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RADIO
Tristan Taormino
By Daniel Robert Epstein
Aug 29, 2005
Tristan Taormino is best known for having one of the most famous assholes in the world. She is one of the foremost experts on anal sex and sex in general. That’s why she was the best person to edit the Best Lesbian Erotica anthology.
Buy Best Lesbian Erotica
Daniel Robert Epstein: How did you first get involved with Best Lesbian Erotica in the first place?
Tristan Taormino: It was 1994 and I had been working on my own zine which is called Pucker Up and also working in a community of people who were doing erotic writing. I felt like there weren’t a lot of venues for them to publish their stuff. At that time, I approached another person with Michael Thomas Ford who originated the Best Gay Erotica series. We pitched it as sort of like a companion book and the publishers were like “Well we’re interested in this. There isn’t a lot of erotica in the market. We don’t know how it’s going to sell. But yeah we’ll do it.” 10 years later, there’s a huge market now. But when we were doing it, especially in terms of lesbian erotica, there are only a few titles.
DRE:
Oh really that’s shocking.
TT:
That was back in the old days. Now there’s an entire category in the bookstore. And now, it’s a category at the Lambda Literary Awards. It’s a big deal.
DRE:
What’s your favorite erotic story in the book?
TT:
My favorite story in this book is actually the first story which is called Love You and Set It Free and it’s all about this girl growing up in Baltimore and she’s doesn’t know she’s a lesbian quite yet. But she and her friends rent this lesbian porno and it turns her on. So she buys her first dildo and masturbates with it while her friend is asleep. But is she asleep or is she not asleep? It’s sort of all these question marks and it’s hysterically funny.
DRE:
Would this book be a good gift for both guys and girls?
TT:
Absolutely. I feel like our libidos are a lot more complicated than our identities can be. I think whether you identify it straight or gay or guy or girl or you’re single or you’re in a couple a whole bunch of different stories about people can turn you on.
DRE:
What were the criteria for the stories?
TT:
First and foremost, it has to be well-written. I think sometimes erotica gets a bad name because it’s written pornography, people think it’s low quality. I totally disagree and I think sexy writing can be good writing and good writing can be sexy writing. Then I’m interested in stories that surprise me, that turn me on, that make me laugh. Stories with very well-developed characters and a context for people that are having some kind of erotic encounter. In stories I want something to be at stake otherwise, who cares? What’s at stake can be very deep and meaningful like this long-term couple is going to have sex to see if it’s going to save their relationship. Or someone goes out and meets a stranger and steps outside their comfort zone and hooks up with them and what’s at stake is just a good time and an orgasm.
DRE:
Do you ever get questions that freak you out?
TT:
It is incredibly difficult to freak me out. Mostly it’s just because I’ve had a lot of experience and done a lot. I encourage people to ask me as personal questions as they want to and I’ll answer them straightforwardly.
DRE:
So you don’t really get anything that’s ever like, Whoa?
TT:
No not at all. I don’t feel like there should be questions which are off limits and I feel like you know there’s are many people who are afraid to ask questions because they think they’re going to sound dumb or they think they should know the answer or they’re not going to be cool or they think they have a particular sexual desire or turn-on that isn’t normal. I want to validate people and allow them to ask absolutely anything and take away this shame, guilt and judgment that can be associated with that.
DRE:
Have you been affected by any of these puritanical things that are happening in America?
