If you squint real hard you can make out the porn stars. L-R: Sinnamon Love, Tristan Taormino, Candida Royalle
When asked what makes her practice as a pornographer an explicitly feminist one, Tristan Taormino, editor of The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure, points to her insistence on an ethical work environment, which seems simple but was reinforced as "rare" by featured contributors and adult film stars Candida Royalle and Sinnamon Love.
My practice is rooted in collaboration. I have extensive conversations with performers about their ideal work experience — what their preferences are in terms of partners, positions, toys, activities they want to do. I pay everyone their going rate for being in the film. I ask them what kind of Gatorade they like to have on set; I provide nutritious snacks, and a clean bathroom. We're asking a lot of these performers! They are doing strenuous work; getting naked under hot lights and having sex, on camera, for way longer than you would normally. Without those things performers get cranky. And cranky performers have cranky sex. And cranky sex is not sexy sex.
She abided by these rules for her most recent film, Chemistry, which used a Big Brother-esque reality show format as one way to foster a sense of intimacy and authenticity between co-stars. While Sinnamon Love called the experience ideal, ("We had a tantric workshop! We had sushi and sake!") some performers flatly turned down Taormino's offer to star in the film.
Some [porn stars] say no. They're like, "I don't wanna do it. I hear you make us talk. I don't wanna talk, I don't wanna hang out. I just wanna fuck and leave. " Some people don't want to be stuck in a house with other porn stars for 36 hours. They're like "that is my idea of hell."
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