It’s a question I get asked a lot and it’s a fairly simple answer: Yes, many close family members know that I do porn, and they support me. And some of them don’t know yet because I want to come out to them when the time is right.

Simple enough on the surface, but there’s much more.

Without getting into too much specifics, because I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to speak on behalf of someone else with such a personal topic, I’ll share some of thoughts I’ve had since coming out a few years ago.

1. Coming out about porn can mean coming out about other things.
In my case, my porn involves a lot of aspects of my personal life. This means incorporating queer and kinky sex with many of my lovers, my gender expression, and this very website with my blog describing how I enjoy sex work and think it’s fun and healthy. That sentence alone incorporates at least five things to come out about, besides porn itself: My 1) queer sexuality; 2) Kink; 3) polyamorous lifestyle; 4) genderqueer/trans* identity; and, 5) sex work as sex-positive pleasure.

It can difficult to come out as just one of these things, so the fact that they’re wrapped up in one another adds complications. Since my teenage years, I’ve come out as gay, then poly, and the last three all together.

2. You don’t just come out once.
As I’ve come out over the years about different things, I’ve come to understand that the act of coming out is not a one-time event. It’s not like once you’ve come out, it’s over and things are either fine or they’re not. There are the on-going discussions that come up and there’s further outings that happen (either by you or other people, sometimes accidentally). It takes an open heart to commit to being honest about the fears and anger that can arise, and to communicate these feelings in a healthy way.

I’m blessed to have a lot of love in my family. And that love is there even when there is fear or confusion.

3. There’s very few resources.
Books have been written for parents of transgender youth, for teens on coming out as queer, and BDSM lifestyles such as ”When Someone You Love is Kinky“. When one of my partners and I were first exploring non-monogamy, we found “The Ethical Slut” and “Opening Up” full of helpful information. And while there are books about sex work and sex & culture, there’s not much specific to pornography. Of the sex educators and sexologists I’ve asked, it seems that this book has yet to be written.

For a brief history on the beginnings of the porn industry as we know it, check out Michael Stabile’s documentary “SMUT CAPITAL OF AMERICA“.  A strange fact is that the very people I’m coming out to have been alive longer than the industry itself. Porn — at least the kind that’s sold online and in stores for personal viewing — hasn’t been around for very long. Perhaps the fact that it’s still so new is one reason why there’s not a lot published on the subject.

Another reason of course, is the subject itself.

4. Porn is a four-letter word.
One of the reasons it took me so long to come out was my fear that I would be judged and I would lose my family’s love. No matter how brilliant and loving someone is, I still am afraid that coming out to them will cause them to think poorly of me, pulling from society’s stereotypes of sex workers being naive or damaged victims, powerless or coerced. There’s so much shame around sex in our culture, that even though it’s legal and very common, there’s stigma around P-O-R-N. (On a side note, many of the people I’ve worked with refuse to call their work “porn” because of these terrible associations. For myself though, I think that breaking down the stereotypes is part of the process. While much of the work I do can be described as erotic, sexual documentary and adult cinema, and my intentions can gravitate towards sex-positive representation and alternative views of healthy sexuality through working primarily with people whom I’ve loved… at the end of the day: I did porn.

5. The Internet is Forever.
Part of my organic, “self-agent process” entails my decisions to meet directors and co-stars before agreeing to on a project. And if that can’t happen for whatever reason, they must come with strong references or recommendation from people I know. When you perform in porn, you sign the rights of your image over to a producer. When a sexual image of you is published online, it’s there forever. It’s downloaded to user’s computers, it’s shared on Tumblr, and as much as you might try to control it… once it’s done, it’s done. This is the reason I try to work with directors and producers who I feel understand and respect me and my identity. The process of putting myself out there in ways I have some control over, establishing my identity and creating representations of people like me, outweigh the dangers of people behaving with malicious or exploitative intentions. It’s a known risk, and one I’m willing to take even though it can be frightening, especially for loved ones.  It can also mean that you can be outed through an image online at any given time… regardless if it’s flattering or not.

So where am I now?

Honestly, I think I’m still the same place I was before I first came out, only now I can share my excitement and pride in my accomplishments. How GOOD it feels to not have to tell white lies about my trips abroad, traveling half-way around the world to “visit friends”. I hate lying. I feel more shame in the fact that I lied to my family, than I ever will about the sex I had on film.

