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Nina Hartley
When Adam & Eve called asking if Sex Wrecks would care to speak to one of its stars, Nina Hartley, this reporter, a well-known bottom lover, almost fell on his. The prospect of speaking to the greatest ass in porno (in the best possible way, naturally) offered the crowning achievement in a professional smut scribe’s carnal career.
Hartley has been in the business for over two decades and stars in countless movies. She has written books and directed video guides on everything from anal sex to masturbation, which are available at AdamEve.com. She can also be seen in a live web show each Tuesday, which members of her website, Nina.com, can tune in to for free.
Retired from eligibility from the AVN awards after winning three years in a row, Hartley is now in the Hall of Fame and sitting on that famous tockus as she intelligently and with good humor takes questions on what she’d never do onscreen, why the leather life is for her, and if rubbing her butt is good luck.
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How does a nice Jewish girl like you get into the porn business?
Because I wanted to--I started as a house dancer while I was attending college, but I had wanted to make adult movies since I was seventeen, after seeing my first one by sneaking into a theater in Berkeley. I actually made it in after my then-boyfriend met up with Juliet Andersen in a supermarket and got her card. We sent her photos and she put me in her directorial debut.
What was the name of the first porno you saw?
Autobiography of a Flea, and I loved it instantly. I wanted to make movies after seeing it. It took eight years, but I made it in.
As a Jew myself, I’m curious: does being a Jew in any way make you a better or worse porn star?
Well, being Jewish just gives you a different perspective on culture, sex, politics, etc. For me, it made me a better one, as I also came into the business in order to talk about sex, politics, and sexual politics, which is a very Jewish thing. Certainly, my intelligence and educational background were very helpful in building my success.
Do you have any plans to retire from making explicit films?
Finally, I do. March twenty-fourth of this year marks my twenty-first anniversary in the business. I'm writing a book, due for release in ’06, and will have to be available for the touring, etc. I’ll keep shooting footage for my site, but I expect ’05 to be my last year in commercial pictures. Porn is a young woman's game, for sure.
Is there any line you won’t cross sexually when making X-rated films?
Working with minors or animals, or people who are clearly drunk, high, or in emotional distress. I won’t do things I know to be extremely dangerous (double-anal cream pies, for example), or things that I wouldn’t do at home for fun and for free. I don’t do scenes that I wouldn’t want to watch for fun myself.
What do you think of the extreme gonzo stuff being made today?
I find a lot of it offensive to good taste and people in general. Men can be offended too, you know. Some porn has a level of hostility to it that I find distasteful. My answer to that is to buy different porn. I don’t watch a lot of video porn, anyway, as I prefer illustrated porn, drawings and the like. If a person doesn’t like a certain thing, then he or she needs to avoid it. If the box cover is a turn off, the video probably will be too. Some people, I’ve found, like to be shocked and disgusted and seek out things they “hate” over and over again. Odd, I think.
How’s working for Adam & Eve different than other adult producers?
We have a similar goal: sexual education and the support of people’s sexual explorations. I appreciate their condom-equals-positive policy too. They’re honest and ethical, which is more than can be said for some other companies.
Is it true that you’ve come out of the BDSM closet?
Yes, I’m an out kinky person, or Leather person, if you prefer that term. I love the bravery, honesty, lustiness, community-minded feeling, openness, acceptance, and support I get from others in the community. As members of a despised minority, Leather people stick together fairly well. Of course there’s community bullshit, as there is anyplace, but I really love the emphasis that is put on personal integrity, skill development, helping others, and emotional development. I like that we are open about what we like, and we seek to eliminate negative shame, which gets in the way of so much pleasure.
As a woman famous for her fantastic ass, do you have any advice on anal sex?
Get my video, Nina Hartley’s Guide to Anal Sex, and Tristan Taorimino’s The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. Her tape is available from Evil Angel Productions. Tristan has a book by the same name, as well. It’s too complex a subject to give much advice here, but the basics are: asses are moody and must be coaxed and seduced each time. Ass can’t be given, but must be earned. Asses can’t lie. Lube, lube, lube. Latex gloves for all anal play significantly reduce accidental cross-contamination to the pussy. Emotions count, so pay attention to them. Men often enjoy ass play too, and it doesn’t make him gay. Gay is who you love, not what you do.
You were in Boogie Nights; how true to the industry was that movie?
Not very--they got some details right, but it was a movie, not a documentary. The main character could have gone to any number of other directors for work, for example.
What do you think of the mainstreaming of pornography nowadays, does it have to be illicit to be a turn-on?
For some people, yes it does. I think the creeping acceptance of porn is inevitable and can’t be turned back. Porn sells in the Red States as well as the Blue.
One of the speakers at the upcoming Chicago conference “Pornography: Driving the Demand for International Sex Trafficking” is Dr. Chyng F. Sun. The good doctor wrote an essay, which you wrote a rebuttal against. Again, you have such a beautiful butt I’d love to hear what you have to say about anti-porn crusaders.
I’m not sure how my butt figures into this question, but I’ll let it slide. They make me angry.
They have very strong, negative emotional responses to porn, for whatever reasons. Instead of being honest about their individual problems with the genre, they dress up their feelings in “rational thinking”, coming up again and again with the notion that, if censorship can’t be instituted outright, then to suggest that liberals stand aside as the courts try to kill us.
Since they’re operating from emotion, reason doesn’t work on them. They have an agenda and they’re going to push it, even if it means getting into bed with anti-choice prudes. They do not have women’s interest in mind, only their own.
They make their living porn-bashing, so how does that make them different than any other so-called pimp? If porn went away, they’d have to get real jobs. If they’re so gung-ho to “help” women, why aren’t they acting as abortion-clinic escorts, or setting up shop where those that need their support can find them? Why do they persist in ignoring “women’s voices” when these voices don’t support their basic premise? They’re intellectually dishonest, lazy, mean, and judgmental, and we don’t need their “help”.
You’ve written a guide to masturbation. What do you think of all the guys out there who are jerking off to you? Does it turn you on?
Yes, it turns me on a lot! I’d fuck them all myself, but the logistics of such a thing just don’t work, so I send the videos instead. My fans know that I accept them and their hard dicks. They know that, if I was with them, I’d be helping them out! I love to watch men masturbate and have always wanted to do one of my shows in front of a masturbating audience.
Have you any experience with an obsessive fan that got out of hand?
Not really. My fans are very sweet and treat me respectfully. Even the drunk ones aren’t so hard to deal with, as I have the bouncers gently pull them away. I can honestly say that I’ve never had a truly (i.e., dangerous) bad fan experience.
Finally, they say it’s good luck to rub the Buddha’s belly, but I think it would be more fortunate to rub your glorious ass cheeks. Would you mind?
Of course not! I’ve long maintained that my ass cheeks are public property. I like the feeling of hands on my ass, so I’m always up for it. It makes people so happy and is so easy for me to do!
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