FAT SEX WEEK: Interview with Queer Porn Star Sophia St. James

After the success of GAY SEX WEEK on my blog in October 2011, I decided to produce FAT SEX WEEK to celebrate sex for all bodies. This is especially inspired to counteract all of the media about sex around Valentine’s Day that’s all heteronormative/couplehood-oriented/body hegemonic. It’s a week of body liberation and sex and it’s going to be really fun! Check out all of the FAT SEX WEEK magic!

(All the photos in this post are Safe For Work as long as fat girls in lingerie are safe for your work. Fair warning.)

Sophia St. James is a Portland-based sex educator, queer porn star and burlesque performer among many other things. I was poking around her website after seeing her in Lesbian Curves and thought she would be a great addition to FAT SEX WEEK. Please imagine my interview being conducted Queer Oprah style, in two fat-friendly chairs, accompanied by cups of tea.

Sophia St. James photo by Raise Your Fist Productions.

BEVIN: How did you begin performing in porn?

SOPHIA: It’s kind of funny. I ended up slipping off my porch and breaking my elbow and knee. So I was bed bound for weeks and was surfing the net constantly. Somehow I came across an article about Syd Blakovich and Madison Young. The article had mentioned ‘queer porn’ and I asked my partner, “Have you ever heard of queer porn?”. She told me she hadn’t and I immediately began my hunt for this ‘queer porn’. As soon as I learned about it, I applied to be a model with Courtney Trouble, Marie Beatty, and Crash Pad Series. And I guess the rest is history…

BEVIN: What is your experience being a person of color and size in the porn industry? Does it help or hinder getting roles?

SOPHIA: I find queer porn and mainstream porn to be two different worlds. In mainstream porn, I am seen as a plumper or BBW, ebony or urban. In queer porn, I am just me. I don’t mind being labeled because I am ebony and I am of size, but I am also a hell of a lot more than that and in queer porn the other parts of me are valued as well. I have said this many times, porn is the only industry that can get away with being sizist, racist, classist, homophobic, ablest, and bigoted. However, if you surround yourself with empowered, fierce people it’s not a problem. In mainstream, I am not small enough to be in ‘regular’ porn and I am not big enough to be in most BBW porns. But in queer porn, I am accept for my style, beauty, and sex appeal. I have not experienced direct negativity from being in porn when it comes to my size or ethnicity, but I have experienced indirect negativity as well as seeing my friends and others deal with it. My goal is to make my own queer fierce femme realness genre versus trying to fit in with one. I also enjoy being able to educate my heterosexual cis gendered male fans about what queer is and how sexy it can be.

Sophia St. James photo by BV Imagery.

BEVIN: How about as a person of color and size in the burlesque community? Do you have any advice about people of size and/or color who want to start performing in porn or burlesque?

SOPHIA: The burlesque community as a whole can be very similar to porn. With the movement of feminist and queer burlesque, there is a lot more acceptance of plus sized performers. I find each major city has it’s hidden gem of a community that produced radical, sex positive, body positive burlesque. Those are the gems to look for. I would suggest to anyone wanting to perform burlesque that is of size or a person of color to find these areas. The queer performance scene is very welcoming to all sized bodies and skin colors.

BEVIN: What is your body love story–did you always love it or did you need to love it? Did BDSM help you become more comfortable?

SOPHIA: I have always been comfortable in my skin. I mean, there were times I questioned myself and how my body looked, but for the most part I have always been happy with my appearance. No matter the size I am, I know I am still fierce and am able to do what I need to do in order to be happy. And believe it or not, when I was a size 9/10 I had more issue with my body size than I do now at a size 20/22. I remember trying to fit in with the other girls in school. I had a very womanly shape as a teenager (big boobs, small waist, big hips.booty) and that was not a normal thing at where I went to school. I felt like I was fat and need to lose weight. Not to mention I was in the pageant and model circuit, but that’s an entirely different topic. At my size now, I am happy and I am fit. I just recently decided to start exercising more. Not to lose weight, but to increase my stamina and flexibility. BDSM can be a great self confidence builder. BDSM is centered all around power dynamics. It is also about community. The depth of community you are involved in is up to you, but I find that kink and leather families can be some of the strongest bonds made. They help lift you up when you need and family members ‘have your back’ when you need it.

Sophia St. James photo by Maxwell Lander.

BEVIN: As a sex educator, you have a lot to teach folks about sex! What’s one thing that people (at any size but especially fat folks) can do to feel more comfortable having sex in their bodies?

SOPHIA: I think the most important thing would be to stop comparing yourself to societal standards of what sex appeal means. This means don’t try to fit into someone elses box of what sexy is. Rub your fat. Touch your fat. Caress your fat. Let your lover(s) kiss and worship your body for the sex pot that you are. Know that it is all a part of you and that makes you the most beautiful YOU that you could be. Allow yourself to accept the love and lust others have for you and know that you are sexy no matter what!

Sophia St. James photo by Maxwell Lander.

Sophia is launching her official education site in March (www.professorsophia.com) and will be launching a queer kink/BDSM site at the beginning of April (www.thedeviantspectrum.com), so stay tuned for both of that. Sophia is also producing Hedonistic Decadence, a queer strip night, on March 8th in Portland. You can find it on Facebook and Tumblr! I love their mission, “Bringing sexy, radical, sex positive, body positive, gender inclusive, queer erotic performance to the community.” Thanks Sophia!

Stay tuned for more FAT SEX WEEK tomorrow! (Clearly FAT SEX WEEK is too big for just one week…)