Angela White, an Australian porn star, is at the forefront of her profession. Outside of adult entertainment, she runs her own website and blog, has an honors degree in gender studies, and even ran for office in her home country.
White sat down with BuzzFeed at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas to talk life in and out of the porn industry.
Javi / BuzzFeed
1. White said she’s wanted to be in porn for a long time. “The first moment that I saw pornography I knew that I wanted to get into it,” she said.
2. She was further motivated to enter the adult entertainment industry from criticism she faced about her sexuality. “I openly identified as bisexual in my teens, and in high school I was criticized for being a slut and a lesbian,” she said. “Basically I wasn’t doing my sexuality right.”
3. White sees pornography as a celebration. “I saw people on the screen having sex with multiple people, like, different locations, different people, multiple genders, and it was celebrated,” she said.
4. Embracing your sexuality is incredibly important, she said. “I think owning your sexuality, being able to embrace your sexuality, loving that part of yourself is integral to your whole being,” White said.
5. The biggest misconceptions about porn and porn stars, according to White? Drug use, sexual abuse in childhood, or desperation for money.
6. White said she believes Western culture should be more open toward sexuality. “We all have sexual desires, and in our culture those sexual desires are repressed or looked down upon,” she said.
7. And she said sex should NEVER be viewed as a bad thing. “I always represent sexuality in my films as something positive,” White said.
8. She insists on using her real name in porn. “It was a political statement for me actually to choose to use my real name in the scenes that I do, because I’m not ashamed of what I do,” White said.
9. White said to film a good scene, an emotional connection must be established. “For me, I really want to showcase the kind of intimacy that we can have in the world,” she said.
10. She’s a college graduate and majored in gender studies at the University of Melbourne.
11. She was a top student and graduated with honors, and eventually wants to go back to get her Ph.D.
12. White strongly identifies as a feminist. “I identify as a feminist, absolutely. As a woman on set I’m making my own decisions, my own choices,” she said.
13. She ran for office on behalf of the Sex Party in Australian state elections to fight for sex workers’ rights.
14. She said she didn’t run with the intention of winning. “My angle wasn’t necessarily to win. I wanted to make sure that Kathleen Maltzahn (a canidate who wanted to criminalize sex work) didn’t win,” White said. News Limited
15. She is one of the few women in the industry to run her own site, blog, and also serve as a director and producer.
16. She said she has absolute authority over her work environment. “I have complete control over everything,” White said.
17. White said she values her independence. “I think the most important thing is for everybody in the industry to be making their own choices,” she said.
18. She said she believes gender attitudes outside of porn can change in the industry. “The only reason that I believe the industry is male-dominated is because there’s so much stigma surrounding sexuality for women,” White said.
19. White said once those attitudes change, doors will open for women. “If we are able to change society’s views, and see men and women as equals on the sexual playing field, then I think more women will enter the industry as directors, as producers, and as higher-ups in companies,” she said.
20. Even if she were not an actress, White said she would still be involved in the adult industry. “I did my honors thesis on female Australian experiences in the porn industry, so if I wasn’t performing I’d either be directing, producing, or researching,” she said.