Jezebel
Village Voice columnist, author, adult film director, anal sex guru, and all-around sex educator Tristan Taormino is one of the most quotable women I've ever met in my life. When I interviewed her on Friday morning in Vivid Entertainment's booth at the Adult Entertainment Expo, I was having a hell of a time — in my hung-over condition, mind you — trying to write as fast as she talked. Seriously, I haven't worked my hand that hard since, well actually, since I got home last night and watched Chemistry 3, the latest installment of her reality DVD series that's sort of an experiment in pornography. Tristan puts six porn stars in a house for 36 hours, with no script, shooting schedule or scene requirements, and lets the sex happen naturally, allowing the performers to establish their own boundaries (or lack thereof). It's concepts like this that has Tristan challenging the existing order of things in the adult industry, as well as challenging typically non-porn watching audiences to open their minds to something they hadn't realized they could enjoy. Oh, and also, she's kuh-raaazy smart.
Lately, more than ever, there seems to have been a resurgence of second wave-y anti-porn sentiment in feminism — and even on Jezebel — which to me, is weird for many reasons, perhaps most notably because mainstream people seem to be embracing the idea of pornography more than ever. I mean, the pages of O magazine even recommend a sex-positive attitude about porn, for crying out loud. Tristan agreed that it's growing trend, citing Ariel Levy's Female Chauvinist Pigs as an example.
"Porn has always been, and continues to be a huge issue for women. I don't know if the debate will ever be over," Tristan said, "But it's hard to hear from other feminists. They haven't seen my porn, they haven't seen Candida Royalle or Belladonna. So they don't see that porn is not one monolithic thing that's all bad."
When asked how she deals with that, she said that she believes everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that they should watch her movies before expressing it to her. "Porn is complicated. [The perception of it by the public] has been over simplified. Porn is as cerebral as it is visceral."
And that makes sense, considering many of her movies are educational. Her Expert Guides series (for anal, cunnilingus and fellatio) sort of break the porno mold: She's into organic and authentic climaxes. ("I would rather the actors share a part of their sexuality, than have me tell them what to do.") And in the Guide to Cunnilingus, there aren't any penis penetration shots, which, she said, Vivid initially told her wouldn't work, because "if there's no cock, there's no scene."
But changing the way things are done is all part of Tristan's master plan. "Everything I do is deliberate—very deliberate."
[Image by Jeff Koga for Fleshbot]
Earlier: Fear And Clothing In Las Vegas
Last Night I Boned An AVN Award Nominee
You Never Forget Your First Time: My Day At The Adult Entertainment Expo
Related: 2008 AVN Awards: Dispatches From The Front
(Lots And Lots More) AVN 2008 Red Carpet Photos: Still Gagging On The Glamour
Comments
I hope we get more from your interview than this! My interest has been piqued.
*applause*
I've never been motivated to actually /purchase/ porn before, and now I am.
Re: the smartness -- she's Thomas Pynchon's niece or something.
Is she offering internships?
Ms. Taormino is my idol.
Hmm. I have never heard of smart porn. By women. It is usually degrading to women and all the women seem incredibly stupid. But I am lumping it all into one stereotype.This could be very interesting.
@yidvicious: and a wesleyan grad! which makes so much sense. ariel levy, too.
I dunno. I can't come if I'm actually *thinking.* I have never seen cerebral porn but I think I would hate it.
Nothing makes more sense to me than feminists having a different take on pornography than O Magazine and "mainstream people".
cerebral porn gives a new meaning to "giving head"
I wouldn't mind checking that out. I've been looking for some good porn. Everything I have is either crap or gay porn, which the BF isn't really into (that was my single girl guilty pleasure).
My mixed feelings toward porn are from the fact that one can never know the motivation of the entertainers involved. If it's because they enjoy sex and enjoy making their livings this way, how can I know that for sure? How can I entangle this from so many of the other elements that sometimes lead people into a life of porn -- past abuse, drug addiction, etc? How can this ever be entangled? Its history is so bad.
Beyond that, many porn viewers (I won't say "most," because I don't know, of course) don't even care to entangle these issues, don't care who's producing the porn and why, and don't care about its effects on themselves or women.
If porn existed in a healthy vaccuum, I think I'd have no problems with it.
@dcdulce: Yeah or "brain" as the kids call it these days. I knew they were doing it at earlier and earlier ages but I never figured that might mean higher IQs etc. etc.
@badmutha:
I have "Chemistry 2", and yes, it is pretty stupid. One giant clue to its inevitable disappointment should have been the producer's need to put "Smart" in the production company's name.
Her "Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women" is the only porno I refuse to delete from my computer.
she is the best. she spoke at a college near where i used to live and she was amazing. and her porn is hot too.
i think some of the backlash might be BECAUSE of the mainstreaming of porn. it has a radical, subversive and countercultural feel to resist porn because it seems to be everywhere, so much a part of our daily capitalist consumerist lives that i think people who are engaged in other forms of resistance (like feminism) are rethinking acceptance of porn.
@stuckingoshen: Totally! Are you a Wes grad too?
I heart porn. For the record.