TT:
Absolutely, not too long ago, I spoke at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There’s this conservative professor who heard about it and said that taxpayer dollars shouldn’t pay to have a porn star come and corrupt our children. Number one, no taxpayer dollar paid for my appearance. Number 2, calling me a porn star is like calling Michael Jordan a baseball player. Did he play baseball? He tried it out but was he good at it? Yeah, he was ok. He didn’t make it his life career and looking over the body of work, you wouldn’t consider him first and foremost a baseball player. You know, I’ve written three books. I’ve edited ten. I’ve written for countless publications including the Village Voice. I teach classes all over the country. I’ve been on TV. I’ve been on the radio. I’ve made exactly three films which involve explicit sex, two of them are based on my book The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women and one of them is sort of a short artsy film of the publishers of Libido Magazine which was heavy on the script and sort of light on the sex. So I just think calling me a porn star is insulting to both me and porn stars everywhere who actually work really hard everyday in the adult industry at what they do. So that’s that. He generated a lot of buzz. A lot of people in the right wing wrote letters to the university freaking out. The chancellor then came out and said, “We didn’t know who she was when we asked her to speak. Oh my God, now that we know, we’re freaked out.” Which was a lie because they knew everything about me. They got my press kit. They’ve seen my website. They know it all. I make no bones about who I am, what I represent, what I do.
DRE:
Can you sympathize with how upset he was?
TT:
No I think he’s an idiot. The truth of the matter is, colleges and universities are supposed to be these places where there’s debate, dialogue, diversity and there’s growth. Most students would say, “When I pay my tuition and a small percent of my tuition goes to these student activity fees, I realize that those fees are going to pay for speakers and events that A, I don’t care about and B, I don’t attend; C, I might briefly disagree with people and things that might actually offend me but I am part of this community, I’m part of this university. I believe in free speech and some of the money is going to go to stuff that I wholeheartedly support and others are going to go to stuff that other people are interested in and other people support and that’s ok.
I think it just encourages dialogue and that to me is what higher learning is all about. So I think he has it all wrong but I’m an easy target for him. He thinks “Oh my God, porn star talking to our kids, giving them pornography.” Then he gets all these people riled up and he doesn’t even have his facts straight.
DRE:
Rachel Kramer Bussell told me to ask you about he time when you put a wiffle ball bat inside yourself.
TT:
I went on the Opie and Anthony Show and I have to say it was bit of an ambush. There was this pro-wrestler promoter on there and he had a little bug up his ass about me and they ganged up on me and said “We want you to put this wiffle ball bat up your ass and I did.” In hindsight, I would have rather put a bat up my ass for Howard Stern than Opie and Anthony because I feel that I have a lot more respect for Stern and he showed me way more respect than those fools.
DRE:
What are your latest additions to your anal sex empire?
TT:
Several years ago, I designed my own butt plug which is named after me, The Tristan. We started making them and it’s been a great success. We’ve sold a lot of them and it’s brought joy to the butts of many people. A lot of people wrote to me and said they wanted a bigger, thicker, longer version of Tristan. So we released the Tristan 2 nicknamed the T2 and it’s a bigger, longer, thicker version of my signature butt plug. It’s an answer to all those requests of all my fans who wanted something bigger to put in their butts and I’m just totally excited about it.
DRE:
Do you test on these things yourself?
TT:
Absolutely.
DRE:
Do you test them like in the early stages when there’s a product type number on it?
TT:
Yeah, I test the prototype. It got a little bit longer after that prototype. There’s one prototype that’s been in my asshole. I’m going to put it on eBay for charity.
DRE:
Last year I spoke with Richard Kern and he said that it seems like girls are a lot more willing to take their clothes off now. What’s your impression?
TT:
Certainly I think when you’re planning to take your clothes off and you’re going to do it in a really public way, all women have to know that those pictures or that video is never going to die. It’s going to be out there forever.
DRE:
I don’t know if all of them realize that though.
TT:
That’s what I think. But there are more opportunities for women to take their clothes off and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Again when you are approached by someone like SuicideGirls you know that this is done in with a feminist sensibility and ethical way. You’re going to have input and control and say over how I look or how I’m represented or what I want to do and what I don’t want to do. There’s just more women in positions of power. I mean when you think of just being in the porn industry and how many more actresses now get to work with female directors; female producers and I think that’s stated in a different environment and one where women feel like they have more power.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Tristan Taormino is best known for having one of the most famous assholes in the world. She is one of the foremost experts on anal sex and sex in general. That’s why she was the best person to edit the Best Lesbian Erotica anthology.
