She raises a good point

[SidChromeAU]

A friend sent this to me, I gather it is from the members page of her site. Joanna, if you don't want this disseminated further, I apologise - but feel that it really is worth spreading to a wider audience (as did my mate when he forwarded it to me):
TS Porn - Am I Truly the Only One?
(Published: 09 February 2005)

I felt that I had started 2005 by making a significant contribution to the world of TS porn, but now, a month later, I find myself feeling very solitary in that belief.
Allow me to explain.....


Last year, my heartfelt and passionate lobbying for the inclusion of a "TS performer of the Year" category to the AVN awards proved successfull and appeared to be considered by all that chose to care as something of worth.


By being one of this year's select few to be invited, as a recognised industry figure, to present at the AVN awards, I became the first transsexual performer, in 22 years of the AVN awards, to be introduced and invited on to the stage.

This event was, to all of my fellow stars who expressed an opinion, suggested as whilst being rather "cool", as something to be considered as nothing more than meaningless to anyone but me.

When I eventually walked on stage, I received from the 3500 strong mainstream audience a reception which offered no suggestion of being different to that of any of the previous presenters,

By the time I walked off stage, I had undeniably proven that the mainstream porn industry had reached the stage where transsexuals were now acceptable as peers and who could be considered as part of their own.

With all of my peers absent and lacking in support, I stood alone in the understanding that the knowledge gained by this "meaningless" step would allow the last and final barrier standing in the way of equality for TS performers to be broken.


For all who hold an interest in TS porn, it will surely be a pleasant and welcome surprise when in January 2006, for the very first time, AVN will choose it as the year for the "Best TS Performer" nominees to be announced by a star cast and for the winner to be invited, just like the guys and gals, to walk up on stage, accept her award and give a bunch of "thank yous'" in a hopefully short speech.
But it will not have happened as a result of a whim of goodwill but because the things that needed to make it happen happened.

There will be one person in the audience though, for whom it will not prove a surprise. She will have already known, without doubt, that it would happen, because she saw it, not in tea leaves in the bottom of a cup, but from having done a bunch of meaningless things.

The last few steps to full acceptance of transsexuals by mainstream porn will not come as a result of someone (or many) showing consideration for what is right, it will not come as a result of monetary influence, it will come from the subtle manipulation of the politics and corporate competition that exists within US porn.


That Day of "full acceptance" is one that I am very driven to reach.

That Day, when all in the US porn industry, from talent, to directors, to management are able to see, treat and interact with transsexuals in a manner which cannot be discerned as differing from that offered to their male and female counterparts.

I want to be there when that Day finally comes and choose to do all that I can to bring it closer to the present...



But what leaves totally and absolutely baffled is that I seem to be the only that cares about that Day, who publicly speaks out, who does all that she can to finally bring, to all shemales in the porn industry, the right to be recognised as individuals.
To finally and forever banish the horrible and degrading negative stereotypes which so cruely continue to fester and thrive in US porn and which are, almost always without exception, given precedence over any of the aspects or merits of the individual.


In all of the 3 years in which I have, as Joanna Jet, stepped forward and spoken out, challenged and even shown willing to put my career on the line over this, no one has ever, ever, ever, not even once, publicly backed me up, supported me or even vaguely suggested that they might be in agreement.


Please!!! enlighthen me!!!
Am I really the only shemale in porn with personal pride?
Am I the only one that gives a shit at being unconditionally labeled as trash?
Am I a delusional paranoid and in need of urgent and serious counselling?
Am I so obsessed that I have created for myself a mountain out of a molehill?
Am I deluding myself that I am making a difference where none is possible?
Am I seen by my peers as being too fearless and nonchalant by speaking out?
Am I simply missing something obvious?

If you have anything to offer in regard to these question, please submit it to the forum!! It would be greatly appreciated!!


Kisses,

Joanna Jet
xxx

[MaxiJavi]

The whole social stigma thing is awful and the progress with AVN is a step in the right direction, although by no means a silver bullet. At the end of the day a lot of people in the industry still seem to feel the same way as they always did

I seem to remember that Vanity's win last year also attracted negative coverage

I also suspect that people who work in "transsexual" porn maybe are used to being abused and marginalized by the public as a whole, so maybe "public" recognition isn't such a good thing and not quite as coveted... Comments anyone ?

But just out of interest ...

Compared to other porn how much does "Transsexual" porn turn over ?

And how many people work in the industry ?

Anyone know ?

Cheers

[Vicki Richter]

This is a tough one. I will have to respond later. It's too late right now for me to give it justice. I want to keep it up at the top though.

[Vicki Richter]

OK. I actually wish Joanna had come by here and raised this issue. Hopefully she will see the responses. I guess my feelings on this are multi-faceted. First, there are a total of 5-10 TS performers out there who regularly get tested before videos. Second, there are only 5-10 shemale performers who I would actually classify as "Porn Stars" in the industry today... at least in the english speaking hemisphere. It's sad when one of the performers getting semi-regular film work in our genre is a gay male performer in drag... It tells you of the true state of transsexual pornography.

