Annie Sprinkle

I was a NYC prostitute and porn star for twenty years; then I morphed into an artist and sexologist. I have passionately explored sexuality for over forty years, sharing my experiences through making my own unique brand of feminist sex films, writing books and articles, visual art making, creating theater performances, and teaching. I have consistently championed sex worker rights and health care and was one of the pivotal players of the Sex Positive Movement of the 1980s. I got my BFA at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and was the first porn star to earn a Ph.D.. I’m a popular lecturer whose work is studied in many colleges and Universities. For the past 12 years I have been collaborating on art projects with her partner, an artist and UCSC professor, Beth Stephens. We are movers and shakers in the new “ecosex movement,” committed to making environmentalism more sexy, fun, and diverse. In 2013, I proudly received the Artist/Activist/Scholar Award from Performance Studies International at Stanford, and was awarded the Acker Award for Excellence in the Avant Garde.