Belladonna Speaks at University Sociology Class

Performer and director Belladonna was a guest speaker at UC Irvine for a Sociology of Sexuality class lecture Thursday evening.

With a class attendance of 350, pornography clips were shown, followed by a Q & A session which included Belladonna and fellow performers Justin Long and Jon Jon. The clips illustrated different adult video genres, including lesbian, solo, boy/girl, interracial, transexual and gay porn. Among the clips chosen for girl/girl interaction was Evil Angel's first Belladonna-directed movie, Evil Pink.

The Q & A session focused on social aspects of sex and pornography. The students showed interest in the differences in sex on- and off-camera. Belladonna offered the insight that while she often enjoys the same type of sex off-camera as audience members see in her performances, it's on a less frequent basis because of her time commitments to both her work and her family, especially her daughter. She elaborated that sex with a partner off-camera is even more intimate than her on-camera performances, and that even though as a director, she does everything to encourage intimacy in performances, real-life sex is "just different."

This prompted the question of how Belladonna deals with being both a porn star/director and a mother, and whether she is nervous about how her adult-industry career will affect her daughter in the future. Belladonna answered, "I've had moments where I've wanted to walk away from the business because of my daughter. But I believe that it is best to just be strong and to teach her to be a strong and independent person as she grows up. I want to support her and be a good mother. I expect that there will be issues and am not in denial about that, but I believe that I can help her grow up to be emotionally strong and healthy."

Regarding an inquiry about STDs, Belladonna explained that she has always been very cautious about protecting her health. To prevent Staph infections, she uses an enviricide on all toys that are used, especially acrylic-type toys which may be used more than once. She also strongly supports the standard testing practices throughout the industry, and takes it upon herself as a performer to pay for her co-stars to be tested 2-3 days before the shoot.

"I was so excited and honored, and I want to do this again because it feels so good to talk to people about what I do and maybe even break the stereotype of a porn star," Belladonna enthused.