never been sexually aroused by women. I’ve shot with women, and I can see how women can be sexy, but I’ve never been physically turned on where I think I could have an orgasm or something.

Savvy: But I bet you are great in bed. When you are with that one lucky bastard who gets to share your bed, is anything off-limits?

Ashlee: Anal sex, for me, is always off-limits. And any sort of sex or foreplay involving other people. Those are my only rules in a committed relationship. I don’t like swapping. I don’t like strippers. I just like for it to be me and him.

Savvy: Okay, I am going to have to reconfigure my Ashlee sexual fantasy. Paint the picture for me.

Ashlee: When I have sex, I like music like that where it is mood music, not singing. I don’t rap, pop or rock when I have sex. I like background music that sounds very sensual. I like Sade and Enigma.

Savvy: Tell me more…

Ashlee: You have to be a good kisser. A lot of men don’t kiss. They are so focused on their penis, the size of it and thrusting it that they forget all about kissing. Kissing is number one most important and not just pecks either. I’m talking about sucking the top lip, the bottom lip, kissing my neck and shoulders. I like when a man looks into my eyes and it feels very close and sensual. I don’t like someone to just bend me over and go to town on me like a jackhammer. There’s nothing sexy to that. I like lots of concentrating on me, lots of kissing and touching and talking. More foreplay than the actual sex.

Savvy: You like it rough?

Ashlee: I would prefer my lover be aggressive more than myself. Every now and then, it is fun for me to take control, but overall, I like when he takes charge, comes on to me, even when if I’m not in the mood, if he kind of not gets rough but is just overcome with feelings of wanting me so badly that he just takes me, that is a major turn-on.

Savvy: What do you look for in a guy?

Ashlee: I have learned that there is so much more a man can offer than good looks and a large bank account. Confidence is my number one prerequisite. A confident man is so sexy. I like men with confidence because they aren't intimidated by anybody or any situation, socially or in business. I like a man who won’t settle for where he is at in his life, both personally and professionally.

Savvy: What else can guys do to keep their women satisfied?

Ashlee: Flowers and candy are nice but very cliché and old school. It’s romantic when a guy gets off his butt and does something thoughtful rather than lying on the couch watching sports from Friday night to Monday morning, when he spends time with his woman or does something out of the ordinary for her that shows she is more important than everything else in his life. If my boyfriend would take me to the mall on a Saturday afternoon and buy me something he’d like to see me in, have lunch and then go out that night wearing what he bought for me, that is romantic. That’s not so much a Hallmark gesture. It’s more giving up your time, not being selfish with your time, choosing me over your poker game.

Savvy: It sucks that men always have to give up something to show women that we love them. It’s always about the girl!

Ashlee: I like someone who is always trying to impress me. It doesn't have to be gigantic diamond rings, but just a man who can show his emotions and compassion for me. That is very important to me.

Savvy: Women say they want us guys to show our feelings, yet you then treat us like girly men. I think women love it when we aren’t too nice, when we show that we don’t need your permission to hit the strip club. You aren’t our mommies.

Ashlee: It’s not that. Men don’t get our need to be the only feminine influence in your lives. A lot of men don’t think that porn sites or strip clubs or anything like that is cheating or going outside of the relationship. It is to women. We feel betrayed when men go to strip clubs or they’re constantly downloading Internet porn.

Savvy: Wait a minute! We’re looking at you!

Ashlee: That is kind of a double standard because that’s what I do. Or just when guys get together and they check out or whistle at or talk to attractive women at a bar or just walking down the street.

Savvy: Where’s the harm in that? If we talk to another attractive girl, it doesn’t mean we’re hitting on her necessarily.

Ashlee: Women like to feel like we are the only thing in your life, that we’re up on the pedestal and something special. Men don’t get that. Men just think that we’re being emotional or jealous or overprotective, but we’re not. We actually do feel a sense of being betrayed when men engage in those activities. If men got that and sort of curtailed those activities, I think there would be a lot of husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends who got along a lot better.

Savvy: So do you think it is wrong to masturbate?

Ashlee: Oh hell no. Are you kidding me? How could it be wrong? It is your body, hopefully in the privacy of your own home or someplace where it is acceptable. You’re not hurting anyone. Most of the time, no one knows about it. I’ve heard people tell me they were raised by their parents to believe masturbation was wrong. If it is wrong, then cleaning your ears out with a Q-tip is wrong because, to me, that feels damn good. Getting a pedicure is wrong because that feels damn good. Masturbation is free. I think everyone should do it and a lot more people would be a lot less stressed if they masturbated regularly.

Savvy: What sort of porn gets you excited?

Ashlee: I have watched very little porn. I’ve never rented one of those movies. I’ve seen bits and pieces here and there, never a whole one.

Savvy: Nobody watches a whole one, at least not in one sitting. (Laughs)

Ashlee: Given what I do for a full-time living, I have seen a lot of Internet still pictures. It is all in my head. When I masturbate, I think of my boyfriend. When it comes to posing, I think about whatever turns on the men that I sleep with. I figure if that turns them on, it must turn on every other man, so that’s how I’ve always done it.

Savvy: So are you’re saying it’s okay for guys to become aroused looking at your pictures but they shouldn’t flaunt those pictures in front of their women?

Ashlee: A lot of women do not get the level of emotional and sexual satisfaction from their partner, but they see the man in their life going to strip joints and looking at porn. They think that men put so much energy into the fantasy part of it, but in all actuality, they don’t receive what they want and so wives and girlfriends think they are not good enough. They think the men in their lives would rather have sex with the women in these porn movies or the Internet porn or whatever.

