She is a woman of mystery and of power. A woman who, when not editing and editorializing in the august pages of www.YNOT.com, spearheads events such as the 7th Annual Portland Masturbate-a-thon (at the Mt. Tabor Theater in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, May 31st, 2008, by the way.) Yes, she is Darklady, and only a fearless, perceptive, and insight-ridden reporter such as myself, Peter Berton, would ever risk pinning her in her lair and getting the truth from her. (Well, actually, I just sent her the questions and she answered them in e-mail, but you get the gist.)

YNOT: First, tell us all about yourself; the mysterious woman behind the desk at YNOT.com!

Darklady: When I was a teenager taking mass transit into downtown, I dreamed of living in the part of Portland that I live in now and of doing what I do for a living. Being the daughter of an 8th grade drop-out who devoted his life to a career in the U.S. Army and a Vatican believing Irish Catholic high school graduate from just barely this side of the Confederacy, it never really occurred to me that 1) I would ever really be able to live in such a cool and socially progressive part of town, or that 2) I would ever really be able to make a living doing what I do. Heck, I couldn’t have conceived of what it is that I do, let alone that anyone could make money at it.

To be perfectly honest, I’m still trying to figure out what “it” is that I do. Sometimes it seems more like a state of Being than Doing.

I started writing professionally about sex in the early 1990s, after I recovered from a near fatal car accident that was supposed to leave me dead, in a wheelchair, or at least in a world of hurt. I’m no Olympic athlete, but I’m pleased to say that I get around just fine these days – and it’s not because the three times I lost vital signs left me an ethereal, free floating entity. I guess I’m just really stubborn. Being stuck in a hospital and then nursing home room for months was a real motivator for me and made going back to working as a clerical temp nearly impossible. I wanted to be a professional writer. And so I am.

I also edit, as is the case for YNOT.com, in addition to my writing duties. I’ve been writing feature articles and reviews for Adult Video News and GayVN magazines for nearly a decade. I was an assistant editor for AVN Online after jumping ship as a copywriter at Egghead.com. Prior to that, I was editor of Portland’s Exotic Magazine, having caught the city’s attention as a columnist for the T&A Times. I’ve written for Hustler Erotic Video Guide, Taboo, Fetish, and an assortment of other
publications. I wrote about “Private Acts vs. Public Art” in the Stanford Press anthology Prostitution and Pornography and have about a half dozen pieces of erotica in various anthologies – but my proudest moment was being in two panels of Reason magazine’s multi-panel strip by Peter Bagge.

When I’m not pounding away at a keyboard, I like to speak publicly about alternative sexuality, free speech, and the adult entertainment industry – either by giving presentations, workshops, or speeches, or by interviewing people. I’d love to have another radio show like “Darklady’s Sexpose,” which played on YNOTRadio. I also enjoy producing themed erotic events, be they celebrity meet-and-greets, erotic theater, special interest social events, or large scale sex positive fundraising parties. I currently produce the annual Portland Masturbate-a-thon fundraiser, a summer party, Polyween, and a New Year’s Eve bash – each with a fundraising element and lots of pansexy good fun.

In addition to being on the Free Speech Coalition board of directors, I’m currently secretary for Portland’s Blackout Leather Productions (www.BlackoutLeather.com), the liaison to the adult entertainment industry for the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, and president of Darklady Productions, Inc. I’ve run for public office twice as a Libertarian, coming in second of three candidates each time. I am a past board member of the Portland Area Business Alliance (GLBT chamber of commerce), and past communication and outreach director for the Portland Pink Pistols.

If all goes well, I’ll be an accomplished director of pornographic videos soon. As well as co-directing a Portland-based project with multiple award winning director Paul Thomas for Vivid Entertainment, I’m developing some amateur, BBW, and educational projects that combine a splash of gothic horror and irreverent comedy with hot sex and uniquely
useful information.

I like to keep busy.

YNOT: Hmmm… clearly you like to while away your time in idleness. It’s a shame to waste your talent doing so little. Still, something roused you from your torpor to help the Free Speech Coalition? What was it; the parties, the sex, the free buffets? (That last one always works for me.)

