Bucking heteronormativity: Buck Angel as porn performer, producer and pedagogue. Issue 2 (2nd April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barriault, Marcel
• Is Part Of: Porn studies. Volume 3:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 133
• Page End: 146
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02
• Subjects: Buck Angel -- Cirque Noir -- homoerotic film -- porn -- female-to-male -- trans man -- performer -- producer -- educator; Pornography -- Periodicals; Pornography -- Law and legislation -- Periodicals; Pornography in popular culture -- Periodicals; Pornography -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Pornography -- History -- Periodicals; 363.4705
• DOI: 10.1080/23268743.2016.1184476
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2326-8743

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article presents the work of Buck Angel, the self-styled 'man with a pussy', a female-to-male porn performer who has also carved a unique career path for himself as porn director, producer, and sex educator. The article focuses on Angel's participation in the Titan Media production Cirque Noir (2005), since this work marked the first on-screen performance of a trans man in a porn film marketed specifically to a gay male audience. The text will make explicit how Buck's performance in this film makes use of pedagogical strategies to educate the audience on their assumptions regarding gender identity, gender performance, gender binarism, and sexual orientation. The article measures the educational impact of Buck's work on his audience by examining critically the comments members of his viewing public have left on the various online porn sites that welcome viewer feedback, as well as in the discursive space Angel has opened up for them by using several social media tools. It demonstrates how Angel's work in porn has naturally presented new opportunities for him as advocate, social activist, and lecturer on the campus circuit. Finally, the article addresses some of the controversy Angel's work has generated, particularly within the trans community.