And coming out hasn’t changed my decisions about doing porn. (Although knowing that my family can read my blog means I’ll try to remember to proofread.) As always, I’ll continue to do projects which I think are satisfying to me while exploring the genre — in a way that is safe and sustainable, and teaches me and others about sex and pleasure. From the beginning, each project I do is a choice. Even though I can’t claim that they’ve all been brilliant, shining examples of my sex-positive philosophy, and that sometimes I work with a production that probably wasn’t the best fit, each project has been lesson in helping me define and articulate the power I have of my own sexuality and autonomy.

So, I feel proud about all this. And, I want to ask for your help.

I wrote this blog post in hopes that it will help me form my thoughts about coming out, and maybe it can offer something to you. But I need more resources. Do you know a good book or blog post I can use to create a “syllabus” of supporting materials to help other performers, families and friends find the information and validation they need to come out? (This information will help me and my own family too, that’s for certain!)

In addition to books and links, I’d like personal stories.

To be truthful, I’m not sure what I will do with these stories yet. That might be determined by how many of you share them with me. I might want to publish them in an eBook. Or simply share them on this blog. Or on Tumblr. As far as I know, this book has not been written, despite how helpful I think it might be. I know performers who have had beautiful coming out stories with their families, and some who have not. I know performers who are parents themselves, and so coming out involves age appropriate information for youth.  I also have youth in my life who I will someday decide to share some level of information about what I do. I’d rather they hear it from me than their friends. So, what was your experience like? Or what information do you withhold? If you or someone in your family hasn’t done porn, do you talk about watching it? Or do you protect your files? Are there other coming out stories you think are relevant? I want very much to hear about experiences other than my own, so I’m putting out a call for submissions.

Coming Out About Porn

Please send me your porn coming out story. You can write anonymously, you can share your book or other resources with me.

Submissions should be approximately 1000 words.

Email word documents to jiz@jizlee.com.

Feel free to submit work you’ve already published, or work you’re planning to publish.

I will reply to everyone by the end of March.  Feel free to repost.

Thank you everyone, for the support you’ve given to me through your emails and messages, for purchasing my work, for respecting my gender pronouns and sexuality, for inspiring me to write and share my experiences, and more. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Cherry will screen at Berlinale. (I’ll be there as well for the premiere of Cheryl Dunye’s MOMMY IS COMING!)

Here’s the trailer and more info about the film:

Synopsis: Cherry is about Angelina (Ashley Hinshaw), an 18-year-old girl on the verge of finishing high school. Angelina’s family life is difficult. Her mother (Lili Taylor) is an alcoholic and her step-father is violent and unpredictable. One morning her boyfriend (Jonny Weston) suggests she take naked pictures for money. She balks at first but then does the photo shoot, using the money to run-off with her best friend (Dev Patel) to San Francisco. In San Francisco, while cocktailing in a strip club, Angelina meets Frances (James Franco) a well-off lawyer who offers to introduce her to a different kind of world, a place full of expensive dresses and fancy parties. But that world is not as perfect as it first appears and Frances has problems of his own. At the same time Angelina, using the moniker Cherry, has begun exploring the San Francisco porn industry under the direction of Margaret (Heather Graham) a former performer turned adult film director.

Cherry was shot in the San Francisco Armory, home of Kink.com. At 250,000 square feet the armory is the largest adult film studio in the world. Stephen Elliott, the director of Cherry is a former sex worker who is also the author of seven books. The movie was written by Stephen Elliott and Lorelei Lee, a porn performer who is also a writer and lecturer at New York University.

Cherry challenges assumptions about porn, sexuality, and success, and faces the difficult question of where you need to be in order to find yourself.

Please repost this call for submissions below — and if anyone would like to interview me for their research or submission, please let me know!

- – -

Call for Submissions: New Views on Pornography: Sexuality, Politics, and the Law, 2 Volumes

Edited by Lynn Comella, PhD and Shira Tarrant, PhD
Deadline: July 30, 2012

Co-editors Lynn Comella (University of Las Vegas, Nevada) and Shira Tarrant (California State University, Long Beach) are seeking submissions for a two-volume edited collection under contract with Praeger.

