THREE GIRLS, ONE CAR

How does power come into it?
One critical aspect of our relationships with other people is dominance. That’s where power comes into play—the power we have over other people or that other people have over us, whether that be political, economic, workplace, or down to the relationships we have within our families where there are incredible power plays.

Which is more impactful: societal or interpersonal relationships?
Well, they’re both pretty important. Bertrand Russell, the great philosopher, said, “Power is the fundamental substance of human relationships, just as energy is the fundamental substance of physics.” Basically, human beings are a group species; we evolved to live and hunt and survive in groups and therefore most species that have groups have dominant hierarchies within them.

How exactly does power affect people’s interpersonal relationships?
On the small scale, most husband/wife or partner relationships involve a certain degree of power. The definition of power is having control over resources that the other person or other people fear or want. If one person is more in love with the other person, there’s an imbalance. The fact that one person is more emotionally needy will give the other person more power. There are a number of psychological mechanisms that can lead to distortion and a negative cycle of behaviour of the powerful person, so the powerful person starts to see the less-powerful person in progressively more negative terms because of the power imbalance.

How does power actually affect the brain?
Power makes people feel good because it increases testosterone, in both men and women. And that testosterone, in turn, increases the level of dopamine activity in the middle of the brain in an area called the ‘reward network’. That’s the area of the brain that activities like sex and taking drugs act on: it’s the feel-good centre. When that up-regulates, it gives us that ‘glow’ we get when we have sex or when we achieve or when we get that promotion. That glow is the up-regulation of dopamine in the reward network. And being given power operates through the same system.

What are the mental benefits of power?
Being given tiny amounts of power temporarily makes you smarter, it makes you more focused on goals and makes you more confident that you can achieve them, it makes you more action-oriented, it makes you less depressed, and it makes you less anxious. It makes you think more abstractly and strategically.

What are the effects of an absence of power?
A powerless position down-regulates dopamine and increases the activity of noradrenaline, which is a kind of threat transmitter, and that activates more of the right-front part of the brain, which is the cautious ‘accountant’ part of the brain.

How does the brain maintain balance?
In a way, the human brain is two people, metaphorically speaking. One is the kind of gung-ho, confident chief executive and the other is the cautious chief financial officer, always worrying about the downsides and the plausible threats. They make a good team, but the problem with unfettered power is that it basically bullies and inhibits the cautious accountant side of the brain and you get the kind of recklessness and bizarre distorted judgement that led to the Global Financial Crisis.

Exotic Expertise

Love Cave

SUMMER FLING

What do you offer that other porn directors don’t?
Authenticity. I want to show real situations, real people, real settings, real sex.

What difference does a woman’s perspective make to adult cinema?
What arouses women is often opposite to what’s shown in mainstream porn. Good feminist porn focuses on female pleasure. In porn, women are in a minority, both in voice and audience. But when women watch and enjoy porn, regardless of what type, they are owning and exploring their sexuality, which can only be empowering and further social equality.

Why do you think Cabaret Desire won Porn Movie of the Year at the Feminist Porn Awards?
I think it offered viewers something they’d never seen before in adult film; an original premise, cool Barcelona locations, beautiful cinematography, authentic sex scenes, and a great balance of whimsy and realism, eroticism and intimacy.

How do you choose your actors?
I spend a good deal of time finding the right people and then making sure their values align with mine. It’s easy to tell when someone wants to work in adult films but doesn’t enjoy their work. I make an effort to get to know potential cast, their reasons for acting, and their attitude to sex.

What can men learn from your films?
The main thing men can take away from my films is a better idea of women’s fantasies and desires. Most of my male fans breathe a sigh of relief after seeing something close to their real experiences, which mainstream porn fails to do.

How successful have you been, in terms of actual sales?
My movie Five Hot Stories for Her (2007) sold about 240,000 copies and about a million legal downloads between my website, pay per-view and video on demand. Goodness only knows how many illegal downloads there are…

What new trends are you seeing in the porn industry?
Amateur and gonzo-scene collections still dominate the mainstream but remain formulaic. But indie adult filmmakers like myself have benefitted immensely from doing business online, where we can deal directly with consumers and really expand our fan-base.

What was that first meeting with your parents like after they Googled you and discovered what you do?
I was really embarrassed that they found out on the Internet rather than from me, but they were so great and supportive that the awkwardness was relieved right away.

What are your thoughts on the Australian adult industry?
I don’t know much about the Australian porn industry, but I was impressed with Australian filmmaker Anna Brownfield. Her film The Band is incredible.

What sort of porn do you enjoy?
L’Amant (The Lover) is passionate, sensual and erotic. It takes place in French colonial Vietnam and tells the semi-autobiographical story of an impossible love affair between a young French girl and a wealthy Chinese businessman. My favourite adult book is Little Birds by Anais Nin. Written in the 1940s, when erotica was particularly taboo, the stories pioneered the expression of female sexuality.

You’ve also produced the Erotic Bible to Europe. Do you have any personal favourite places?
The places I like best take something ordinary and create something totally erotic. For instance, London’s Icecreamists… so much more than an ice-cream parlour… they have elevated something as innocent as dessert to delicious adult status.

What fun sex trends have you come across recently?
Right now, I’m in love with pasties—the nipple covers made famous by strippers. They’re a great alternative to bras; you can wear them under sheer tops, avoid ‘wardrobe malfunctions’ in a bikini, and they’re insanely sexy. There’s a ton of variety, from rhinestone to rocker to snakeskin to tassels.

Heat Haze

Bulge-arian