Porn star Angela White studied at Melbourne Uni to ‘know the enemy’

When Angela White was in her 20s,the standard reaction when she told people she worked in the porn industry was:“But don’t you feel degraded or victimised?”

White was bemused. She was passionate about her job and being celebrated in her workplace for her sexual adventurism felt liberating after years of being “slut-shamed” at high school.

“I am,like,where are these arguments coming from?” White recalls. So she enrolled,incognito,in a gender studies degree at Melbourne University.

‘Where are these arguments coming from?’:Angela White having lunch at Nobu.

‘Where are these arguments coming from?’:Angela White having lunch at Nobu.Simon Schluter

Today White,37,is one of Australia’s most successful porn stars,with 9.1 million Instagram followers and an exclusive contract with Canadian pornographic video production company Brazzers.

Pornography,as White discovered at Melbourne University,has been one of the most divisive issues in feminism since the sex wars of the 1980s.

There are polarising views on whether it is degrading and leads to violence against women or can be empowering and promote sexual freedom when there is clear consent and the woman’s pleasure is at the centre of the story.

White studied under former professor of political science Sheila Jeffreys,who was involved insetting up the first anti-pornography group in Britain in 1977.

Jeffreys wrote in Unpacking Queer Politics:“Pornography as propaganda,according to feminist analysis,represents women as objects who love to be abused,and teaches men practices of degradation and abuse to carry out upon women.”

“I did her class without her - or anyone in that class - knowing I was a performer,and I really was able to know the enemy,so to speak,and understand their arguments more by doing that,” White says over lunch at Nobu.

White,who now lives in Los Angeles,is in Melbourne to appear at Sexpo from November 25-27,where she will meet fans,who queue to share their fantasies and ask her to sign copies of DVDs with names such asAngela loves threesomes.

In 2010 she wrote an honours thesis arguing that females in porn were either portrayed as helpless victims or empowered women with sexual agency,yet there had been little engagement with female performers themselves.

The thesis,later published in theRoutledge Companion to Media,Sex and Sexuality, analysed the perspectives of six females who performed in the Australian porn industry.

“The victim/agent divide is very tired and doesn’t actually look at the reality of what most people experience,” White says. “Of course both exist,but it’s a job for most people and it falls somewhere in the middle.”

Pornography is one of the few professions where women are paid more than men,White says. “It’s an industry where women can be empowered to create their own content,be creative with their sexuality and create a financial future for themselves. Obviously I can only speak from my own experiences,but for me,it’s been something that’s been very empowering.”

Others have less glowing testimonials about the porn industry.

Mia Khalifa - who spent three months working in the porn industry before leaving - hasclaimed she was paid a pittance and that pornography companies “prey on callow young women”. Khalifa said she received death threats from the Islamic State group after being filmed performing sex acts while wearing a hijab,and said some companies didn’t want to work with her because of her past.

In September former porn star Lana Rhoades said she didn’t think porn was good for anybody and should be banned. “I mean,essentially you’re having to have sex with people that you didn’t choose to have sex with,that you might not find attractive,you might actually think that they’re disgusting,and you have to have sex with them because it’s your job,” she said onThe Skinny Controversial podcast.

White,who worked with Rhoades,says it’s important to respect how performers feel about their time in porn. “Obviously I disagree with her statement that we should ban porn.”

Nobu is a favourite restaurant of White’s. I order the black cod miso - which she says Nobu is famous for - and White chooses salmon,tamago and salmon belly sushi.

The black cod miso at Nobu.

The black cod miso at Nobu.Simon Schluter

“Because you are getting naked on camera and your body is part of your business,you have to be eating healthy consistently,” says White,who is immaculately groomed in top-to-toe black,her low-cut top revealing her famous 32GG bust.

White’s breasts are not surgically enhanced,a rarity in the industry,which she says is actually a branding advantage. Maintaining her body is a finely calibrated affair. She needs cardiovascular fitness for shooting long,gruelling scenes and muscle strength for holding positions for long periods. “But I also need to not work out so much that I lose weight because my breasts will shrink,and my breasts are part of the image.”

White was first introduced to porn by a boyfriend when she was a teenager. It was aPenthouse magazine and the image is still seared into her mind:a naked woman looking directly into the camera with a huge smile on her face.

“I just thought:‘This is a woman who was so empowered and so embracing of her own sexuality and just not caring about what anyone else thinks.’ And I was actually a little jealous because I wanted to be comfortable in my own skin,to be able to express myself without being criticised.”

White went to high school in NSW. It was a bruising environment for the sexually curious teenager,who identified,at the time,as bisexual. (She now believes sexual identity categories box people in,but says pansexual,someone who is attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender identity,fits her best.)