Description: New Views on Pornography is a two-volume collection of the most current scholarship on pornography. This edited series presents empirical research on a range of contemporary issues regarding pornography’s politics, psychology, cultural and legal debates, providing a comprehensive and multidisciplinary overview of the field of porn studies in one convenient location for students, researchers, and professors across related fields. Our goal as editors is to showcase new and innovative research that examines the culture and politics of pornography in a global context, including but not limited to, questions of production, audiences, market niches, technological innovations, political debates and controversies, obscenity, free speech, public policy and the law. The editors seek well-researched facts and data in order to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of issues on the subject.

Author Guidelines: For consideration, please submit full chapters (5,000-7,000 words), a brief abstract, bio (75-100 words), and complete contact information. Submissions must include endnotes and bibliography, and adhere to Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition. Send submissions in .doc or .docx format to both contact emails below. Submissions not conforming to these guidelines will not be considered.

The Editors are specifically interested in submissions on the following:

Foundations and Controversies in Pornography
Defining Pornography
The History of Pornography
Pornography and the Law: Historical Highlights
Cultural Trends and Changing Ideas about Pornography
Key Resources in Media and Cultural Studies of Pornography
Consumption Practices: Who Is Using Porn?
Global Porn Production: Practices and Revenue
Sources of Porn: The Marketplace and Changing Supply Patterns
The Porn Wars in Historical and Contemporary Perspective
The Politics of Porn Literacy and Social Control
Issues of Race, Ethnicity, and Pornography
Impacts of the Industry: Interviews with Porn Actors and Industry Workers
Studying Pornography: Research Methods and Methodologies
Impacts and Effects of Pornography
Defining the Terms: Problems with Content Analysis and Ideological Bias
Women Watching Porn: Issues in Data Collection and Self-Reporting
Pornography and Global Sex Trafficking: Separating Myths from the Facts
Pathologizing Porn: Questions about Addiction
The Impacts of Pornography on Intimate Relationships
Technology and Porn
Obscenity, Surveillance and Free Speech: Current Issues in the Law
Varieties and Genres of Pornography
How the Adult Industry is Organized: Issues of Production and Revenue
Masculinity, Violence, and Pornography: Correcting the Data
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer Porn
Porn Studies in Global Context
Porn Use and Sexual Satisfaction

Send To: Please send cc’d submissions to Lynn Comella at lynn.comella@unlv.edu and Shira Tarrant at Shira_Tarrant@yahoo.com. Include Praeger NVOP Submission in the subject line. Submission queries should be directed to the above.

Image: Photographer Hal

Photo: Rae Threat/Fleshbot.com

It pretty much started with Stoya and a shaved head, in bed. January was the 2011 AVN Awards and I was happy to travel to Las Vegas to attend, thanks to generous supporters: Njoy, ASLAN Leather, TwistedMonk, and several fans who bought autographed films to help pay the way of myself and several members of the Queer Porn Mafia, including: Shine Louise Houston, Syd Blakovich, Dylan Ryan, Courtney Trouble, and Tina Horn. Your help allowed us to travel, sleep, and eat. I was proud to walk the Red Carpet with Shine, who’s website CrashPadSeries.com was nominated “Best Alternative Website”.

Photo: Jeff Koga

2011 was a pivotal year for my college travels. I joined forces with some other queer porn performers such as Sophia St. James and James Darling to speak on the topics of Queer Pornography at Evergreen. I also traveled to speak about my experiences in porn, present screenings, and teach queer sex at Scripps College, UC Davis, Long Beach LGBT Center, and Harvard University. Other travel brought me to Good For Her’s Feminist Porn Awards in Toronto — to my surprise, I was featured in TWELVE nominations! I also traveled to Germany for the Berlin Porn Film Festival, where I was featured in SIX films and was also a panelist on queer and lesbian pornography, as well as participating as a celebrity judge for the Short Film Competition.

Photo: Nick Strite

2011 was a big year for fundraising, as local women/trans health clinic Lyon-Martin had a desperate call for help, and I was able to donate over $1200. I also was able to participate in the Shibaricon fundraiser for the Red Cross to help aid Japan with a signed framed image of myself by Shilo McCabe, as well as gift $1,000 to a girls’ program in Oakland through my work with Girlfriend’s films donation program.

