LOS ANGELES – Kristel Penn, longtime Creative and Editorial Director for Grooby, will speak tomorrow at the University of California Santa Barbara class “Teaching Porn in a Pandemic 2.0.”  The Pornographic Cultures course is taught by Professor Constance Penley, who is “considered to be one of the founders of the academic field of porn studies,” Grooby noted in its announcement, having taught her porn studies course for 28 years now.

In addition to her long history of teaching porn studies at UCSB, Penley also co-edited The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure with Tristan Taormino, Mirelle Miller-Young, and Celine Parreñas Shimizu.

“My students and I are delighted that Kristel Penn has accepted our invitation to visit my UC

Santa Barbara class on Pornographic Cultures, now retitled as ‘Teaching Porn in a Pandemic 2.0,’” Penley said. “Over its 28 years, the course has featured an extraordinary range of creatives and other experts from the adult industry. As the Creative and Editorial Director of Grooby, an activist, humanitarian, and entrepreneur, Kristel will generously share her knowledge gained as an industry pioneer in trans erotica and as a prominent advocate for visibility and empowerment through sex-positivity.”

Penn referred to the upcoming speaking engagement as “a longtime professional dream of mine.”

“I sincerely admire the work Professor Penley does to elevate the discussion of sex work and the adult industry in a way that holds the complexities of our community,” Penn said. “Professor Penley’s class gives the outside world a really valuable opportunity to learn about an industry that is often villainized and oversimplified in mainstream media.

“I’m honored by the opportunity to speak to the UCSB students about my career at Grooby and how it has given me a unique platform to speak on topics that are personally important to me, such as destigmatizing porn and its consumption, LGBTQ representation, and changing the narrative of mental health and wellness,” Penn continued.

Penley said students “especially want to hear from Kristel about her work on destigmatizing the industry and porn consumption.”

“They also want to learn more about her commitment to creating sex-worker affirming mental health services for the adult industry,” Penley added. “My students feel they have much to learn from the adult industry about unashamedly realizing their desires for creative freedom and political expression. None could speak to those desires better than Kristel.”

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