TransEthics: How did you get into the sex industry?

Tiffany Starr: I’ve always thought it would be cool to be in the adult entertainment industry, but I never thought I would actually do it. It seems a lot of people fantasize about it at one time or another. It started a little over five years ago. I was working as a receptionist for a large software company. My job had a lot of down time and paid very well. I had a girlfriend at the time named Sarah to whom I was very attached to, and a great car to boot. That all changed in one month.

My car was totaled by a pickup truck and insurance paid just enough to cover the loan. A week after that I was laid off because the company was downsizing and cutting corners. A few days after that my girlfriend at the time and I broke up. I was left devastated, depressed, and with a lot of unpaid bills. Due to the economy being in shambles it was tough finding a replacement job.

Thus I grew desperate and reached out to a friend of mine who just so happened to be a popular transsexual porn star. She offered me a shoot on her website and that all I would need to do if fly to L.A. I decided to contact all the porn companies I could before going out there, because if I was going to shoot one scene I may as well shoot a bunch. It was only supposed to be a temporary fix until I found a new job. However after shooting for most of the major Transsexual porn sites out there I grew popular. It was then that SMC (shemaleclub) offered me a website in their network. I took the offer and I have been shooting porn ever since.

TE: Were you out as trans when you were working at the software job?

TS: I transitioned when I was seventeen. I wanted to transition sooner, however I was engaged in high school and conflicted for a time. I was twenty when I was working as a receptionist, long after I transitioned. I was not open about it as I don’t generally like the general public knowing I’m a transsexual woman. So I was working there after my transition, but I was not out.

TE: How did your family react to you being trans?

TS: When I was contemplating how to go about my transition one of the obstacles in my way was how to tell my family and where do I start? After contemplating how I would reveal myself to my family I decided I would start with my father. The reasoning behind this decision was that I knew he would be the person to take my transition the hardest, and that if I could tell him then I could tell anyone in my family. And that is exactly what I did. Telling my mom, cousins, grandparents, and the rest of my family was a breeze in comparison.

My dad’s reaction was aggressive as expected. Throwing lines out such as “I would rather you be a murderer than trans” and, “I’m not entirely sure you’re my child anymore“. It’s also worth noting my dad doesn’t know the difference between the gay community and the trans community. He thought I preferred men sexually just because I was a woman (which wasn’t true) and treated me poorly.

My mother however had no issues what so ever, in fact she embraced it. She had always wanted a daughter and her face lit up when I told her. The only problem she had was that she wanted a daughter who would marry a man, have kids, and start a family. I had to burst her bubble seeing as how I was still exclusively attracted to women. As for the rest of my family it seems most of them accept me for who I am give or take a few stubborn, close minded uncles and cousins. My grandmother (father’s side) was against my transition at first but after a few months called me up to apologize for how she acted realizing that she loved me no matter who I was or what I did. Overall I was pretty lucky coming out to my family.

TE: There’s a few trans women I know who live stealth with no one knowing that they are trans. What was that like for you?

TS: I generally only want people to find out I’m trans in one of two ways. Either because they’re a fan of my work, or I get close enough to someone to tell them. I obviously have to tell people I’m romantically involved with, but other than that I prefer no one knows. Living in stealth helps me personally because I can avoid certain conversations and unwanted judgments. I’m sick of answering the same questions to people who are curious, or ignorant to the community.

A couple of examples of annoyingly dumb questions I have been asked are: “Why do you want to be a woman if you like women?“; “What was your name before transition?“; “Do you still have your penis?” and so many more I just wish to not bother with. Living in stealth has helped me avoid a lot of uncomfortable situations, and I have had unforeseen benefits I never thought of initially such as free drinks, not paying for dinner, and men being a lot “kinder” to me. It also helps with getting certain jobs.

TE: Are you working outside the porn industry right now?

TS: I am a college student, and have a few side jobs. Cam shows, stripping and the like. I am however looking into other forms of income not related to sex work. I have shot for a few short films and one film that should be coming to Netflix soon (or so I’m told) and I wouldn’t mind another receptionist job until graduation. I have always had a love for acting, but felt like I could no longer do it anymore because being trans has limited some of my specialties such as certain accents of impressions.

TE: Tell us, if you can, about the film coming to Netflix.