In our genre, we are more likely the have web stars than porn stars. Allanah, for examle, while having been in movies, doesn't perform in that media often. She's achieved her "larger than life" status through other means. I wouldn't call her a porn star, more of a web star or mixed media star.

I think it's cool that Joanna presented. It's a great thing. However, I see the road from obscurity and a universal derrogatory perspective to present day was paved by many TS pornstars. It can't be isolated to one specific act. Joanna presenting without ridicule wouldn't have happened without additional TS performers, female performers, and directors viewing us in a positive light. If girls like Arianna, Julie Night, Ava Devine, and Christie Lee didn't start working with TS performers and we continued to be relagated to working with the Max Hardcore type girls, or just the guys (who the industry often shun) we wouldn't be getting accepted by the mainstream. Even Christian is doing his part bridging a gap by being so hot he can work wth TS, proficient GG's, and gay guys. He told me the other day he gets more shit for working with shemales than anything else when doing the straight stuff.

The whole "bareback" performing thing. The industry sees it as something that sells. Joanna kind of kick started this idea off with Brazen, and I am pretty sure that I was one of Joey's first condomless scenes if not the first (as noted by his putting that fact on the box cover of Road Trip 7). Like Joanna I think, I view this more as an act of defiance saying, if straight porn can do this, so can I.

Anyway, it's great Joanna is continuing the fight and stuff to get us more accepted by doing the behind the scenes stuff with AVN. I've always given her props on TS having an AVN award. That was all her. Acceptance and equal treatment is more like a holy grail. It will happen when SOCIETY as a whole also view TS in a positive light. If you talk to the TS activists, they will tell you that the girls doing transsexuals a disservice are the ones who get FFS and SRS, blend in and disappear.

I just don't know what JJ expects the rest of us to be doing to further our cause. I think having one shemale pestering the AVN folks is plenty. Also American TS porn is kind of dying right now. Judging by the fact that Devils hasn't shot a TS movie for the past several months, Joey hasn't shot one this year (although he did shoot one Vanity scene), Sineplex hasn't shot a TS movie forever, Red Light hasn't shot another TS movie forever... It seems the only ones currently shooting are Anabolic and Shemale Strokers.

I guess it just feels like a stagnant pond to me. Due to the fact that we are so few, I would say it's safe to say that statistically, shemales in the sex industry (escorting/performing)n have more HIV than any other clustering of the population. That isn't going to further our cause either. Because of this fact, the male performing pool and some segments of the female performing pool will never open themselves up completely to us.

[bezane]

While I understand we are talking about porn here, I think "acceptance" for TS's has more to do with their acceptance in society.

After reading much posting by the likes of Vicky, Allanah, Danielle, they transcend their being into the mainstream with ease. I think of them as girls, women, ladies first....transgender second and porn star third. There's many others that I consider TS first, Porn actresses or models second and girls third. This because their thrust into the public eye only identifies them as a transsexual. We don't listen to their words, only see them as components of our fantasy or desire.

Acceptance of any minority race, religion or what have you can only gain acceptance to something they are marginalized from by appealing to the majority's general sensibilities first. Then the door is open. Forcing or "legislating" acceptance onto a mainstream group is nearly impossible.

While I don't doubt that a date with a Vicky for example, might end with me trying to touch her, at this point my first thing would be to hang and chat and laugh. Maybe actually do an activity (like rock climbing?). Why? Because that's how they come off. They are just girls that have lives. Their identity is still unknown to me on a personal basis. They happen to be transsexuals.

Ironically, TS Porn might be the most difficult arena of all to make acceptance a reality. While Joanna making an official appearance is great, in what context is that apppearance perceived by the very body of people petitioned to allow her to appear. Many threads of of hypocrisy running rampant.

[Vicki Richter]

I forgot to answer these:

In all of the 3 years in which I have, as Joanna Jet, stepped forward and spoken out, challenged and even shown willing to put my career on the line over this, no one has ever, ever, ever, not even once, publicly backed me up, supported me or even vaguely suggested that they might be in agreement.

This is silly. I back her all the time. I would argue I am much more public and defensive about the shemale porn requiring condoms vs standard industry testing.

Am I really the only shemale in porn with personal pride?

No. Not sure where this is coming from.

Am I the only one that gives a shit at being unconditionally labeled as trash?

Am I a delusional paranoid and in need of urgent and serious counselling?
Am I so obsessed that I have created for myself a mountain out of a molehill?
Am I deluding myself that I am making a difference where none is possible?
Am I seen by my peers as being too fearless and nonchalant by speaking out?
Am I simply missing something obvious?

I haven't really experienced the being treated as trash part. Am I treated differently sometimes by people in the porn industry? I honestly have never felt I was treated any different from female talent when on a set.
I'm a TS.

