The XCritic Interview: Siri Dahl

What a month this has been. Awards season 2021 is beginning, summer makes way to fall, and this has long been a time when we see performers make a grand return to the industry. Our featured starlet in this chapter of the XCritic Interview collection is a woman who is one of the true innovators of the modern age and not just in adult entertainment. Siri Dahl has made it back to the shores of Valhalla. Arriving with the accolade of being named BANG.com girl of the month for September 2020 under her belt already. In many ways, superstars like this never leave, and I do not mean that in a hypocritical or negative way what so ever. No, what is meant in that statement is that fans across the globe simply made the legend of Siri that much larger and mythical as she took some time for herself away from the industry. A move that we ask this award winning starlet and that is because I do not think any starlet has been missed by her fans more than those of Siri Dahl. She made history in 2013 with her Best New Starlet nomination and since that special date in XXX history, almost a decade ago, Siri has made it a mission to become one of the ambassadors of acceptance and understanding to the outside world and this beloved business of ours in many ways. Talking subjects and beliefs of women, sexuality, and judgment that few have ever been fearless and strong enough to act upon. That is who we wish to present in her return interview. A look at the woman who I have no doubt will go right back to doing what she does best and that is changing our world for the better with fan and critic alike. That is Siri Dahl.

Don Juan : My first question of course is what have you been up to in your absence? What brought you back to this amazing industry? 

Siri Dahl: I was living a really boring and normal civilian life. I finished my Communications degree, then worked a few different jobs until I settled into a job as an editor and copywriter for a publishing company, which I actually really enjoyed doing. Around that time I started producing my podcast, After Adult, telling stories (anonymously at the time) about my experiences in porn. Before long, all of that reminiscing had me seriously missing my porn career, and the boredom of working a desk job, and having a corporate boss really started to irk me. By the summer of 2019, I had made an account on OnlyFans, reconnected with my still large and devoted fan base on the “SiriPornStar” Subreddit, and started dabbling in porn again. I left my old job in December 2019 and I haven’t looked back! I’m thrilled to be back, and while I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a “perfect” job or career, this comes very close for me.

Don Juan : I have always loved your stance on piracy within this industry. Myself being a man who has worked in the music business and seen that business turned upside down by similar bullshit we face in this industry as well, I would love to ask such an intelligent woman, what do you think of the current state of the industry? I like to call this new age we are about to head into, the post-COVID-19 age: The “indie” spotlight, as performers now have their own means to create platforms, content and so much more. I must get your opinion on such a "State of our Union."

Siri Dahl : Overall I think the industry is in a better place now compared to what it was like for me in the mid-2010s. In 2013, the year I did my infamous Reddit AMA, I felt like I was constantly explaining to fans that my product is not created in a vacuum, where everything on the internet is free. Back then I thought most fans didn’t understand, nor care that porn is a career and a livelihood for lots of people, from performers to folks who work behind the scenes and in studio offices. 

But with the increasing popularity of content-creator-focused platforms like OnlyFans, AVNStars, ManyVids, Modelhub, etc., it’s clear that most fans are happy to pay for their porn and the opportunity to interact directly with creators. In retrospect, it’s obvious that it wasn’t really a lack of ethics so much as lack of a platform that properly catered to the market. Since I started my OnlyFans site last summer, I’ve been blown away by the dedication of many of my fans. I’ve even had some subscribers who have joined and sent me a big tip as “back pay” for having gone years without paying for porn. THAT blew my mind. Piracy is still a huge concern, obviously, but the tide is turning in some notable ways.

Don Juan : You know, you are a woman who made it a lot easier for people all over this country and world to embrace their sexuality, and your advocacy for polyamory is just beyond wonderful. The love of my life is a performer like you and she has struggled with her family over being bisexual but also, people understanding being polyamorous. Why do you think the world is still so hung up on such things? I could express my opinion but there would be far too many curse words and expletives. 

Siri Dahl: Thank you! HaHa, why are people so upset about Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion rapping about their “Wet Ass Pussies,” yet the US President gets away with bragging about “grabbing pussies?” These things are symptoms of our puritanical and misogynistic culture. I have lots of empathy for your friend’s struggles with her family. I actually have conversations about this with my mom, who is a more traditional, second-wave feminist and has a hard time understanding how I find my career empowering — but if I weren’t a sex worker, then the problem would be my poly lifestyle. (I have a long term partner outside of those I have sex with in porn.) And if I weren’t poly, then the problem would be my bisexuality. 

To be honest, at this point, I’m fresh out of fucks when it comes to explaining, justifying, or enlightening other folks about my sexual and romantic preferences. Non-monogamy is just as valid as monogamy! If someone is genuinely curious, I’ll tell them to read a book written by an expert on the subject, such as The Ethical Slut by Janet W. Hardy and Dossie Easton or Building Open Relationships by Dr. Liz Powell. But for the folks who are trolling or hating on poly and/or queer relationships, I just ignore them. It’s not even worth my energy to respond. 

Don Juan: I would love to know, what did this industry teach you as an independent woman? So many people believe this is a business of all horrific tragedies with ice-cold souls and heathens, when it is anything but. I see so much in this business that has renewed my faith in mankind. I must know how this business prepared you for your hiatus and the things you faced when you hung up your stilettos. 

