Annie Sprinkle: Post pr0n Feminist

by Ruby Mae James

Frank Zappa said: "Annie Sprinkle, America is better for your efforts." Annie Sprinkle is an ex stripper, ex prostitute, feminist pr0n activist artist. She heals us through controversial performances on the theme of sexuality. She's the sort of person that makes you glad to be a person. Annie Sprinkle, we salute you.

Coming from a performance art background, I came across the eye popping art of Annie Sprinkle in my studies at university. While not all of her stuff was to my personal taste, being a quiet and shy thing from the forest and not holding hands without a glove present, I respect her guts and her mind fully and the work that she does.

Annie Sprinkle is definitely not your average feminist artist. Starting her career as a prostitute and stripper and later on becoming a pr0n star, Sprinkle has made her sexuality into live art through controversial performances, making her one of the most well know female performance artists of the 20th and 21st century.

She is the artist Republicans love to hate, with pieces such as Public Cervix Announcement where she invited members of the audience to view her cervix using a seculum and films such as Herstory of pr0n, a look at the history of women in the pr0n industry, making her a target of hate for middle Americans and anti nudity and pr0n campaigners. But this has not stopped her in becoming the art world's most famous feminist pr0n activist.

"(Sprinkle's show) is a sewer of fetishism, depravity, and pr0nography." US Republican Dana R. Rohrabacher

Before you paint her as a "smut peddler", "whore" or "evil", or even just a woman who likes to shock, it may interest you to know that there is more to Sprinkle than sexually charged art and films. One thing Sprinkle does - that she also has in common with a certain group known as the Women's Institute, you'll be interested to know - is that she campaigns for sex workers rights and their health care, believing everyone in the sex industry deserves to be treated with respect and has the right to be safe.

In a piece she wrote about violence against sex workers, Annie addresses the issue of the lack of sympathy towards sex worker victims of murderers and rapists and how many of these crimes go unreported. She reminds people that no matter how you view the sex industry, there are still human faces behind it and those faces play a part in our society whether you agree with it or not.

"No matter how people feel about sex workers and the politics surrounding them, sex workers are a part of our neighborhoods, communities and our families and always will be. Sex workers are women, trans people and men of all shapes, sizes, colors, ages, classes and backgrounds who are working in the sex industry for a wide range of reasons." Dr. Annie M Sprinkle.

It may also surprise you that Sprinkle is Dr. Annie Sprinkle and possesses a Phd in Human Sexuality, making her the first known pr0n actress to do so. She is considered a leading expert on sex and relationships, selling many books, films, and toys all over the world. She regularly tours universities with her one woman shows and lectures talking about her experiences and her art.

Many of her pieces address certain contractions. For example, 'Anatomy of a pin up' shows Sprinkle is full sex kitten pose with a corset and thigh high boots but many notes are scribbled on the photograph explain the process of preparing such a shot. She points out her boots are too tight, the corset is making it hard to breathe, how much make up she is wearing, and many other things the person viewing the photo is unaware of. She also has two very famous pieces, '101 uses of sex' and '101 hazards of sex', two lists detailing the sometimes humorous and sometimes serious pros and cons of sexual intercourse.

Sprinkle is also a powerful writer. As well as pieces on the rights of sex workers, she has also written some interesting works such as detailed accounts of her work and her interview with an anti pr0n feminist.

At the age of 55 Sprinkle is still going. She is currently married to fellow artist Elizabeth Stephens and together they are working on the Love art laboratory, a project where they marry for seven years and each year is themed. Every year also has its own wedding and colour. The project is currently in its fifth year.

For more details please visit www.anniesprinkle.org (Over 18s only) and a href="http://www.loveartlab.org" title="Annie Sprinkle - feminist pr0n prostitute artist activist" target="_blank">www.loveartlab.org.

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