My own philanthropic porn experiment Karma Pervs saw several updates benefiting programs such as SWING (Service Workers in Group, Thailand) with images by twincest (RIP), the LGBT Center (SF), a ghost shower for The LGBT Center, autofellating for the Center for Sexual Health & Pleasure, piss and brick for the Leather Alliance, masturbating in the Pacific Ocean, and posing as an angel for 3 secret organizations (2 youth projects and a wolf & wilderness organization). Thanks to photographers Tristan Crane, N. Maxwell Lander, Micheal Rosen, Shilo McCabe, and Aeric Meredith-Goujon. I’m going to consolidate Karma Pervs to quarterly updates starting 2012 so that I can spend more time helping to promote the cause. It’s still a really great project and I’m thrilled with some of the creative collaborations so far.

Photo: Michael Rosen & Karma Pervs

I fell in love with Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, taking to the stage to pose as Spider Jerusalem in a Transmet Tribute with proceeds going to the Comic Legal Defense Fund, and joined by the lovely Ryan Keely. Turns out a snippet from backstage appears in Patrick Meaney’s documentary on Warren Ellis, Captured Ghosts. Shortly after, I returned to pose again with Stoya for a Jack the Ripper themed Dr. Sketchy’s, using the topic to bring awareness to violence against sex workers.

Major porn productions in 2011 included Rough Sex 3: Adrianna’s Dangerous Mind, with a really fun release party in NYC with Adrianna Nicole, Tristan Taormino, and Danny Wylde. I also got to see Adrianna, Tristan, as well as Sinnamon Love and others at Cinekink, where we spoke on an Ethical Porn Panel. I also had the pleasure of working with Kay Brandt for Jewelbox Films and Digital Playground on Cherry. It was great to appear with a major porn studio as an androgynous DJ and pick my co-star Andy San Dimas.

2011 also saw a lot of Nina Hartley. I was thrilled to invite her to Crash Pad Series to film the site’s 100th Episode, streamed live to level 3 members. Then recently this year, another live scene I performed with Nina was released, Courtney Trouble’s LIVE SEX SHOW which is a fundraiser for the Center for Sex & Culture, and the FIRST explicit vaginal fisting scene I have on DVD.  [If you want to buy this DVD from me, or others -- let me know!] Courtney and I collaborated on FISTING DAY, an international online and live day to honor, educate, and get off fisting. I’m very proud of our success, which includes many people being more accepting and sex positive about the act, as well as the DVD being sold by 5 courageous feminist sex toy stores: Tool Shed, Early to Bed, Fatale Media, She Bop, and Smitten Kitten, as well as directly from Courtney and myself.

A good year for art, I had the pleasure of being invited to be a co-curator of THIS IS WHAT I WANT, a guest celebrity judge of “Man as Object: Reversing the Gaze” exhibit at the SomARTS Cultural Center, and a moderator for Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens Ecosexual Symposium on “Ecosex & Art”. Other artful moments included Molly Crabapple’s 66 Portraits of Sixty-Six friends who Awe, inclusion in the Blindfold Project Book, reading from my blog at Writers With Drinks, and a new pornsaint rendition by Ale Senso. Aaaaand, I got to buff up my drag chops as Ritchie Valens in Rob Fatal’s “LA BAMBA 2: Hell is a Drag” campy sci-fi gore sequel.

I also did a fair share of modelling; for May was Masturbation Month I posed for Shilo McCabe’s Sex Positive Photo Project. I also posed for RH Denim, a new fashion company in Los Angeles. And a rarity for me, despite my dance degree and performance art background, is dancing on stage these days. Yet in 2011, I did it a few times. I performed a Black Swan inspired solo at a sex club called Velvet. And during SF Pride, Dylan Ryan and I collaborated to create a performance for QUEERLY BELOVED. In fact, we got so excited about it that we even made a trailer (thanks to Mickey Mod and Malory!).

The year is ending with a swell crescendo as I enjoyed my time in tights at the Fleshbot Awards, with lots of photos to prove it… and am pleased to be twice 2012 AVN Nominated for the AVN Awards as well as featured in several films and series recognized for AVN and XBiz industry awards.

I’ll wrap up this post with a New Year’s image for you all, a design from my special holiday cards, which I sent to the addresses of those who have supported my work through becoming members of Karma Pervs or purchasing DVDs and other items through me, as well as some co-stars and peers. The image below is based off a Karma Pervs photo by Courtney Trouble taken at EROS, visually redesigned by the clever and talented Vinh Luan Luu.

