Sexspionage: Talking about Wonder Women Spies

Former spies and spy lovers alike will converge in Raleigh, North Carolina from March 25 to 27, 2009 for the sixth annual International Spy Conference. This year’s intriguing conference theme “Sexspionage: Famous Women Spies and the Ancient Art of Seduction” will explore the careers of some of the most successful female spies in the world.

Speakers will include ex-CIA officer Brian Kelley, as well as international military intelligence, FBI agents and espionage writers, such as Ron Olive, the agent who served on the team that captured Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard; IC Smith, former FBI special agent who worked to catch  Chinese female spy Katrina Leung; British espionage writer and researcher Terry Crowdy; Cold War journalist Jerrold Schecter and his wife Leona; and keynote speaker Nigel West, former Member of Parliament and author of the forthcoming Historical Dictionary of Sexspionage.

The event organizers, Metro Magazine and its editor Bernie Reeves (who knows all there is to know about espionage and then some), have said, “As the flood of newly declassified documents over the past 15 years attests, female operatives were responsible for many of the most daring intelligent operations of the modern era – while others played a notorious role working against the United States.”

In the dark world of modern espionage, women are reams more than the eye candy they often adopt as a convenient cover. No longer in supporting actress roles, they take the lead…all the more reason for a re-issue of the newly released shoe phone in stiletto form!

The conference will be held at the North Carolina Museum of History. For tickets and more information, check out: www.raleighspyconference.com. Great discounts on offer for female attendees!

Raleigh’s not the only city with women spy discussions on the circuit. If you happen to be in Washington D.C. this Wednesday, March 4th, be sure to catch a female spy evening at the International Spy Museum, where the life and times of Josephine Baker, famous singer, dancer and spy, will be discussed by Jonna Mendez, former CIA Chief of Disguise. An African-American woman who moved to France to escape the racism in the US, Josephine became the headline act of the Parisian nightclub scene, achieving the height of acclaim at the legendary venue Folies Bergère. When WWII broke out, she used her fame to hang out with enemy officials, reporting whatever intel she picked up to the French. She remained in France after the country was invaded and continued to serve her adoptive country in an espionage capacity. Josephine Baker was truly an icon who used her feminine appeal and success to further the Allied efforts during WWII. Who wouldn’t want to hear all about her daring exploits?

book cover image courtesy of raleighspyconference.com; JB image courtesy of mookychick.co.uk