LOS ANGELES — ThreeL Media and Jiz Lee recently celebrated the first anniversary of the release of Lee’s anthology “Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Essays on Pornography, Protection and Privacy.”
“Porn is a very public and permanent form of sex work, and its workers face a lot of stigma,” Lee said. “To be 'outed' creates very real harms: porn performers are frequently harassed by stalkers and abusive exes. We face occupational discrimination from having bank accounts frozen and housing rejections, to the most heartbreaking of all: fighting custody battles over our children. The topic of names — of the choice to use stage or given name — is a common theme throughout the book, and represents self-expression as well as the necessity of privacy.”
Lee has been speaking out against California’s Proposition 60, saying that it will violate the privacy of adult performers.
Lee said, “One of the greatest concerns performers have against Prop 60 is the release of our legal name and address — information that will be used to harass and harm us. ‘Coming Out Like a Porn Star’ highlights the ways workers are vulnerable.”
Annie Sprinkle, sex educator and former porn performer, said of Lee’s anthology, “It’s wonderful that now all kinds of people can read porn stars’ coming out stories, because many people far outside the porn star worlds will totally relate and learn a lot from them. There are morals to these stories.”
Tobi Hill-Meyer, editor of the upcoming anthology “Nerve Endings: The New Trans Erotic,” said of Lee’s anthology, “People have always been interested in my experience as a feminist porn maker who grew up with anti-porn feminist parents. It's been great getting to share my story, which is actually a lot less of a conflict than you would think.”
Cam performer Anna Cherry, who is quoted in the anthology, said, “Having my words published in such a paradigm-shifting book as ‘Coming Out Like a Porn Star,’ has been very meaningful to me in my life. This is my first true publication, both as a hopeful healer and a porn performer. Both of these identities are the core of my being, and having been presented to the world in that light is an immensely validating experience. I cannot describe the joy and floods of emotion I experience when random strangers (on Twitter and Instagram) quote my words back to me along with a confession of how it touched them in a most personal way.”
For more information, visit JizLee.com or follow Lee on Twitter.