Happy New Queer!

Image: Vinh Luan Luu, Courtney Trouble & Karma Pervs

Like many of my favorite toys, I used it in some of my porn scenes. One of these was a solo masturbation scene in GUSH: The Official Guide to the G-Spot & Female Ejaculation. Another example is the more recent POV release by Bobbi Starr, called Vicarious.

What I love about the toy is that it’s a great G-spot dildo for people who like a lot of girth really fast. For fans of that full “fisting” sensation, or those who like the “pop” motion of big things slipping in and out of small holes, this is the toy. In addition to the hard, curved, full feel, it’s also a beautiful clear glass which looks pretty incredible, magnifying and exaggerating the curvature of things inside like an old fairground fun house.

Many of you know that I like to use the Eleven like a kegel exerciser  (ie in this photo — kegel pole workout!) Well, I also like to use this glass toy to work and tease the PC muscles too. One thing I like to do, which you can see in Vicarious, is tug gently on the handle to see who’s stronger, my arm… or my PC Muscles. Tug of war? How about tug of fun! In Vicarious, Bobbi and my cunt fought over the toy. She won, but then again, that just means we both won…

Anyway, for all those who have asked “where can I get that big curved glass dildo?”: it’s made by XHale Glass and is also available in the smallest version at GoodVibes.com or  in all three sizes — including the one I own, the biggest size — at AllGlassSexToys.com. It’s high quality, affordable, and you can watch it IN USE right now through my digital streaming scenes in GUSH or Vicarious. If you get one, let me know what you think of it!

We always hear about “saving the children” from things like porn and homosexuals… but judging from this video, it’s we who need saving from them.

(Behind the Music: The catchy song is by a mysterious band named Sdia Project (Sdia is AIDS spelled backwards), a cleverly designed *viral* campaign from the Israel Aids Task Force and Y&R Tel Aviv to promote Worlds AIDS Day, Dec 1st. Let’s hope their music and message continues to spread!)

Shine Louise Houston and I modeled the new RodeoH Harnesses, and Tristan Crane took cute pics.

Want to see the harness below the belt? Check them out at RodeoH.com.

1. ROWDY BAUBLES: Adornment with Attitude

Sweet jewelry that’s “so queer it’s over the rainbow” by teukie jae.
I got a metal mini-bowtie resin pendant with a black glitter background. Love it, and Teukie’s mission: “I am a geeky glamdrogynous queer disabled Korean adoptee, mixed media artist and anti-oppression worker. Although I have been designing jewelry since 2004, Rowdy Baubles is my first attempt to create jewelry specifically for queer folks. I’m incredibly excited to be taking on this venture and hope to make many beautiful things for my community! I am joined in this venture by my partner Sky (you’ll see them modeling, they also help with production and shipping!) and the long-distance support of my friends. All items are handmade with love (& revolution) in my Seattle home.”

[Buy it]

2. Freeing Ourselves: A Guide to Health and Self Love for Brown Bois

This is a fantastic health and sexuality guide created by Brown Boi Project.
While this guide is a great resource for everyone, it’s specifically created for people of color whose gender expression/identity are masculine-of-center, encompassing a wide range of experiences, and focusing on things such as testosterone and transition, mental health, surviving sexual abuse, parenting, and whole-body health needs. I love that it includes nutritional and exercise guides, as well as explicit sexual health info, including a shout out to Shine Louise Houston! Beautiful images, intimate personal stories, and invaluable information.

[Order it]

3. Emilyn Brodsky’s Greatest Tits

It’s no secret that I crush out on ukulele players.
I think it has to do with my roots, coming from Hawai`i where in 4th grade everyone and their dog played ukes, and if you were cool you could perform “Feliz Navidad” behind your back. Being a portable reminder of home, I bought one a few years ago, but I think I play even worse now than I did when I was ten. Anyway, put a charming person with ukulele skills and a witty mouth in front of me and fuck I melt into a puddle. Which is exactly what happened when I met Emilyn at the Fleshbot Awards last November and she gave me her CD. When I listen to it, I tap my feet to crafty songs that are the perfect percentage of everything that make music good.

[Buy her Tits!]

