Speaking at UCLA

I recently spoke to a Psychology 101 class at UCLA, the university I currently attend.  It was very daunting and intimidating to be in front of all my peers on that level and certainly because its the school I immerse myself in to escape the daily riggers of life by engaging in lecture and debate.

Although I see myself going on to getting a masters degree I am busy and can’t give school my full attention right now.  I have had lots of public speaking experience through various camps and programs, but it’s so different when you care about the people you are in front of.  It reminded me of high school football games.  I never wanted to get up and walk around during those nights at the high school stadium because I was scared my peers would see me.  It all sounds unbelievable seeing as though this is my job and I do adult videos for a living, but I do get anxiety in situations like this.

Lucky for me, Nina Hartley was there speaking, as well, and she’s not only an expert but one of the sweetest and smartest ladies in the business.  It was truly an honor to even be there with her.  I started out simply introducing myself and explaining that I was nervous but then quickly transitioned into the reasons I was in the classroom speaking on behalf of sexuality and the adult entertainment business.

I believe it’s extremely important for young adults to be educated and knowledgeable about politics, and different industries, which may not be accurately represented in the mainstream media due to politics, religion and other issues.  I wanted to enlighten them about why the adult business is so great and how safe and legitimate it all really is.  I went over the procedures on a basic everyday video or photo set, the excitement and competition between the girls in the business, the truth about how long a video takes, and the male performers. I tried to harp on the idea its a form of entertainment and fantasy.

I had lots of questions from the class, especially from boys about how this affects my personal life.  I also spoke about the recent condom laws and how they are not the majority of performers’ preference.  I covered testing, different levels of hardcore, agencies, companies, and my website that I am so proud of.  I know that this is something I could go around informing my fellow classmates about around CA, and who knows where else.  I am going to try to speak as much as possible at all different schools.

The benefit of giving young adults the knowledge they need to make an accurate judgment and decision about what they believe in and how comfortable they feel watching pornography is endless.  The truth is many feel uncertain about letting their boyfriend watch porn or watching porn themselves, and they want to know if it’s okay they feel the way to they do, or if its wrong, or how their cultural upbringing has affected their views on porn and more.  I’d like to explain to them, especially the women, that sexuality is free and liberating and nothing to be ashamed of.  Women been gender socialized to believe its more of a man’s world when it comes to the sex department, but I want them to feel like they own their sexuality, not anyone else.  It’s okay to masturbate and get kinky and naughty with people if they so choose.  I love how “50 Shades of Grey” is trending and how pornographic actors and actresses are crossing over.  It makes me feel more accepted and that the business is really making more of a positive mainstream impact.  I truly hope speaking about the industry becomes a regular gig, like my feature dancing. I love practicing activities I’m passionate about and getting people to critically analyze their values and beliefs.

<3 Tasha