Siri Dahl: I didn’t leave porn for any reason related to the porn industry, but I quickly found that people outside the industry assumed that. It’s just another way the stigma of being a sex worker attaches itself to all of us. "Civilians" are so quick to judge us because the only mainstream attention porn gets is negative. It’s all sensationalism and misdirection. And now, with FOSTA and SESTA, you even have the frequent conflation of consensual sex work with human trafficking. But by and large, the people I’ve met in porn are my favorite people. We’re smart, open-minded, resilient, and we’re inherently activists because we have to be.

Don Juan : Madam. You are one of the most confident women I have ever researched among the many I have had on my hot seat. I must know where this confidence comes from. Who or what was it that inspired this amazing woman to be so outspoken, so positive, but even more so, make her career something positive with all you have done away from the camera? 

Siri Dahl: Thank you very much. A lot of that is just the way I was raised. Ironically, although my mother really dislikes the porn industry, she instilled in me one of the qualities I think has the most to do with my success: I have a sense of self-worth that is detached from my sexuality and physical appearance. I can’t recall a single time my mom ever criticized my haircuts, weight, body shape, clothing choices, etc. when I was growing up. It wasn’t an “everybody gets a trophy” environment — my parents could be strict and demanding — but I think my mom just knew what it was like to grow up under impossible beauty standards, so she did her best to shelter me from that. 

My parents might have assumed I would grow up to be a scientist, which is actually hilarious to me, because I’m friends with several scientists and academics, and I can say with 100% certainty that I would not be a good scientist. (In a sense, I guess I am a scientist, researching dick and pussy!) Of course, I do have insecurities, because I’m a human. That’s what therapists are for! I try to deal with those internal struggles more privately, unless I think I can help other people by sharing and being a little vulnerable about a particular struggle. That kind of thing comes up a lot in episodes of my podcast, After Adult.

Don Juan : This is my favorite question to ask the empowered women of this business. What does the word sexuality mean to you? 

Siri Dahl: To me personally, sexuality is defined by anything related to my sexual mind — or, as one of my favorite sex educators, Zoë Ligon, refers to it on her eponymous podcast, my “Hot Brain.” That includes how I identify my own sexuality, what I find sexy and attractive in others, and of course, the wide variety of sex and sex-adjacent behaviors that turn me on. I believe that adult sexuality, when it’s allowed to exist free of stigma and judgment, is one of the most purely good parts of the human experience.

Don Juan : I think that a performer never has time to see what their work truly is while they are performing. Especially a performer like you who won Miss FreeOnes Best Newcomer, and was nominated for AVN Best New Starlet and created an acceptance among so many people inside and out of the business. I would love to know, what is Siri Dahl's greatest accomplishment? What is it that you said to yourself, “that is me, that is what I want to be remembered for.” 

Siri Dahl: I couldn’t possibly define it as one particular scene, or thing I’ve done in my career. I honestly think my greatest accomplishment so far, is allowing myself the space to be honest about how much I love doing this work, regardless of what anybody else thinks of me or my choices. As far as what I want to be remembered for, I just hope it involves my fantastic ass.

Don Juan: Tell us what it is that we can look forward to. What is the first massive project that the amazing Siri Dahl is working on now that she has returned? 

Siri Dahl: I’m thrilled to be the BANG Babe of the Month for September, as well as shooting my first ever DP scene for Bang, which came out recently.  Some of my big plans for 2020 have been put on the back burner due to COVID-19, but I definitely have some plans and some little tricks up my sleeve, when the time is right and production is back to something that resembles normalcy. For the time being, I’m really enjoying shooting my own content and doing home-shot scenes for companies like Adult Time and Brazzers. I think my fans are seriously going to love the workout series I produced for Adult Time’s Model Time site, which will be coming soon!

It is inspirational to hear about what this woman has planned ahead. I have a feeling that every single one of those companies she mentioned in closing will never be the same after she has stepped out the door. That is what Siri does as an artist, as a woman, as an advocate for women in ways that do not get enough press or pondering from the people in the world who need to hear most what the true wonders are in the world of XXX, sexuality, and erotica. Now that you know the full story, what her return looks like is something that is going to be something even larger than first thought as this pandemic does something most did not expect, bringing out the best in the people in ways that perhaps our civilization has forgotten. Social media has become something that this industry performer has chosen to use as a tool to educate, enhance and if this is what we are seeing from this screen legend with most of her work “on the back burner” one can only imagine what the days ahead have in store for so many of her fans. Siri is returning at the perfect moment, at a time when the business has had a more positive spotlight shined upon it. All I know is, with Siri back among our ranks the world is in-store for something it has never seen or known and I think that is what best describes this XXX icon.

Follow Siri in every shape and form: 

Twitter : @therealsirips

Instagram : therealsiri.ps

PodCast : https://twitter.com/afteradultpod

Website : https://stars.avn.com/siridahl

Special thanks to Brian Gross and BSG PR as well as Bang.com and the amazing Miles Long for providing the amazing pictures. Thank you again to Siri Dahl for her time and her expertise and wisdom. It means the world to us her at XCritic.com