4. Hella Brown: Real Sex in the City

Nenna‘s carved an impressive niche in the world of queer POC sex — in the Bay Area and cities beyond!
After the huge success of Tight Places: A Drop of Color, she’s produced her own next film, once again employing a cast of hot queer POC (cis)women and transmen from Oakland and Los Angeles in Hella Brown: Real Sex in the City. Following the good format of her last film, you get a lot of action out of a small fearless cast, as well as community interviews about porn. I love seeing Brookyn Sky from Nenna’s first film, and some familiar CrashPadSeries.com faces too! You can find the DVD online at sex-positive retailers.

[Watch it]

5. Vagina Dentata Glow-in-the-Dark Underwear

Not wearing underwear is pretty hot, but so is wearing cool undies.

There’s a jizillion different designs and patterns you can put on a pair of underwear, and they automatically become a funny or poignant statement, simply because they’re on your crotch. Take for example, Melissa Dowell‘s brilliant Vagina Dentata Glow-in-the-Dark Underwear. When she posted this on Twitter, I hadn’t even clicked on the link yet and my fingers were already forming the word “WANT” on the keyboard. Best part, I’ve got a pair coming and you bet your privates I’m gonna wear them for something sexy soon! Ommn Nom Nom…!

[Wear it]

Nominations I’m a part of include:

Best All-Girl Group Scene
Taxi 2, Juicy Pink Box/Girlfriends; Madison Young, Jiz Lee & Nic Switch

Best All-Girl Release
Cherry 2, Jewelbox/Digital Playground
Taxi 2, Juicy Pink Box/Girlfriends Films

Best Girl/Girl Sex Scene
Cherry 2, Jewelbox/Digital Playground; Jiz Lee & Andy San Dimas

Best Educational Release
Gush: The Official Guide to the G-Spot & Female Ejaculation, Good Releasing
Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Female Orgasms, Vivid Ed

Best Vignette Release
Rough Sex 3: Adrianna’s Dangerous Mind, Vivid Entertainment Group

Best Alternative Website
QueerPorn.TV, Trouble Films Network
JuicyPinkBox.com, Jincey Lumpkin

Specialty Release – Other Genre
Crash Pad Series Volume 6: Wide Open, Pink & White/Good Releasing

Best New Line
Jewelbox Films, Digital Playground
Juicy Pink Box, Girlfriends Films

Best New Series
Taxi, Girlfriends Films

By the way, you can buy these films and others directly from me — just email jiz@jizlee.com.

That’s a whole lotta porn!

Award shows in themselves are interesting to me because they offer a reflection of the industry. I remember learning that the Feminist Porn Awards chooses not to post categories, yet the films are given a title for their win. Such as “Movie of the Year” or “Most Tantalizing Trans Film”. The AVN Awards seem to build categories that relate to the way the movies are marketed, which makes sense and also shows trends and changes in the industry. For example, this year there is a “Best Celebrity Sex Tape” category, and several Porn Parody categories. Also, we see “Best Female Performer of the Year”, “Best Male Performer of the Year”, “Best Transsexual Performer of the Year”, and “Best MILF of the Year”. Huh.

Queer pornography tends to fall under the Specialty Release – Other Genre, which this year includes Crash Pad Series Volume 6: Wide Open and Carlos Batt’s Sola — which was an independent limited time release that my doll April Flores would mail wrapped in her colorful fishnet stockings.

My explorations into mainstream pornography have placed me in “Girl/Girl” categories, which as another performer explained is simply based on my female sex and “female/female” doesn’t have the same ring to it. I suppose she’s right, still, the categories will continue to fascinate me. I wonder if there will ever be a queer porn category, as many websites are doing to create a new space for porn that has a blend of sexual identities and gender expressions, or if queer content will continue to exist in “Other Genre” or “Alternative” sections, or, if that’s even a categorization that will also be problematic. (Who’s to say what’s queer?) So far the awards are boxed as Girl/Girl, B/B/G and G/G/B, various straight sex acts, transsexual (usually just Trans Women), and Other/Alternative. For cisgender gay men, there’s the GayVN Awards, which have been inclusive so much as to nominate films featuring transmen, such as Trannywood’s movies. So it’s a pleasant surprise to see Buck Angel’s SEXING THE TRANSMAN XXX nominated for not only “Best Transsexual Release” but also “Best Sex Education Release” for the AVN Awards.