Buy Best Lesbian Erotica
Daniel Robert Epstein: How did you first get involved with Best Lesbian Erotica in the first place?
Tristan Taormino: It was 1994 and I had been working on my own zine which is called Pucker Up and also working in a community of people who were doing erotic writing. I felt like there weren’t a lot of venues for them to publish their stuff. At that time, I approached another person with Michael Thomas Ford who originated the Best Gay Erotica series. We pitched it as sort of like a companion book and the publishers were like “Well we’re interested in this. There isn’t a lot of erotica in the market. We don’t know how it’s going to sell. But yeah we’ll do it.” 10 years later, there’s a huge market now. But when we were doing it, especially in terms of lesbian erotica, there are only a few titles.
DRE:
Oh really that’s shocking.
TT:
That was back in the old days. Now there’s an entire category in the bookstore. And now, it’s a category at the Lambda Literary Awards. It’s a big deal.
DRE:
What’s your favorite erotic story in the book?
TT:
My favorite story in this book is actually the first story which is called Love You and Set It Free and it’s all about this girl growing up in Baltimore and she’s doesn’t know she’s a lesbian quite yet. But she and her friends rent this lesbian porno and it turns her on. So she buys her first dildo and masturbates with it while her friend is asleep. But is she asleep or is she not asleep? It’s sort of all these question marks and it’s hysterically funny.
DRE:
Would this book be a good gift for both guys and girls?
TT:
Absolutely. I feel like our libidos are a lot more complicated than our identities can be. I think whether you identify it straight or gay or guy or girl or you’re single or you’re in a couple a whole bunch of different stories about people can turn you on.
DRE:
What were the criteria for the stories?
TT:
First and foremost, it has to be well-written. I think sometimes erotica gets a bad name because it’s written pornography, people think it’s low quality. I totally disagree and I think sexy writing can be good writing and good writing can be sexy writing. Then I’m interested in stories that surprise me, that turn me on, that make me laugh. Stories with very well-developed characters and a context for people that are having some kind of erotic encounter. In stories I want something to be at stake otherwise, who cares? What’s at stake can be very deep and meaningful like this long-term couple is going to have sex to see if it’s going to save their relationship. Or someone goes out and meets a stranger and steps outside their comfort zone and hooks up with them and what’s at stake is just a good time and an orgasm.
DRE:
Do you ever get questions that freak you out?
TT:
It is incredibly difficult to freak me out. Mostly it’s just because I’ve had a lot of experience and done a lot. I encourage people to ask me as personal questions as they want to and I’ll answer them straightforwardly.
DRE:
So you don’t really get anything that’s ever like, Whoa?
TT:
No not at all. I don’t feel like there should be questions which are off limits and I feel like you know there’s are many people who are afraid to ask questions because they think they’re going to sound dumb or they think they should know the answer or they’re not going to be cool or they think they have a particular sexual desire or turn-on that isn’t normal. I want to validate people and allow them to ask absolutely anything and take away this shame, guilt and judgment that can be associated with that.
DRE:
Have you been affected by any of these puritanical things that are happening in America?
TT:
Absolutely, not too long ago, I spoke at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There’s this conservative professor who heard about it and said that taxpayer dollars shouldn’t pay to have a porn star come and corrupt our children. Number one, no taxpayer dollar paid for my appearance. Number 2, calling me a porn star is like calling Michael Jordan a baseball player. Did he play baseball? He tried it out but was he good at it? Yeah, he was ok. He didn’t make it his life career and looking over the body of work, you wouldn’t consider him first and foremost a baseball player. You know, I’ve written three books. I’ve edited ten. I’ve written for countless publications including the Village Voice. I teach classes all over the country. I’ve been on TV. I’ve been on the radio. I’ve made exactly three films which involve explicit sex, two of them are based on my book The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women and one of them is sort of a short artsy film of the publishers of Libido Magazine which was heavy on the script and sort of light on the sex. So I just think calling me a porn star is insulting to both me and porn stars everywhere who actually work really hard everyday in the adult industry at what they do. So that’s that. He generated a lot of buzz. A lot of people in the right wing wrote letters to the university freaking out. The chancellor then came out and said, “We didn’t know who she was when we asked her to speak. Oh my God, now that we know, we’re freaked out.” Which was a lie because they knew everything about me. They got my press kit. They’ve seen my website. They know it all. I make no bones about who I am, what I represent, what I do.