Darklady:I like to joke that I was raised by the Church and the State – but it’s not much of a joke. When I was a kid, I had a lot of questions, which resulted in my being constantly told to “shut up.” When I got into school, I was physically attacked for how I looked, what I believed, and who I chose to spend time with. When I began writing, I was told that my subject matter was too “sensational” or not appropriate for scholarly discussion. I once lost a job with U.S. Bank because someone came across a very dark, very short erotic piece I’d written, which had been based on a rape and kidnapping recently in the local news.

I found this vexing, but more a challenge than a hindrance.

My parents’ values run deep in me even though we don’t agree on many of the details. When I believe that something is unfair, I tend to speak up – regardless of whether or not it’s my feet in the fire. I was presented with a lot of activist role models as well as false “truths” as a youth, but I suspect my impatience with injustice really kicked in when I saw how people treated my mentally retarded younger sister. Hearing so many extreme descriptions so rudely presented about so many different kinds of people and philosophies inspired me to cut through the bullshit and get to the bottom of things.

For instance, growing up I was told by society at large that sex was both the most wonderful and horrible thing imaginable. In my own childhood home, it was a marital battleground. It didn’t take long for me to realize that what we were really discussing was liberty, self-ownership, the right to sometimes think or act differently – to be that which is “Other.” Perhaps even to discover that being “Other” is the norm.

Social injustice has pissed me off since I first realized it existed, which was a lot younger than most people might imagine. Every time I was told that I should dislike a group of people for this, that, or the other reason, I wound up meeting someone that belonged to that group and finding them pretty much like everyone else I’d met: human.

The adult entertainment industry has given me a broader range of venues for communicating that message and now the Free Speech Coalition affords me an organizational structure to work within. Nobody on the board has told me to “shut up,” so I figure that’s a good sign.

YNOT: Does enjoying porn imply a social responsibility to defend the freedom to enjoy it?

Darklady: I think enjoying porn implies an enjoyment of porn; everything beyond that is conjecture.

I personally think that it’s important for people to realize the value of the rights that have led to our ability to enjoy mutually consensual all-adult porn legally and the ongoing battles to retain that right – and the rights associated with it. They say that people get the government they deserve. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do think that if we don’t speak up in defense of things we value, especially when they’re in peril, then we can’t be too surprised when our silence is taken as consent to their removal.

Too many people think their sexuality is disposable, unessential; an embarrassment somehow unworthy of acknowledgment and defense. We’re raised to feel lucky to even have enough time to rub one off in the bathroom, so I guess it’s no surprise that we don’t call our representatives to complain when strip clubs, porn stores, or sex toy shops are unfairly harassed or shut down. We’re generally raised to think that the body is profane and the spirit is divine, so we tolerate religious representatives when they condemn our pleasure and we don’t speak up when victim-identity-loving so-called feminists accuse us of being rapists, abusers, and woman-haters.

I don’t think we necessarily have to be rude about it, but I do think that we should stand up for our sexuality and our right to enjoy it responsibly. I’m not very good at keeping my mouth shut if I think something is wrong, so I personally feel compelled to speak out. Hopefully an increasing number of porn fans and participants will join me. A chorus can be even more compelling than a solo, after all.

YNOT: What do you hope to do in your new position?

Darklady: I hope to learn a lot and I hope to be a productive member of a group of good and skillful people dedicated to affecting positive change within the adult entertainment industry, while helping to nurture and sustain that which is already healthy. The next FSC board meeting is in March, so I expect I’ll learn more about where I fit into the grand scheme of things then. I have a special passion for free speech/obscenity, standards & practices, education/self-empowerment, and zoning issues, so we’ll see where that leads.

I’ll be making my first trip in four years to Los Angeles for this trip and while I’m there I want to make the most of my time by doing business or just hanging out with folks in the industry. I’ll be covering Wendy Williams’ interracial gangbang the day after the board meeting, and I’m gearing up for my May 31st Darklady’s 7th Annual Portland Masturbate-a-thon (www.Masturbate-a-Thon.org), which will be a fundraiser for the Free Speech Coalition, the Woodfull Freedom Foundation, and Portland’s Esther’s Pantry (which assists clients who have AIDS or are HIV+) – so I’m looking for entertainers and sponsors. This year’s ‘thon is being held at the nearly 100-year-old Mt. Tabor Theater (www.MtTaborLegacy.com) and will feature a burlesque theme. I’ve hired Canada’s Wet Spots (www.WetSpotsMusic.com) to entertain, along with an assortment of burlesque acts. Because there are two movie screens in the building, we’ll also be expanding into a multi-media event, complete with great advertising potential for sponsors, donors, performers, and the various non-profits. My high tech friends from Seattle with their wonderful Thrillhammer will be joining us again, as well. I’m expecting it to be pretty amazing, as usual.

