By Peter Berton
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In a world where much mass-media entertainment seems little more than a retread of what’s gone before, Courtney Trouble is an original — and a busy one. The BBW model and performer also works as a photographer and an award-winning producer-director for her own studio, TROUBLEfilms. In addition, she founded and manages a network of queer porn websites including IndiePornRevolution.Com and QueerPorn.TV. In cooperation with sex-positive sex-toy retailer Good Vibrations, Trouble co-established the Reel Queer line of adult products.
Trouble — part philosopher, part artist and part sexual dynamo — is constantly evolving, as YNOT.com discovered when we sat down to talk.
YNOT: You must work 24/7/365. Why?
Courtney Trouble: I guess I’ve taught myself the various parts of the industry that I needed to get my porn out into the world and make it my profession, but at the base of all I do is a real love of the pornographic medium as a form of art. I make films, perform, photograph, run websites, write, etc., to express myself, my desires and my politics.
Why porn and not some other artistic medium?
I really started making porn for mostly political reasons: to create a site with a different kind of porn that had a lot of diversity, real couples, and focused on individual identities of the performers. While chasing my big dream of making “real queer porn,” I discovered that I really loved the actual art of pornography.
I started when Alt Porn was a big thing, and I loved it, except for the fact that there weren’t many gigs for a plus-size queer person like me. That’s when I decided to make my first site, NoFauxxx.com, which is now 11 years old and goes by the name IndiePornRevolution.com.
All politics aside, I’m an exhibitionist and an erotic artist, and I love what I do, regardless whether my political message reaches the mainstream masses. I think I make porn that’s fun and beautiful, and if a watcher wanted to tap into the message behind it, that’s totally awesome — but it’s not required.
You’re anything but a producer of male-centric, stereotypical girl-girl porn.
Woo! I take that as a compliment, though I think my porn can be enjoyed by anyone — including the male-centric set.
To be honest, I love shooting hardcore, up-close, wet, messy sex. Sometimes I think I do it better than the guys who are shooting video for the stereotype.
I’m a photography nerd and I put a lot of work into things like lighting, composition, color and movement whenever I’m shooting. And I shoot natural — I don’t direct much beyond the effects of good casting and ethical set standards. The performers bring their own magic, and I think trusting them to be sexual geniuses on camera goes a long way when making great porn.
I’m really lucky. I get to work with a lot of people who make porn because they want to see themselves represented, and they give a lot on-camera. It’s not always just a job to these people — it’s a labor of love.
I think that’s what happens when you put thought into why you’re making porn. If it’s just for profit, that’s going to show in your final product. But if you and the people you work with have a goal, a message — even if it’s as simple as “making something beautiful” — that makes your work transcend the norm.
What do you want to achieve with your work?
Simple: I want to make art that people can masturbate to. On a deeper level, I’m hoping they’ll take time after they’re done to think about how multifaceted sexuality can be.
Who composes the audience for your work?
I want people from my various queer, feminist, artistic communities to enjoy my work, but also have it translate to a larger audience. At the end of the day, if [a production] wouldn’t sit well with my people, I won’t make it. That being said, the more people can see this gorgeous stuff I make and meet these beautiful performers I work with, the better.
I don’t think my message of love and acceptance is lost on a straight crowd. I get fan mail from quite a few guys who seem really excited and refreshed by my work. They say it has allowed them to feel less ashamed about their own desires.
Who is “queer” in your universe, and what kind of content do you produce for them?
“Queer” is a heavy word, as it’s been used as a derogatory term against gay men for centuries. However, people who identify as queer, like those on QueerPorn.TV, have reclaimed the word for themselves. It’s a loose umbrella term that mostly covers those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, fluid, genderqueer, pansexual, etc. — anything “outside the box.”
The actual definition of queer is “strange or unconventional.” I like to think this is what queer porn is — strange and unconventional, but with the political prowess of the radical queer community powering the art.
QueerPorn.TV is one of three membership sites I run. It focuses on exclusive hardcore content, mostly shot by me and starring notable queer porn stars including Jiz Lee, Nikki Hearts, Dylan Ryan and Arabelle Raphael.
What has been your favorite project to date?
I really do love the Lesbian Curves films. I think they are beautiful and fit my aesthetic so well. I’ve always wanted to make porn with plus-size performers who don’t look anything like your standard BBW porn stars, and I accomplished that goal. I love the project because it’s the real me. It’s intimate, powerful, sexy, hardcore, explicit and, ultimately, loving and positive.
Others evidently agree. I won Director of the Year at BBW Fan Fest, even though that kind of porn isn’t what I generally focus on.
I think the series is going to go a long, long way in the [adult] industry as well as in my own community. I have many plus-size femme fans, and the majority of feedback I’m getting is from women who are just completely and utterly grateful to see porn with women who look like them — and is also hot.
Most people tend to define “normal human sexuality” in terms of their own desires. How do you define the concept?
How long do you have? [She laughs.]
I see human sexuality as a galaxy: Everyone’s got their own constellation of likes and dislikes, and those stars brighten and fade throughout our lives.
I don’t really think it’s as simple as straight and gay. I believe even a straitlaced heterosexual man would tell you in confidence there are things he likes that he wishes he could be more open about.
In a perfect world, all of our desires could be detached from shame and shared with our sex partners. I think porn of all kinds has this distinct power as a tool to help us realize our fantasies and share them with other people.
You’ve done an awful lot during your career. Are there things you have yet to accomplish?
Oh fuck, so many!
I’ve been in this industry for 11 years now. I guess I’d like to see my company grow. I know my porn is a little better than some of the top-shelf stuff I’ve seen in the trade magazines and at conventions or award shows. I’ve seen a lot, and I know what I’ve got to offer. The real trick for me, on my indie budget, will be getting [my material] to the audiences that will appreciate it.
You’re very open about almost everything, but even you must have a secret or two. What do few people know about you?
Very few people know or understand that I identify as genderqueer — specifically agendered or gender variant. Sometimes I feel a bit more like a guy than a girl, and I’ve never fully grasped the concept of “womanhood.”
I think the best example you can find of this “coming out” is in my film Hard Femme. I a scene April Flores and I performed together, I am wearing a strap-on and was overcome with emotion and arousal in a way that I still think stumps most people, including me. How I could feel so much pleasure while wearing a silicone cock?
I really look up to my friend Jiz Lee, who is an incredible porn star and has been able to rock out more publicly as genderqueer for the past few years. I hope there comes a time when I can be more open about [who I am], but I also think people will take what they need form my porn. Porn doesn’t always have to be about gender, identity or politics. Sometimes it’s just about the sex, and that’s something I really can get behind.
