Tag Archives: Chelsea Poe

Apr 18 2016

Trans Specialty: Stefani Special on Trans BDSM, Progress in Porn, and Vernacular

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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. Continue reading →

Apr 13 2015

Trans Artisan: Courtney Trouble on Gender, The Effects of Transphobia, and Art

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TransEthics: What did you do before you got into sex work?

Courtney Trouble: I started doing phone sex as a job a few months after my eighteenth birthday because between college, my personal projects, and trying to be a freelance writer, I didn’t have the time or interest to stay at an entry-level retail or food job. I just didn’t have it in me. I was initially attracted to sex work because I wanted to work on my art (which at that time, were photography, zines, websites, and music) instead of work at someone’s store. I’ve been doing some sort of internet-based sex work since 2002. So what did I do before sex work? Be a teen, I guess. A nerdy, super creative, artistic, baby riot grrrrl who didn’t want a corporate job.

TE: When did you decide to move beyond working the phones? Continue reading →

Mar 31 2015

Trans Action: Chelsea Poe on Activism, the Trans 100, and Violence Against Trans Women

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TransEthics: What does it mean for you to have been in the Trans 100 this year?

Chelsea Poe: It really meant a lot to me. Being recognized by the trans community for my activism is extremely humbling. I think for myself it validates what I have been doing in the industry thus far and really makes me motivated for the future.

TE: Your activism –especially where it intersects with sex work– has ruffled some feathers of late. Tell us about some of the challenges you’ve faced. Continue reading →

Feb 3 2015

Keeping it Real: Interview with Chelsea Poe

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Trans Ethics: You recently started a petition to get websites to stop using terms like ‘”tranny” and “shemale”. How is that coming along?

Chelsea Poe: A few sites changed their policy after the petition was launched in November. Right now only 3 major companies still use the term “shemale” and I think sites like Trans 500 are the future of trans porn. That is high quality, mainstream porn that just happens to be of trans women without the offensive terms. I’ve been working with Nica Noelle and Courtney Trouble a lot lately and I think they are also bringing an entire new view of trans sexuality from a really artistic place. Their porn is also going to bring a lot of changes to what the state of trans porn is in the future.

TE: There are some models out there who actively promote themselves using those terms, not finding them offensive at all. How do you respond to the models that don’t have an issue with those terms? Do you think they perpetuate a negative stereotype? Continue reading →