DRE:
Can you sympathize with how upset he was?
TT:
No I think he’s an idiot. The truth of the matter is, colleges and universities are supposed to be these places where there’s debate, dialogue, diversity and there’s growth. Most students would say, “When I pay my tuition and a small percent of my tuition goes to these student activity fees, I realize that those fees are going to pay for speakers and events that A, I don’t care about and B, I don’t attend; C, I might briefly disagree with people and things that might actually offend me but I am part of this community, I’m part of this university. I believe in free speech and some of the money is going to go to stuff that I wholeheartedly support and others are going to go to stuff that other people are interested in and other people support and that’s ok.
I think it just encourages dialogue and that to me is what higher learning is all about. So I think he has it all wrong but I’m an easy target for him. He thinks “Oh my God, porn star talking to our kids, giving them pornography.” Then he gets all these people riled up and he doesn’t even have his facts straight.
I think it just encourages dialogue and that to me is what higher learning is all about. So I think he has it all wrong but I’m an easy target for him. He thinks “Oh my God, porn star talking to our kids, giving them pornography.” Then he gets all these people riled up and he doesn’t even have his facts straight.
DRE:
Rachel Kramer Bussell told me to ask you about he time when you put a wiffle ball bat inside yourself.
TT:
I went on the Opie and Anthony Show and I have to say it was bit of an ambush. There was this pro-wrestler promoter on there and he had a little bug up his ass about me and they ganged up on me and said “We want you to put this wiffle ball bat up your ass and I did.” In hindsight, I would have rather put a bat up my ass for Howard Stern than Opie and Anthony because I feel that I have a lot more respect for Stern and he showed me way more respect than those fools.
DRE:
What are your latest additions to your anal sex empire?
TT:
Several years ago, I designed my own butt plug which is named after me, The Tristan. We started making them and it’s been a great success. We’ve sold a lot of them and it’s brought joy to the butts of many people. A lot of people wrote to me and said they wanted a bigger, thicker, longer version of Tristan. So we released the Tristan 2 nicknamed the T2 and it’s a bigger, longer, thicker version of my signature butt plug. It’s an answer to all those requests of all my fans who wanted something bigger to put in their butts and I’m just totally excited about it.
DRE:
Do you test on these things yourself?
TT:
Absolutely.
DRE:
Do you test them like in the early stages when there’s a product type number on it?
TT:
Yeah, I test the prototype. It got a little bit longer after that prototype. There’s one prototype that’s been in my asshole. I’m going to put it on eBay for charity.
DRE:
Last year I spoke with Richard Kern and he said that it seems like girls are a lot more willing to take their clothes off now. What’s your impression?
TT:
Certainly I think when you’re planning to take your clothes off and you’re going to do it in a really public way, all women have to know that those pictures or that video is never going to die. It’s going to be out there forever.
DRE:
I don’t know if all of them realize that though.
TT:
That’s what I think. But there are more opportunities for women to take their clothes off and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Again when you are approached by someone like SuicideGirls you know that this is done in with a feminist sensibility and ethical way. You’re going to have input and control and say over how I look or how I’m represented or what I want to do and what I don’t want to do. There’s just more women in positions of power. I mean when you think of just being in the porn industry and how many more actresses now get to work with female directors; female producers and I think that’s stated in a different environment and one where women feel like they have more power.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
