January 20, 1986 – Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography, Washington DC

Over the years I’ve seen pornography help a lot of people, and on occasion I’ve seen it hurt people. Being in pornography has really helped me, and perhaps in some ways it might have hurt me.

I’ve been exploited by pornography, but mostly I exploited pornography, and it paid my bills for many years. Porn pays well, but it could pay better.

Some people say porn makes people want to go out and rape. I suppose it’s possible that pornography may have somehow inspired some already very sick person to commit a rape, but millions of people have watched porn movies and never raped anyone. If a tree falls down and kills someone, do we cut down the whole forest? If people get hurt in car accidents, do we get rid of all cars? (Cars are far, far more dangerous than porn could ever be).

While making pornography, I have on occasion felt exploited or used, but mostly I have felt very free and joyful. I’ve had porn make me look and feel like a mindless-bimbo-piece-of-meat-sex-object, and I’ve had pornography make me look and feel more beautiful, glamorous, and sexy than I ever would have dreamed possible.

Some of the pornography I’ve made is pretty awful schlock, and some of the pornography I’ve made is very creative, interesting, wonderful stuff that I’m very proud of and that has even been educational and helpful to others. On occasion I have questioned if some of my work in pornography might have somehow hurt the women’s movement, and if it did I would be very sad. But I honestly feel like a freedom fighter who is contributing something wonderful to women’s liberation and sexual education, and that makes me very happy.

I believe that people have the right to buy, sell, see and make pornography if they want to, and for better or for worse, I will continue to express myself with sexually explicit images, creating what I like to create, doing what I like to do. There is no other side to this coin.