@badmutha: i agree with you on one level, but i think taormino's quote about vivid's take on her work "if there's no cock, there's no scene" seems like quite a statement if you think about it.
If there's no TV repairman or pizza guy, I'm not coming. Literally.
Actually, just going for the cheap gag there. But I find it hard to believe, though, that Vivid is actually producing this kind of auteur porn. Seems really out of their demographic. Which isn't a bad thing by any means.
This is interesting. I've never heard of her. Going to have to look into it.
@J.D.Regent: of course the problem with that is that yeah, porn is not monolithic. but i do think it's hard for a lot of women to find porn that they are comfortable with.
@BeSarcastic: you might like kink.com because they are really transparent about consent and always show you clips from before and after the shooting so you can see that everyone was having fun, etc.
Why do people need to complicate matters? Porn doesn't need to be smart or dumb -- It's just sex, people. S.E.X. People trying to make a Ph.D. about sex just is silly to me. Of course, i don't get wanting to watch people get off to get turned on either. Not saying it's wrong, it's not - i just don't get it. My sexual dna does not compute I guess.
@BeSarcastic:
"unentangled," not "entangled."
@J.D.Regent:
I'll check it out, thanks.
@BeSarcastic: Well said.
Now, see, to me if there IS cock, there is no scene. Just sayin'.
@rednrowdy: I agree, she is obviously trying something new. I just get so skeeved out by regular porn, i.e. like @BeSarcastic: was talking about. And as for thinking, @Jezebelmoe: how can you not during sex?
All this talk about cerebral porn reminded me of this defensive quote from the Times piece on romance novels:
"A good many historical romance novels contain author's notes listing where you can go for more information. There are romance novelists who use footnotes."
Footnotes! How kuh-raaazy smart.
@BeSarcastic: depending on your tastes you might be offended by some of it (it is called kink) but there are like 15 diff sites so i'm sure you can find some movies you like.
a@bonnilicious: as someone who's obsessed with sexual theory, i can still agree with you that i don't need my porn to be smart. in fact, i think i must prefer dumb porn, because inevitably the MOMENT its mission is accomplished, i find myself simultaneously cringing and turning off the television/computer.
@BeSarcastic: @J.D.Regent: I love that you asked these questions and that JD gave you a solution.
to clarify- i don't watch porn to be entertained.
@badmutha: i'm there with you. and agree with BeSarcastic. if it existed in a healthy vaccuum, then i'd be fine with it. outside of that, i tend to agree with naomi wolf about porn. i still think the connection btwn plastic surgery on women and porn isn't the healthiest thing, either.
1. Did anyone ever answer me re: the Pirates porn?
2. I still like dirty, bi Brazilians the bestest!
3. Do we have any ex-porn star Jezzies (not counting home video, durr)?
4. How come whether or not the Jezeboys or Jezeboyfriends like it up the ass hasn't been discussed? Or has it, and I missed it?
I think that takes care of all my dirty queries for the day. So far. Thanks!
@rednrowdy: Let's just say I don't want my daughter going that route when she is older. Healthy it is not.
@Susan B.: I wish. Everyone I know went to Wes. Like a baby Brown, it leads to being cuddly and very, very cerebral and not making a lot of money doing nice, radical non-profit things.
And the liberal arts porn classes you can take there! Wow.
@rednrowdy: this is such a fascinating topic to me, because i've often found that politics and desire clash. not to get all bataille/foucault here, but i think it's the fact that i'm so horrified politically by things like Girls Gone Wild, where young drunk girls degrade themselves for male approval, that makes those things turn me on. transgression and whatnot.
@skinnybonejones: I have to relate a Bush joke (hehe, I said Bush) An aide comes in and says "Sir, we have Brazilians fighting for us in Iraq!" And Bush says "That's great! How many are a brazilian?"
@badmutha: that's a bush joke on two different levels. snap!
@incurable paranoiac: Yeah but then you got all "meta" in your comment and then I just sounded stupid. oh well.
@skinnybonejones: I have a question, one that came up this weekend. A friend asked me what I thought about her husband asking her to wear a strap on (which she did) and he asked her to do him up the ass (which she did.)
I didn't know how to answer that. Although I have always thought he was gay...he's small, slight, controlling...anyone?
Weren't we just discussing the other day how men who watch tons of porn are lousy lays? I remember reading a long commentary on that.
Also: I have nothing against porn as a general rule but sometimes a lot of it makes me feel bad about my body and what I am not willing to do in bed. That's what I don't like about it.
The old 1970s Emmanuel films are fun though. Cheesy, but charming.
@stuckingoshen: I went to Wes, but I think the famed porn class was a one-off, a year or so before I arrived. But we do have the Cunt Club!
@skinnybonejones: I totally want that Pirates porn. Too bad it's sixty bucks.
@skinnybonejones: I did re: pirates porn. That's the one with Jenna Jameson from Vivid, right? Kind of boring and pretty much the same shit. Not that impressive.
Also, my husband enjoys the pegging from time to time.
@Susan B.: I think we have a ripped-off copy somewhere. We had a friend who worked at a porn store, so we have a lot of copied-off early 2000s porn that we "rented" for free.
@