I don't think I should expect mainstream society to universally accept me. Even the medical community thinks of us as whack jobs. Members of my own family won't talk to me anymore. The religious community thinks we're Satan's spawn. Why should I really care what anyone in porn thinks of me when such substantially more significant portions of society think of my kind as freak show.

Why would I expect to get treated special for feeling somewhat normal when so many girls I have met are so unstable. I see girls like Absolute Shade talking their ghetto pseudo homo talk "uh huh - that's shade" and I can agree with every negative perception society has about us. Again goto an AOL chatroom and while there are a bunch of cool girls in there, there are also a bunch of totally whacked out human beings. The reason you hear the word drama so much in TS venue's is because it gets brought...a lot.

So in general, I would say yes. Mountain out of molehill. Porn - thank you for my career and fans, but it's still only pornography. There are a lot more important things to fixate on for me. I respect Joanna a lot for her tenacity. I respect her for making cool things happen in the industry. I am just not as pumped up about changing it. I would ask her. Is she interested in changing it for herself or for the girls like Vanity who despite her efforts, turn their back on her. Life's too short and I don't have enough TS friends to make that kind of sacrifice for.

[MaxiJavi]

Vicki

I honestly have never felt I was treated any different from female talent when on a set.

That could have to do whith the fact you are impossible to distinguish from one, however, I also suspect that the UK has been considerable rougher on JJ than the US ... I also have never met JJ and don't know how she comes accross, that could have something to do with it too ?

Either way I am sure that having a mission changes your attitude somewhat ...

I would say it's safe to say that statistically, shemales in the sex industry (escorting/performing)n have more HIV than any other clustering of the population.

You really think so ? Are there likely to be any figures to back this up ?

That would be a shame ...

Anyway, thanks for the insights again

Cheers

[WendyWilliams]

Since Im fairly new and live outside of LA its hard to make a HUGE impact but I think with me and Tonya, Allanah, Gia, and shemaleyum, and all the girls like Vicki who signed its a great move towards exposing the fans of AVN to our artform. I know its not alot but I feel having booths and promoting at these events also help pioneer forward.

Ive been called alot (note by my own community) but trash has never been one of those.

We all know that I adore Joanna not only for giving me my start in the industry but always been a great idol. She is not only smart, professional, but very inspiring. But I also admire others for their work: Allanah with her parties which are a great expsure among the tgirl fans, Vicki and Vanity for their great videos and work, Danielle for her inspiring education NOT only being a great makeup artist but her editing and video production work, Kim Christy for help her Avn Hall of Fame award which was a great article in the 2005 Avn book. Gia for her consistant productions, Joey, Stephen, Chris and others with continued website success. I just think its a mixture of hardwork from alot of people.


If Joanna asked me or anyone else I would be happy to do whatever it takes to help with this "battle".

As Vicki said production is DOWN this year as far as companys who are shooting, I did Joey in Nov., shemalestrokers, and Anabolic and now there seems to be nothing available. Hard to make a huge impact when no work available.



Wendy W.

[bezane]

Someone start their own awards show.

Why be part of something that will have to rehash all the stereotypes. It doesn't have to start out elaborate. The first Academy Awards lasted five minutes at the Roosevelt Hotel. I think Chaplin was the presenter.

It would be nice to see the AVNs want to include all people, but this is quite different. Be careful what you ask for. I for one really like reading Vicky's words. Love her picture. Never saw her in a movie. But I know I don't want her treated like a circus act by an entity that is certainly not sensitive to her in the first place. To think the governing body of the AVNs and their membership are liberal thinking in their perception of TSs because they are in the porn business is just plain wrong. The consumers of their product are made up of everything from NASCAR fans and the like, to Wallstreeters and their wives. That's not to say that a small percentage don't enjoy TSs. But how many? So why play THEIR game.

Tell them to go fuck themselves in a nice way. Don't beg them and enable them to set these girls back light years. They will use it as a "freak" category to be honest and blunt.

And while many of the girls will say how great they were treated at AVN, just watch when the mainstays there have their feet put to the fire over this issue. Go to the tradeshow. Sell at the tradeshow. Take what they give at the tradeshow. But to think all the girls should unite to fight whom? The AVN? Please. When push comes to shove there as much or more bigotry there than you meet in society.

Time would be better spent, getting more girls to take resposibility for themselves. Talk nice. Stay in school. Be productive. And a whole bunch of things will start to take care of themselves.

JJ is a fab girl. I wish she included in her crusade things like animal rights, illiteracy and the like. Then we'll notice. I support her and her porn business. But there's more, no? And if the AVN suddenly shows so much respect are people in Preoria suddenly going to start dating TSs?


In regards to AVN. I'm not convinced that they're the entity that matters one iota..

[GroobySteven]

In regards to AVN. I'm not convinced that they're the entity that matters one iota..

My view exactly. AVN is not the be all and end all of this industry. They're only a magazine whose awards and nominations depend on the amount of advertising space bought during the year. Everyone who is winning the AVN awards, do so because the company they work for spends money.



seanchai