Salmon,salmon belly and tamago sushi

Salmon,salmon belly and tamago sushiSimon Schluter

White says she was once made to apologise to the school assembly after kissing a girl in the quadrangle. Lemon was a popular slang term for lesbian,so students threw lemons at her in the school yard. “And then when I had sex with men,I was called a slut. So it didn’t matter who I had sex with,it was deemed inappropriate.”

As soon as she turned 18,White sent photos to The Score Group,an adult entertainment publishing company in Miami.

From the outset,in 2003,she made the “political decision” to use her real name rather than invent a stage name. “I was so proud of my sexuality and I had been so criticised that I wanted to show this is me. This is who I am. I don’t want to hide behind a wall. I wanted to be an authentic,honest brand.”

Score specialised in large natural breasts. “So they were very interested in shooting me and yeah,they flew me across the world. I was 18 and still in high school. It was a really exciting time in my life.”

Angela White in 2010 standing as a Sex Party candidate.

Angela White in 2010 standing as a Sex Party candidate.Paul Rovere

In the 2010 state election,Fiona Patten recruited White to stand as the Australian Sex Party candidate in the seat of Richmond. White,who won 2.9 per cent of the vote,said her intention was not to win but to draw votes away from Greens candidate Kathleen Maltzahn.

At the time Maltzahn was advocating for the Swedish model of sex work legislation,which criminalises the buyers of sex but not the sellers. The model has been criticised for driving sex work underground and making life more dangerous for sex workers.

“For me,my campaign was a success,because in the end Kathleen Maltzahn wasn’t elected,” White says.

Angela White at Nobu.

Angela White at Nobu.Simon Schluter

Following her brief flirtation with politics,she went on to create her own production company,AGW Entertainment,so she could direct - and in the early days edit - her own movies.

“This means I can control every detail - location,wardrobe,on-screen partners,whether or not there is a script,what kind of vibe I want for the scene,” she says. “I am a feminist,so what I create is feminist,and I produce ethical porn,which is when everything is consensual.”

In 2016 White moved to Los Angeles and later signed with Brazzers.Daily Beast dubbed her the “Meryl Streep of porn” after she became the first woman to win the Adult Video News Female Presenter of the Year three consecutive times at the so-called “Oscars of Porn”.

A legacy of the #MeToo movement,White says,is that setting boundaries and giving consent has become more formalised.

“Before the scene,the performers will sit down with a talent liaison officer and we will go through a consent checklist.” So I might say,I consent to kissing today,but not on my elbow. Nipple play? Yes,I consent to nipple play but please don’t pinch my nipple. If someone changes their mind during the scene they can still yell out “cut”,White says.

During the pandemic,when studios were closed,White pivoted to OnlyFans,an online subscription service where performers can distribute their content directly to fans.

The biggest request from subscribers was for “dick ratings”,a practice where fans send pictures of their penises to rate,in exchange for a fee.

Is she honest?

“Yes,I’m honest because the truth is that if you have a working penis,it’s really perfect,the size doesn’t matter,” White says.

“Unless of course they specifically asked for small penis humiliation,which is a fetish fantasy that men have. So if they specifically ask for that,I will oblige.”

Outside of work,White likes to be in polyamorous relationships,where both partners can explore their sexuality separately and together.

“Jealousy does play a role in almost any relationship but all good relationships are based on communication,” she says. “Obviously I am attracting people who are pretty sexually open minded because I’m very open about what I do.”

I ask White about concerns that porn use leads to sexual violence.Research has found that women who’ve experienced intimate partner sexual violence believe pornography plays a role in their abuse.

The rise of social media and internet pornography has also been linked to an increase in sexual choking, especially among adolescents and young adults.

The bill for lunch at Nobu.

The bill for lunch at Nobu.Jewel Topsfield

White says studies have been inconclusive.

She points to the bookWhat do we know about the effects of pornography after fifty years of academic research?,published in June,and says there are many questions that still need answers.

The lead author,Professor Alan McKee from the University of Sydney,concludes the answer to most questions about the effects of pornography is still “we don’t know”.

McKee says much of the academic research in the area has confused correlation and causality,and a lot of it has been sexually conservative,disapproving of unmarried sex,kinky sex,and anal sex. “But beyond that we know very little about the relationship between consuming pornography and healthy sex.”

If a young woman came to White asking her for career advice she would tell them to carefully consider the pros and cons. “Once you’re naked on the internet,it’s there forever,” she says.

White has no regrets about her decision but says it’s important people get into porn for the right reasons.

“For me,personally,coming into it because I’m passionate about expressing my sexuality has made it so that my experience in the industry has been really positive,” White says.

“It is an industry where you are heavily stigmatised,so you really have to love what you do.”

Jewel Topsfield is social affairs editor at The Age. She has worked in Melbourne,Canberra and Jakarta as Indonesia correspondent. She has won multiple awards including a Walkley and the Lowy Institute Media Award.

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