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Annie Sprinkle

Annie M. Sprinkle (born Ellen F. Steinberg on July 23, 1954) is an American certified sexologist with several published works and is an influential figure in the industry of pornography and more broadly sexuality. Since her debut in pornography in 1975, Sprinkle has contributed to many fields and received several accolades most notably a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in 1986 and, in 1992, a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. Sprinkle identifies as sex educator, feminist stripper, pornographic actress, sex film producer, sex-positive feminist and an ecosexual. Sprinkle is best known for her self-help style pornographic content which teaches individuals about pleasure and her most successful conventional pornographic film was Deep Inside Annie Sprinkle (1981). Through the production of content Sprinkle has contributed to feminist pornography, the feminist art and the post-porn movement. Annie Sprinkle is also a known for contributing to the rise of lesbian pornography and is herself a member of the LGBTQ+ community having married her long-time partner, Beth Stephens, in Canada on January 14, 2007.

Contributions to feminism

Annie Sprinkle has been said to have contributed to feminism and specifically to feminist pornography. The previous is however a debated issue within the broader social movement of feminism. Some feminists who may refer to themselves as W.A.P.’s or women against pornography do not believe that the creation of feminist porn is possible. Women against porn may believe that porn is a means of hyper sexualization of women, that it is inherently harmful, promotes violence, and objectifies women. Among feminists in favour of pornography, it is argued that women have an inherent right to contribute to the production of erotic content and that censorship or restrictions on pornography will not cease its production. Through her performance artistry, pornographic content, and live shows Sprinkle challenged the censorship of female genitals and presented a re-imagination and re-humanization of genitals. As a performance artist, and specifically as a women, Sprinkle is frequently reduced to her gendered body and as such is vulnerable to censorship. This censorship contributes to discussions of whether or not Sprinkle's performance artistry can be considered art. The very erotic nature of Sprinkle's work contributes to her devaluation and a refusal that she be considered an artist. It is theorized that having discussions about whether or not her performance art can be considered art is not important as that creates a harmful hierarchy in which she is only valued as an artist but vilified for her pornography. This understanding of Sprinkle's performances and films then centres agency as central which is a feminist issue. In much of her work, Sprinkle challenges what and who is considered sexual. After receiving her breast cancer diagnosis, Sprinkle made a collage of her breast tissue scans in order to provoke questions about whether a body that has been subject to surgical procedures and illness can be a sexual one. Sprinkle continued to engage in this medical commentary by juxtaposing medical scans with erotic images and using an electrocardiogram to record the waves of an orgasm. In her performance Public Cervix Announcement, Sprinkle inserted a speculum into her vaginal canal to display her cervix to the audience. The previous acted as satirical-commentary on the private and invasive nature of gynaecological procedures. Sprinkle's use of the erotic and explicit imagery can be said to be feminist as it presents the vulva and internal female anatomy as worthy of being the subject of art and encourages individuals to explore their sexuality. The celebration of erotic imagery that is seen in Sprinkle's work can be compared to other feminist artists or art which use genital iconography to invoke questions about sexuality and anatomy such as Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'keith and The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago.

Post-porn mouvement

The post-porn movement is a conterculture body of scholarship and ideals that were developed within Europe and the USA. Within the post-porn movement there is a critical lens applied to corporations producing pornography and non-corporate pornographic content is instead valued. The post-porn movement also values the production of pornography which centres queer and gender diverse folx as well as questions the racialization and reliance on stereotypes found in the pornography industry. Sprinkle has contributed to the post-porn movement explicitly in her now retired show Post-Porn Modernist and implicitly through her artistic body of work which engages in critical reflection and parody. Sprinkle has also contributed to this mouvement by challenging who can be represented in porn and which bodies are sexual one's.