Page 68 - AVN October 2017

IFEATURE
‘IS THAT YOUR REAL NAME?!
Four performers share what NOT using a pseudonym means to them
In today’s world, artists and performers in all media seem caught
space between one’s work and one’s personal life. For various
between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, sharing, accessibility,
reasons, pseudonyms are very effective—and the proof is in the
and authentically being open and present is integral to the creative
behavior patterns. Most porn performers opt to use a pseudonym.
process—as well as a big part of what today’s fans and consumers ex-
Most, the vast majority even, but not all.
pect. On the other hand, maintaining a measure of distance is neces-
Some performers opt for an amalgamation, a legal first name
sary to think, be and—ultimately—remain safe.
followed by a flashy bit of flair in the form of a last name pseudonym.
The tension between these often-oppositional needs is something
Others, however, opt to go all in. For various reasons, some
every public person must deal with. One long-standing tactic to help
performers choose to let their legal names stand alone, with no
manage this balance is the use of a pseudonym—especially for adult
pseudonym whatsoever.
performers.
I spoke to Julie Ann, Sydney Leathers, Christian XXX and
A pseudonym can facilitate any number of margins and boundaries,
Angela White—four performers who, for various reasons, use their
from business benefits to simply maintaining a degree of personal
“real” names in porn. Here’s why.
they think a different name is sexy and they want to up their
by the media for her intimate involvement with a
sexy. For some people, maybe it ups that fantasy—living a
political figure. She is, however, the only woman to
different existence like a superhero or a spy,” she speculated.
double down by moving into sex work post-scandal
“In many ways, everyone wants to be someone else in some
in such a public way. I wondered how that refusal
way. Really, it’s this discontent. I have that too, just not with
to hide or be shamed had impacted her.
my name.”
“Unfortunately, there is way more of a stigma for
The use of her legal name is also connected to maintaining
women involved in scandals than men. I think that,
her own autonomy and power.
because I’m a woman, I was judged more harshly. I
“I’ve always felt and said that, for me, secrets are a
got caught sexting—I didn’t murder anyone. It was
weakness,” she explained. “They take energy to maintain. I’ve
all so blown out of proportion,” she shared.
never wanted to live in fear of losing control over secrets and
“I don’t think my life should’ve been invaded
the stress that accompanies that way of living.”
the way that it was. The press went really far in
She summed up, “I have this irritation with people trying
trying to dig up every possible piece of dirt on me
to take advantage of me—people who think that by being able
they could. And when that happens to a woman,
to say, ‘I know your real name’ they are one-upping me. I like
you’re expected to hide away. If you capitalize on it
the fact that people weren’t able to use that against me. It’s
the way I did, you’re painted as a shameless, crazy
like they think, ‘I’m going to hurt you by showing you that I
bimbo.”
have control over something of yours.’ I’m not going to hand
“I felt like because my name was already
someone the bat to hit me with like that.”
associated with this mess I might as well get my
side of my side of the story out, speak for myself,
defend myself, and get paid for it,” she continued.
“Many people would’ve found it easier to forgive
me if I went away and hid for twenty years. I didn’t
want to let this defeat me. I wanted to be strong—
and some people don’t like that strength.”
FEATURE | By Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals
Julia Ann
“For a split second I thought to use a pseudonym
but decided not to in the end,” Julia Ann shared.
For Julia Ann, her name holds a deeper
connection to her family, who named her, as well
as to her own aspirational ideas about who she is
as a person.
“I never wanted to take [the decision to use
my legal name] back, and I’ve never regretted
using my name. In fact, if my last name wasn’t
so easily misspelled and said incorrectly more
often than not, I would have used it as well!” she
added.
Julia Ann suggested there was a sort of
reflexive or expected aspect of opting for a
pseudonym—“Some people do it automatically
without thinking, it’s just something you do.
The agents say, ‘Get a fake name and protect
yourself!’ And that’s reasonable, but I think
that ship has sailed. With the internet and the
ability to find everyone’s information, it’s not as
effective [identity protection] as it once was.”
But there’s also a fantasy element, something
that porn is predicated on, even for performers.
“Maybe people [use a pseudonym] because
68 | AVN.com | 10.17
IF MY LAST NAME WASN’T
SO EASILY MISSPELLED AND
SAID INCORRECTLY MORE
OFTEN THAN NOT, I WOULD
HAVE USED IT AS WELL!
—JULIA ANN
Sydney Leathers
For Sydney Leathers, a pseudonym was never an option.
“Because Buzzfeed outed me for sexting and another site
outed me for being on a sugar daddy site, my attitude was
‘Fuck it, how much worse could it get?’” Leathers explained. “I
was already being gossiped about and judged internationally, so I
didn’t think porn was that much of a leap.”
Prior to taking that leap, Leathers, which is pretty dang
unique as far as surnames go, was concerned about her family.
“I actually spoke to a few members of my family before I
accepted [my first industry] offer. I wanted to make sure they
wouldn’t feel any differently about me. Everyone handled it
really well! They were supportive, I think because I had just
been through so much publicly. They stood by me through all
of that, and they weren’t going to let my decision to do porn
change their feelings about me,” she shared. “I’m very lucky.”
Leathers is not the first woman to have been burned alive