Buck Angel, Porn's Most Famous Trans Man, Transitions to Sex Ed
By Amanda Hess
Posted Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012, at 1:47 PM ET
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/09/19/buck_angel_trans_man_porn_star_turns_sex_educator_.htmlToday, Angel is undergoing another transition—from porn star to sex educator. "The man with the pussy" used to be a calling card for Angel's pornographic niche, but now it's more of an educational tool, one that he says has helped both trans men and cisgender women become more comfortable in their own bodies. Last week, Angel told his story to the crowd at CatalystCon, a new national conference dedicated to human sexuality that is working to bridge a similar divide between more traditional sex education channels and the porn industry, which has emerged as default sex ed for a new generation of plugged-in teens (and adults, too). The conference featured academic talks by Ph.D.s like Shira Tarrant and Constance Penley, alongside porn industry pros like Angel and Jessica Drake, a performer and director who markets her own quasi-educational porn line, "Jessica Drake's Guide to Wicked Sex." (Tagline: "Sex education just got sexy.")
The porn industry's sizable audience has vaulted many porn performers—regardless of background—into the role of unofficial sexperts. Some, like Angel, have made efforts to step up into the new role, turning his sex industry experience into a popular lesson plan on masculinity, sexuality, and medicine. When Angel told his story—he calls it "the Buck Angel Effect"—to the crowd last week, two dozen listeners (all of them women) nodded emphatically along.
