TransEthics: What did you do before you got into the Industry?

Stefani Special: Many, many 9 to 5 jobs. Food service mostly but also customer service rep, sales person, construction. I actually started web-camming & escorting before porn too.

TE: What was your motivation for getting started in sex work?

SS: It kind of chose me. I chose to proceed with it because I love sex. I’ve said it before in other interviews but I was working at a sandwich shop & I would have customers ask me at the counter if I had an ad up. I was like what the fuck is that…? Then I did research & was like “oh, okay”. I was already web-camming at the time but mostly just Skype & Yahoo Messenger to get a feel for what it was.

So after pushing it around in my head & originally thinking I could go into cis porn & having that dream crash, I contacted Grooby. They didn’t have shooters in Dallas at the time, but I was contacted shortly after by Omar Wax to shoot. Also I had a brief, like 1-3 scenes in solo gay porn but of course you wouldn’t recognize me even if you knew me. That was way prior to Grooby of course, and actually even prior to escorting.

TE: Why do you think the main-stream porn industry shuns trans performers?

SS: Well, let me preface this by saying, it’s getting better. It’s the stigma around trans people in general & society’s preconceived misconceptions of us, along with the thought that we are all only good for niche porn like “shemale, tranny” fetish.

They don’t see us as being as marketable if they are not doing a TS project. I’ve said it before, the industry is all one but it’s the audiences that keep it separate. That being said audiences are overlapping more than ever now, and  the stigma is slowly being broken [with] trans women being cast in roles outside of “shemale, tranny” fetish. Now all of this is due to the bottom up fight for progress from several adamant performers and some companies that have enough power to create a top down trickle effect. That being said as much progress as we have made, we still have a long way to go.

TE: How are you working to advance this agenda?

SS: Everything I can! Not only am I trying to innovate one of the bigger of many fetishes that hasn’t been explored in Trans porn, which is BDSM, I am also pushing for inclusion into the mainstream and trying to open doors for authenticity and performer fantasies with trans porn. [Additionally] I’m trying to get the hidden fans to step out of the shadows and be loud and proud about their love for trans porn. I call out people where they need to be, and commend others when they need to be. It’s not really a thing about marketing terms as it is about pigeonholing. I really push and will continue to push to see more casting opportunities for trans women in porn to open up.

Now because of the society we live in & the events that have happened in the past, certain marketing terms have a limiting effect when used by appealing to people’s prejudice over their arousal but hey sometimes it is a necessary evil because of popularity sake even though it perpetuates stigma. That’s getting off on another subject…

TE: Let’s expand on that subject. Do you feel the use terms deemed as slurs by the trans community can be weeded out of porn, or will they always be a “necessary evil” in the industry?

SS: Because of popularity sake, no. Because it has been force fed down people’s throats for so long, no. It will always be there because there will always be “shemale, tranny” fetish porn made. The fact that ALL Trans porn is labeled as that & pretty much that alone is extremely limiting & problematic. Especially when we are pushing for inclusion as a genre and not just a niche. I think that some terms that are sexual but do not have as bad connotations connected to them will be brought in but they still will never be as popular as the ones already in use because that foundation has already been built.

We could go to trans women being marketed the same way cis women are, and trans men the same way cis men are but then again that would take away “novelty” out of our genre. Novelty is good. Negative novelty is bad.

Think about it, when you say the word “slut” in a sexual environment it appeals to people’s arousal. If you say the word “tranny” in a sexual environment it appeals to peoples prejudices first because of all the drama attached to such words.

TE: How do you respond to people who would claim that sex work is “unethical”?

SS: You can not tell someone what they do with their body is unethical just because you have your certain code of ethics and it doesn’t align with what I think. That’s your opinion. The sex workers I have been around are all consenting adults and have the right to choose what we want to to do with our bodies. Sex work is just another form of work. Just like Mr. President.

TE: Speaking of Presidents, if you could ask President Obama for one thing before he leaves office, what would it be?

SS: Well, I would like to thank him for all the positive things he has helped make happen for our country like, nationwide marriage equality, healthcare, lowering student loan debts and gas prices, creating more job opportunities… the list goes on.

I would like to ask him to do a press conference in North Carolina [to] really just drive home the point that church and state have been separated for a long time now. And celebrating your religious freedom doesn’t mean you can discriminate and use violence against those who don’t fit what you think your God sees fit. Maybe Lady Gaga can perform an acoustic version of “Let It Be” on the piano too.

TE: Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to mention?

SS: Yes I have a collaboration with Trouble Films, Foxhouse Films & Chelsea Poe Productions coming out on 4/20/2016 by the name of FETISH FVCKDOLLS. Chelsea Poe, Kelli Lox & I are the featured stars but there is a great cast of co-stars as well. I can only talk about my scene on the project and I am so excited to do so. My scene is with Mistress Kara. It was filmed and co-directed by Jux Lii. It was shot on location in the gorgeous all white Dungeon East in Downtown L.A. My scene involves many aspects of BDSM, and hopefully will bring the BDSM fetishist and the trans porn consumer market together. The trailer for the project in it’s entirety can be seen on the Trouble Films website & can be bought there as soon as it’s released (on April 20th).

In the spirit of Trans BDSM promotion, I also have a Kink.com scene that we just shot recently for TS Pussy Hunters that involves a lot of BDSM. I’m being dominated by three Dommes all at once. Hopefully this will open up doors for more submissive trans productions on the site or another, as there is plenty of on going demand for it.The demand has even spilled outside of the trans forums on the Kink site, over to the other sites’ forums. It’s a pretty cool thing. I encourage all the fans that want to see this kind of thing happen to join in on the discussion.

[Additionally I have] Real Fucking Girls directed by Mona Wales for Grooby Platinum is coming soon too. I was production assistant for the DVD & I also have an acting cameo in it.

I have a my third Crashpad series scenes coming up in June. This one is with the Mistress in my life Mistress Kara & W/we have something very special planned for your viewing pleasure.

I am planning on working a lot more with Slamdog Films soon for my Clips4Sale store (Stefanis-So-Special) & other various projects. I have two Evil Angel scenes coming out soon as well. One for Francesca Le & one for Aiden Starr.

TE: Sounds like you’ll be quite busy!

SS: Very much so.

TE: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today.

SS: Of course!  Thank you so much Victoria. It was so nice doing this with you.

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