[Netporn-l] Tristan Taormino: "Porn Is As Cerebral As It Is Visceral"

[Matteo Pasquinelli]

[ quote of the month. /m ]


Tristan Taormino: "Porn Is As Cerebral As It Is Visceral"

http://jezebel.com/344701/tristan-taormino-porn-is-as-cerebral-as-it- 
is-visceral

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."