Though it was shot about 2 and a half years ago, I’m really interested to see TAXI and Juicy Pink Box nominated now that they’ve partnered with Girlfriends Films to distribute DVDs from the web content. I had the pleasure of watching my scene with Dallas Fivestar while at the Berlin Porn Film Festival, and it really conveyed the chemistry between Dallas and I, who were lovers at the time it was shot. Juicy Pink Box and their DVDs through Girlfriends received a lot of nominations, including a Best Girl/Girl scene between Justine Joli and Syd Blakovich, and another nomination for Justine in the “Best Solo” category. I look forward to seeing what’s next for Juicy Pink Box, as they’ve cast another genderqueer performer, Papi Coxxx, in an upcoming production, as well as Drew DeVeaux, another popular queer porn star and outspoken, boundary breaking, transwoman. Will Drew be the next nominated New Starlet? I hope so.

It was a beautiful and somewhat surreal experience to work with Digital Playground and Jewelbox Films, because Digital is such a mainstream company. The production quality of their films is outstanding and the script for Cherry is dark and complex. I was thrilled to be cast as an androgynous DJ “Carson”, and felt so accepted on the set — shaved head and all! Cherry received a slew of nominations, from “Best Cinematography” and “Best Screenplay” to “Best Director” for Kay Brandt, and the star of the series, Judy Thompson, received a nomination for her Non-Sex Performance. Kay asked me who I’d like to work with, and I suggested Andy San Dimas, who I’d had a crush on, and still do. We had a quick and dirty scene that takes place in Cherry 2 — I loved that I could wear my realistic cock, and neither Andy nor myself took our tops off during the scene, something that you might expect from porn created with a straight male audience in mind. So it’s really cool to see our scene nominated!

One of the first mainstream companies I had the pleasure of working with was Vivid, with multi-talented director and self-identified 3rd genderation queer, Tristan Taormino. My first shoot with her was Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Female Orgasms. She welcomed me on set and everyone was super respectful of my gender pronouns. The film has a diverse cast and I appreciate that it is focused on education around the female anatomy and sexual pleasure — so it’s not specifically womens’ orgasms, but anyone with female sexual anatomy. Tristan’s other nominated film is Rough Sex 3: Adrianna’s Dangerous Mind which I was lucky to be a part of. Tristan is nominated for “Best Director”, and the film has a number of nominations including “Best Vignette Release” and I got to watch the filming of the Best Threeway scene with Adrianna, Keni Styles and Danny Wylde.

Other interesting things to me about the nominations are the slew of Crossover nominations, which includes Yasmin Lee who performed in Hangover 2. I haven’t seen the film yet, but I’m interested in it specifically to see her performance. You can read an interview with her about the role on translabyrinth.com.

Also of note are what looks to be growing similarities of nominated titles between this list and those of the Feminist Porn Awards, which make me think that the mainstream industry is shifting its marketing a bit, to create films like A Little Part of Me, and to submit it to places like the FPA’s, where it was awarded “Steamiest Romantic Movie” last April. For AVN, it’s nominated for “Best Feature” and “Best Screenplay”.

Just celebrating 1 year on the internet is QueerPorn.TV, which is nominated for “Best Alternative Website”. With CrashPadSeries.com being nominated last year, it’s great to see some familiar sites getting recognition. Congrats also goes to queer friends Bren Ryder (GoodDykePorn.com) and “Transsexual Performer of the Year” nominees Aly Sinclair and Juliette Stray. (One of Juliette’s first scenes was with CrashPadSeries.com.) And also to Bobbi Starr (BobbiStarr.com) and Nina Hartley (Nina.com) for their website nominations, Belladonna and Joanna Angel, Julie Simone, Kimberly Kane and Dana DeArmond for tons of nominations, and Lee Roy Myers who has a nomination for his Katy Perry Parody, for an outrageous scene between Kimberly and “Elmer”. It looks like a wacky flick. Here’s the Youtube Trailer. Tickle me, Elmo!

I hope everyone has a great time in Las Vegas. I’ll catch a wave for ya — A Hui Ho(s!)

UPDATE:  Cherry 2 (Jewelbox/Digital Playground) won “Best All-Girl Release” — congrats to Kay Brandt and everyone on the production!