Events like this will allow me to spread the word about the FSC and its mission to consumers and unaware sex workers, two groups I would like to see become more involved and informed.

YNOT: Back to my sinister, leering reporter persona: When you’re not editing YNOT.com or working with the FSC, what do you with your time? As I say to all my adult interviewee guests, salacious details are always welcome!

Darklady: Most of it is spent pounding away at this keyboard, either creating some kind of published written piece or corresponding with people I’m working on a project with. I seem to like to stay busy, so I’ve got a lot of projects going on and a lot of people to correspond with.

I’ve been a regularly contributing writer for AVN and GayVN magazines since nearly forever and continue to review a variety of product for them each month. I’m also board secretary for Portland’s Blackout Leather Productions and produce four large erotic private parties per year, in addition to writing the occasional erotica short for an anthology or profile for the local queer press.

I facilitated a monthly polyamory discussion group for seven years and, in addition to producing the occasional workshop, celebrity meet-and-greet, special interest mini-party, or themed social, I produce four large seasonal fundraising parties: the Portland Masturbate-a-thon in May, a summer party in July or August, Polyween in autumn, and a New Year’s Eve party on the traditional date for such things.

The Portland Masturbate-a-thon is coming up, so that’s getting an increasing amount of my attention now, especially since the venue is so amazing and we’ll be featuring the Wet Spots, porn-star-turned-comic, Jacklyn Lick, busty burlesque performer Sahara Dunes, the good folks from The Thrillhammer, and a Monkey Rocker or two. I love providing people with a safe, pansexual space where they can socialize as intimately as they want; which means anything from fully clothed sitting at a table eating a snack to completely naked and the center of a body fluid-drenched bukkake. As long as everyone is consenting, they’re respectful of those around them, and they clean up after themselves, I’m happy to help people explore their fantasies and figure out if they want to make their dreams come true – which is another reason I’m excited about producing my own video content soon.

YNOT: What do you like best about the industry (did I mention that I’m really fond of the free food?) … and the least?

Darklady: I like the greater acceptance of diversity and I dislike the ironically coexisting marginalization of that which isn’t deemed “mainstream.”

For instance, I love that I can be open about finding older women or plumper women sexy – but I hate the fact that this relegates my not-so-uncommon appreciation for real world beauty to a “niche” or a “fetish.” Since when did lusting after someone who looks like someone you could actually meet become a fetish, while lusting after someone who looks like they stepped out of a shop window or an animated short became “mainstream?”

I also don’t like that there aren’t awards for adult industry writers. Even the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom didn’t initially want to acknowledge us when it created its Sexies awards. There are some amazing minds behind the keyboards of adult industry writers and I know we’re not getting rich, so I’d love to see us get fluffed, at least metaphorically.

There are other things I don’t like, of course, like sleazy and dishonorable people who live down to the expectations and clichés of those who hate the industry – but mostly I really like working in the adult entertainment industry. Although I confess to a touch of social anxiety, I love meeting folks who work in adult; they’re so engaging and their stories are so interesting. I like being able to talk about a wide range of topics, including sex, politics, and religion. I like being able to put a splash of bright red in my hair and wear black and have nerd girl glasses, a tattoo, and a facial piercing — and still have a job. And I like being able to say “fuck” at work and not only not get fired, but get a paycheck.

Oh, and I like seeing people in various stages of undress. The whole process of people becoming nude and sexual fascinates me, as well as improves my circulation. I’ve learned so much about sex, relationships, love, desire, pleasure, health, technology, and society since I got involved with the adult industry. I’ve also learned some great ways to keep the heat turned up and communication moving both ways in my private life. Sometimes I’ve learned from the mistakes of others and sometimes I’ve come across positive role models whose methods I’ve been able to adapt to the reality of my own life.

YNOT: Finally, are you getting paid enough to do all that you do? (Because I certainly am not !)

Darklady: I’m getting paid enough to do all that I do, but I’m not getting paid enough to do all that I will do… so I’m working on that — and open to advice, assistance, collaboration, and – of course, more fame and fortune.