TS: I’m not sure if I am allowed to talk about it much. It has a short teaser though. It shows very little and it’s going to be a B-horror movie featuring zombies. The title I believe is “Crack House of the Dead” and It’s a story about a bunch of survivors who converge on an abandoned Crack house during a zombie outbreak. I play a fairly large role as Cheria, a Transsexual Prostitute. I don’t know how the movie is going to turn out, but I do know that the director was happy with my work so as long and I did okay then I’m happy. It may be a great movie, or it could turn out campy. Either way it’ll be a fun watch. I believe it’s supposed to be released in June.

TE: Please keep us in the loop. I know I’ll want to watch.

TS: I’ll be keeping everyone in the loop on Facebook, my blog and Twitter.

TE: You mentioned college. What are you majoring in?

TS: I am majoring in business. There are a lot of opportunities with a business degree. I hope to maybe one day evolve my website even further and possibly make an adult film company of my own, however I would be just as happy working for a big company, getting my big checks, and living in luxury with a wife, house, dog, great car, and my beautiful video game collection.

TE: How do you respond to people who claim the sex industry isn’t ethical?

TS: Usually the people who spew nonsense about the sex industry being “unethical” tend to be even more unethical. Things aren’t always black and white. There is a lot of gray in this world and those who can’t see it are closed-minded, and stubborn in their way of thinking. For a good example let’s take a look at some of the Conservative, Republican, Catholics out there. Many claim that the biggest threat to our country is the LGBT community. Rational thinking people know this to be “Bull Shit” and that the world actually has real problems to solve and not to worry about who loves who.

So they are telling me I’m a sexual deviant for being a transsexual woman and I shouldn’t be allowed in the women’s rest room, but they allow and even defend child molesters in the Catholic church? How is that ethical? They say women shouldn’t have the right to have an abortion because life is sacred and that it starts in the womb, but then justify how all those murders committed by Catholics during the crusades were “Justified”? Or how it mentions only twice in the Bible how god dislikes homosexuality but mentions over six times how he also dislikes shrimp. How many Catholics do you see enjoying hating on shrimp as much as they hate on homosexuality? Seems like someone is using their beliefs to cover their own biases and bigotry. So my answer should be that it’s not unethical.

TE: When it comes to being in porn, what’s your favorite thing to do?

TS: I like to top hot, sexy girls. I’m dominant so when I am with a girl on-screen (and off) it gives me great pleasure to give her…well…great pleasure. I need some friction to get me off so anal, or vaginal sex is my preference. I usually like being on top more because I have control on how I have sex and when I can get “release”. I tend to have better mobility on top as well.

When I am shooting with men it’s the complete opposite. I like to bottom. I feel that I am the girly girl and when I am with a man on set I would like to be treated as such. I am not much for giving or receiving oral sex, but I love anal. It makes me feel so feminine and when my spot is hit I just “perk up” plus being the dominant top all the time would get incredibly boring. That’s not to say I’m submissive though. I don’t like being slapped or called any degrading names during sex. This answer may seem boring to some but I know what I like and I don’t usually have to try to spice it up too much. I do have kinks of course, who doesn’t? But it’s rare my kinks are incorporated in my films.

TE: Just as a teaser, what is your favorite kink off-camera?

TS: I am a bit embarrassed to say honestly. I have two. One seems to be very common among the Transsexual community, but I still prefer not to talk about it. I can at least say I love group sex. It’s not particularly kinky but that’s as kinky as I’ll be on this interview.

TE: Fair enough. Just one more question: What advice would you give to someone who is considering entering the sex industries?

TS: I would usually advise against it unless it’s something you have a strong desire to do. Don’t get into it thinking you’ll be super famous, or rich. My website makes a good amount of money and helps me live, but without a website you will have to resort to shooting for others which is high paying, but inconsistent work. Also always have a plan B. I am currently doing video game reviews on YouTube and my first one is about to be released. Now I have high hopes it’ll catch on, but I won’t have any delusions about being a hit on there. That’s why I have three jobs, and I’m in school. Also if you do get into the industry, be nice to people. No one likes a “primadonna” or “diva” and if you’re sweet, then opportunities will present themselves to you.

I am always looking for talent as well for tiffanystarrxxx.com so if you want some great advice and to possibly have your first shoot then message me on Twitter. I won’t lie and say it isn’t a fun job, it is. I get to travel, make new friends, make money, have sex with attractive people, and you get some limited fame, but unless you have a website or get into the technical/production side of the industry you may be in for a short-lived career. Always be prepared for long stretches of no work. You could shoot fourteen shoots in one month and not shoot for another four. Good luck on your sexy porno endeavor.

TE: Thank you for your insights and chatting with us today, Tiffany.

TS: It was my pleasure. And thank you for the opportunity

Follow Tiffany on Twitter and check out her website.