Another day, another intriguing session to talk about.
As sex workers, porn stars face many of the same stigmas, generalizations and inaccurate assumptions as strippers, prostitutes and others who dare to make a profit from some form of sexuality. They’re often shunned as being different, being immoral, and being druggies who are incapable of having real relationship, misassumptions mainstream media does nothing to dispel. And nothing could be further from the truth. Paulie and Pauline’s beautiful book and years of reseatch shows how, apart from having sex on screen, porn stars are like us, vulnerable, affectionate, in love with their partners and families and are enjoying the career path they’ve chosen.
So here’s the description of Porn Stars off the Set.
“What are porn stars’ personal relationships really like?” Photographers Paulie & Pauline spent five years documenting the off-screen romantic partnerships of ten couples who work in porn in an attempt to answer this question. They found that many of the familiar stereotypes about porn stars and other sex workers stood in stark contrast to reality. The result is “Off the Set,” a book of fine-art photography and thoughtful essays that illuminates an unseen side of the sex industry by revealing a community of autonomous, self-aware individuals who thrive on the genuine intimacy of their committed relationships.
Paulie & Pauline will moderate a panel including cultural sexologist Carol Queen, author, professor, and social critic Shira Tarrant PhD, Women’s’ Studies professor and media commentator Lynn Comella, and porn star, writer, researcher and grad student Dylan Ryan. This panel discussion will contrast the realities of porn star relationships with the commonly reinforced stereotype that sex workers are incapable of “traditional” romantic and family relationships due to the nature of their work. The panel will talk about the ways that mainstream media reinforce these assumptions, and delve into the latest anti-porn rhetoric and its slut-shaming attempts to dehumanize and marginalize porn performers. Panelists will also discuss the empowerment that many porn performers claim they gain from their work, and talk about how their performances can actually be an integral part of their sexual selves and/or their gender identity.
Paulie & Pauline
Paulie & Pauline are a New York based creative team, and life-partners. Their first book together is a collection of essays and documentary photography titled “Off the Set” (Aural Pink Press 2010), which explores the off-screen romantic relationships of ten couples who perform in porn. The goal of this project is to confront many of the commonly-held stereotypes that are often used to dehumanize and marginalize the men and women who perform in porn. Proceeds from “Off the Set” will help support the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (www.aim-med.org).
Paulie & Pauline seek out candid moments in the human experience with a curiosity that is heavily influenced by their backgrounds in journalism and sociology. Mostly, though, their photos reflect their voyeuristic fascination with people and their stories. Their photos have been published in print and online (including the 2010 Sex Blogger Calendar), appeared in several group exhibitions of fine-art photography, and are included in the permanent collections at the Museum of Sex in New York City and the art gallery at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.
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Lynn Comella
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Lynn Comella is a Women’s Studies professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Comella has written extensively about sexual politics, the history of feminist sex toy businesses, and the women’s market for sex toys and pornography. She is a frequent media commentator and writes a monthly column for Las Vegas Weekly on sexuality and culture.
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Carol Queen
Carol Queen has a PhD in sexology; she calls herself a “cultural sexologist” because her earlier academic degree is in sociology: while she addresses individual issues and couple’s sexual concerns, her overarching interest is in cultural issues (gender, shame, access to education, etc.). She is on the board of directors of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation.
Queen has worked at Good Vibrations, the woman-founded sexuality company based in San Francisco that turned 33 years old in 2010. Her current position is Staff Sexologist and Chief Cultural Officer; her roles include representing the company to the press and the public; overseeing educational programming for staff and others; and scripting/hosting a line of sex education videos, the Pleasure-Ed series, for GV’s sister company Good Releasing.
She is also the founding director of the Center for Sex & Culture, a small non-profit sex ed and arts center (www.sexandculture.org), and is a frequent lecturer at colleges and community-based organizations. Her dozen books include a Lambda Literary Award winner, PoMoSexuals, and Real Live Nude Girl: Chronicles of Sex-Positive Culture, which are used as texts in some college classes. Her most recent book is an updated second edition of Exhibitionism for the Shy.
Her blogs and regular columns can be read at the Good Vibes Magazine and at SFGate’s City Brights bloggers page. For more: carolqueen.com
Dylan Ryan
www.dylanryanx.com
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Dylan Ryan is a porn star, writer, researcher and grad student currently living in Toronto. A proud member of the queer porn revolution and a queer porn crossover star taking over the mainstream industry with her version of hot, authentic sexuality, Dylan is finishing up her Masters in Social Work where she has studied, researched and written about porn, identity, sex work and feminist theory. Find more of her musings and photos on her website : www.dylanryanx.com
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Shira Tarrant
www.shiratarrant.com
Shira Tarrant, PhD is an author, professor, and social critic. A nationally recognized expert on gender and sexual politics, she has published several books including When Sex Became Gender and Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power. Shira Tarrant is an Associate Professor in the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at California State University, Long Beach. To read more about her work, see http://shiratarrant.com.
Porn Stars off the Set takes place on Saturday April 1st from 9:00 AM to 10:10 AM. And will definitely wake you up!