Savvy: I still can’t believe your sex life is so normal and you never look at adult content outside of your job.

Ashlee: Most porn is made for men. It is a multi-billion dollar business. When I shoot for my site, I shoot with men in mind, not women. Women are not turned on physically by the sight of a woman stripping down, getting naked, fingering herself, masturbating, or some guy just plowing into a girl. That doesn’t do anything for us. Women are a little more turned on by the romance, the foreplay, talking, kissing, touching. Women need to interact whereas men are very visual and can become aroused looking at that. Women need to experience it for ourselves. We need to be touched and talked to in a sensual, erotic way, so I think women just can’t relate to it. There are porn movies geared to women, kind of like romance novels turned into a movie.

Savvy: Very intriguing stuff.

Ashlee: You just like when I say the word penis. Penis! Penis! Penis!

Savvy: What’s ahead for you?

Ashlee: Look for me to do several appearances in fitness magazines coming up. I am also booking other models that I network with and I’m kind of thinking about getting into model management, referrals. I am thinking about creating another website like mine but showcasing a number of different models, like, erotic, nude photography and Playboy or Penthouse style. It would be paying really top-notch beautiful models to come be on my website

Savvy: Sounds sweet. Tell me about losing your virginity.

Ashlee: Overall, it was a pretty shitty experience. I was dating a guy who was older. Up until I lost my virginity, my mom raised me in a Christian home and taught me to believe that if I wasn’t married, I shouldn’t have sex, that it would make God unhappy. So I had a lot of guilt. This guy didn’t believe that, so he coerced me into thinking that I should and guilted me into it. When it happened, I didn’t know what was going on. It was not sexy and did not necessarily feel good. It wasn’t exciting. And afterwards I had a lot of guilt about it. Plus, he was a real dork.

Savvy: You do such erotic imagery, it’s hard to believe your parents were religious.

Ashlee: My mom and dad divorced when I was very young. My dad smokes weed, he married a stripper 20 years younger than him. He was Mr. Nude America back in 1980. He’s very out there. My mom is that way now, but when I was in junior high, she was raising us on her own. She tells me now that she buckled down on my sister and I for a few years because she was afraid that we were going to go in the wrong direction because she was a single parent, afraid to take it on herself. She did have us go to a nondenominational Christian church. When I turned 18 and graduated high school, she said, “I’ve done the best I can with you, now it is up to you.” Both of my parents are aware of what I do and while they raised me not to be ashamed of my body, they did teach me to make good choices, not to sleep around. I act very risqué and sexual and erotic on camera, but when it comes down to who I am personally, that’s not necessarily who I am. My parents do not see the modeling that I do as degrading because they know that it is just acting for me.

Savvy: Back to sex for a minute. What do most guys do wrong in trying to get you into bed?

Ashlee: They try too hard. They lie. They pretend to be something they’re not. That is the biggest turnoff when a man is not confident in whom he is. Maybe he lies about what he does or how much money he makes. Another thing is when a guy is clearly intimidated by me, like some guys come up and try to hit on me, but I can tell they are so nervous and intimidated by me, that’s a big turnoff. I want someone that can come up to me and carry on a normal everyday conversation. Maybe it’s about sports or something going on in the news. Engage me in interesting conversation. Don’t try too hard.

Savvy: That’s easy for a hot woman to say.

Ashlee: I think I look my sexiest when I don’t try too hard, when my hair is done and a little bit of makeup on but I’m not in a low-cut blouse and mini-skirt, maybe I’m just in a tank top, a wife beater with jeans and heels, just hanging out. If I am out with my girlfriends like that, that is usually when I get the most attention from men.

Savvy: But you are being propositioned, not propositioning.

Ashlee: For some reason, guys think they are on a lower level than the women they approach. Women can smell that and we’ll just chew ‘em up and spit ‘em out if we sense that he feels inferior. Guys should be confident and just approach us without trying too hard. Both men and women say that I am easy to talk to and easy to be around. I think that is the nicest compliment that anyone can give me. I am like a marshmallow, so easygoing.

Savvy: Ah, come on. I think you could be a real bitch if you tried hard.

Ashlee: A lot of girls are bitches in that situation, but I’m not. The only time I am not nice is when a guy approaches me with a cheesy, rehearsed line. You can tell he’s insecure about himself and in order to get the balls to come talk to me, he has to conjure up some story or make himself up to be something he’s not. I like to talk to people who are real. If a guy approaches me being himself and I already have a boyfriend, I’ll still invite him to join my friends and me and have a beer.

Savvy: You hide your beer gut pretty well.

Ashlee: I love beer. I often crave an ice-cold Michelob Ultra as much as chocolate! I love sweets, especially chocolate. I have cravings for chocolate so badly that I will get out of bed in the middle of the night, drive to the store and buy a Hersey’s bar just to satisfy my craving so I can go back to sleep.

Savvy: And yet you still look hot.

Ashlee: I am very passionate about my health and body. It is really important to me to be fit and in shape. I just love to exercise. Even though I am muscular, I don't lift weights at all anymore. I am really into cardiovascular workouts instead of weight training and feel so exhilarated when I go for a run or long hike.

Savvy: I prefer other ways of sweating.

Ashlee: (Laughs) Talk about working your heart! I really enjoy all types of exercise, but I am not a workout fanatic. I like to think that beauty is not just skin deep and that there is beauty in all shapes and sizes. One of my other favorite things to do is stretching and yoga. I think it is sexy when a woman is limber and can bend and stretch any which way you want her to.

Savvy: There you go, getting me all worked up again.

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On the Net:
http://groups.yahoo.com/adultconf?dest=%2Fgroup%2Fashleejames%2F (Warning: Nudity)