You might think of Madison Young as a deadly serious redheaded San Francisco porn performer/director with an agenda. But she is actually from Loveland, Ohio.
I pinned her down recently and asked her to submit to the patriarchal structure that is the western white male interview. But I learned something about myself as well.
Gram Ponante: You’re from the Bay Area and work there quite a bit. Do you see a big difference between LA and SF performers? If so, talk about the differences in the way they look,work and are perceived.
Madison Young: I love San Francisco and the Bay Area for its rich culture, diversity, strong sense of community and activism, sexual openness, value on sexual education and sex positive culture as well as its vast art scene.
GP: I like the urine smell!
MY: I believe that these qualities in San Francisco are what draw its residents to this colorful city. I think you also find that the performers in San Francisco are more involved in both sex positive communities and art. I personally also find that being a part of the sex positive porn revolution is about more than commercial gain.
GP: Not about commercial gain? You’re losing me.
MY: For me being involved in porn both as a performer and director is a revolutionary act in which I’m increasing the visibility of women embracing their sexuality, owning their desire, and truly expressing their honest sexual selves on film. For many girls in LA they are simply interested in making what they believe is quick and easy money which they spend on a pair of heels or a Prada bag. A lot of these women are still young girls who have yet to really come into their own sexually. They are still looking for direction and don’t really know what they plan on doing after porn.
GP: Explain the San Francisco difference.
MY: The performers that I direct in San Francisco are mostly queer, sex positive, artists, and activists. They are people that I connect with intellectually and sexually. And they love sex! Real sex! Connected passionate loud sweaty levitating off the bed sex. The performers in San Francisco aren’t just here for the paycheck. We are here to be part of a movement that is much larger than that based on connection and eroticism. We are here because we love sexual connection and want to stand up for and be a part of something we believe in. In LA… it just isn’t that deep.
Ice Cube: My jimmy runs deep. So deep. Put your butt to sleep.
GP: There is a growing tradition of sex worker/porn star/educator/activists – Why is this important and where do you fit? Are there differences in the generations in this regard?
MY: I do identify as a porn star/educator/activist and feel like porn is a hugely consumed medium which has a vast audience that is continuing to grow and diversify. The female and queer demographic as well as couples are a contingent of valid consumers in the porn world. There is so much lowbrow porn out there and so much porn that consumers just can’t relate to.
GP: Surely I don’t know what you mean.
MY: By creating porn with honest orgasms, real sex positions, real sexual chemistry, and real bodies we are breaking stereotypes causing some major changes in the industry.
I look up to sexual heroes and people I’m proud to call my friends such as Annie Sprinkle, Carol Queen, and Nina Hartley. We are all part of the same family. And although generations may separate us we are still united through our activism in sex and art.
GP: Power, Sister. Not only do you work with in the LA agent system but you also produce work independently. Has there ever been a conflict there or are there rules that you follow so no conflict exists?
MY: I had been working in the adult industry as a bdsm performer and doing girl/girl performances for around five years before I signed with an agent. So I’m very used to booking my own work. I decided about a year and a half ago that I wanted to start working in LA doing boy/girl performances in order to lessen my travel and to increase my cash flow in order to move my art gallery, Femina Potens, into a bigger gallery in the Castro District. Femina Potens is a labor of my love and is an art gallery funded by my illustrious porn career. My agent – Mark Spiegler – allows me to continue booking with fetish bondage contacts outside of LA that I had before I became a Spiegler Girl and he handles all of my LA bookings.
GP: I am glad that Spiegler does not rule with an iron fist. What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking the reins in your own company?
MY: With my own company I’m able to manifest my own sexual fantasies and visions. I enjoy being in control of my films, what festivals they are being screened at, what performers I’m working with or directing, and I’m able to make a clear statement around queer sex positive sexuality. I’m very involved in my productions from writing the script, casting, hiring the crew, performing, and all elements of production and post production. The only disadvantage to running the show … is that you are running the show and that every one is depending on you to create an amazing production. It can get pretty hectic and stressful juggling our many projects. But I love it.
GP: When you are not being Madison the trussed up porn star, what do you do for fun and enjoyment?
MY: When I’m not performing for other people or directing my own productions I’m working at my gallery.
Peanut Gallery: How many anal scenes does it take to fund a feminist art gallery?
MY: I founded Femina Potens in 2003 in order to increase visibility of women and transgendered artists and we currently produce over 50 events each year. We have featured hundreds of artists and educators over the years including porn heroes Annie Sprinkle and Nina Hartley. I also am a writer and have just finished my memoir “The Tail of a Bondage Model” and I’m currently shopping it around to agents. Both me and my partner are work a holics and with running two companies I don’t have time for a lot of hobbies but I enjoy cuddling up with my love and watching movies, road trips, having dinner with friends, and shopping for vintage clothes. I also enjoy bondage, ds, and protocol with my love, James Mogul. I dream of one day planting a garden.
GP: Thank you!
MY: Now please loosen these handcuffs.
GP: Allrighty.
Previously on Porn Valley Observed: Madison Young is the perfect date; The Whore Within Me, Without You
See also: Madison Young
minor correction:
Snoop Dogg: My jimmy runs deep. So deep. Put your butt to sleep.
That’s Ice Cube:)(“Today Was a Good Day”)
How did Madison Young get hold of my cat?