Annie Sprinkle’s Amazing World of Orgasm documentary had a world premier during the 28^th San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Frameline Film Festival on June 22, 2004 at the Herbst Theater.  The first-ever lesbian Tantra documentary, Hearts Cracked Open shared in the world premier. This double feature packed the house.

Hearts Cracked Open, by Betsy Kalin and her partner Candy Lowell opened the evening.  While some felt that it was a “little woo-woo out there”, it shows and explains Tantra techniques. Despite reading and talking to others about Tantra, this was my first experience witnessing demonstrations.  They share their extraordinary intimate experiences.  I could not help but feel intimidated and yet, curious.

Attending a lesbian Tantra workshop that occurs every weekend for six months, the attendees are interviewed.  All of them have experienced life changing, affirming, expanding sensations with their partners and within themselves because of Tantra.  We see them feeling so much pleasure - undulating, ejaculating, caressing, kissing, gazing – their intensity is hardcore. 

The film also quickly runs through the various steps and stages one learns in the workshop: Fire Breath Orgasms, Puja, Kundalini, Yab Yum and others – all creating a harmony of spirit and sex.  The film is well paced and packed with information and images, including moving away from the workshop setting to the subject’s homes and bedrooms.  Annie Sprinkle’s comments annunciate how a couple can tailor the experience to what makes them comfortable.  “Nothing makes a girl feel more like a real goddess” than Tantra.

I learned that Tantra is about an exploration, finding how far one can go with their partner.  You must be ready for this journey, to take it together, expanding your consciousness and realm of pleasure.  It not only proves a commitment and fulfillment of spirit, but of love.  Annie Sprinkle ends the film lightheartedly saying, “A Tantric lesbian is a happy lesbian.”

Annie Sprinkle’s Amazing World of Orgasm documentary is amazing.  This film remains true to her talent as a filmmaker.  Just like in her recent films, it is intimate, educational, entertaining and so much fun.  With 26 orgasm experts, all with their own type of orgasm to discuss, one can be overwhelmed with the possibilities of our bodies.  Annie opens the film saying, “My body, heart and soul is my laboratory for experiments in orgasm research.”

Annie’s presentation flirts between the light-hearted and the deeply moving.  The subjects for the death orgasm and a man with cerebral palsy are unforgettable for their tenderness.  Just as mesmerizing though is Kembra, singer for band, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.  She tells tales of orgasming while performing on stage or in a thrift store, taking journeys to Alaska with alien beings, swimming in black water.  

Artist Carolee Schneeman says, “You never step into the orgasmic stream the same way twice.”

Like other films Annie has made, we see a variety of vintage footage, computer effects and hard core sex footage playing in the background, the sexpert in the foreground.  I recognized this as a thumbprint of Annie’s design and direction and didn’t see it as a distraction.  When Dr. Robert Lawrence presented his oh-so clinical description of the mechanics of orgasm, the background images of men flexing their muscles and pornographic PV sex added so much hilarity.

It is definitely not a film of “O Face”s.  There are some images of people climaxing, but it is a minor aspect.  Instead we learn how a wide spectrum of people experience orgasm.  To name a few: transsexual, lap dancing, tender loving touch, bone massage, shamanic rites, fisting, psychic, laughasm, feargasm, and Scarlot Harlot’s lesson in faking orgasm is TO DIE FOR.

After seeing the film, I interviewed orgasm enthusiast Annie Sprinkle to ask questions about the film and herself. 

How long did it take you to make your documentary?

I started ten years ago put it aside for a while and finished it.  I wanted to make the world’s first documentary about orgasm.  Since then some people have made orgasm documentaries, so I’m not the first.  It certainly is unique. 

How did you find your subjects?

I found my subjects through my friends or from word-of-mouth. Pretty much everyone in this movie is a good friend of mine.  A few people I sought out.  I spread the word around that I had something to say about orgasm.  Stuart Block and Ray Noonan (both are Sexologists) are some that I didn’t know, but it’s a very wide cross-section of friends.

Do you have a new sexual goal?

I would like to be with somebody for more than ten years, maybe thirty years.  I’m curious when you’re with someone for ten years, what is sex like. 

Is there anything that you haven't done that you want to?  Is there anything you have tried in the past that you would like to do again?

Lots of things.  I love taking workshops and doing guided sex rituals.  I always learn something.  And I do. 

You introduce many kinds of orgasm one can experience in your movie. How many of them have you tried (except for childbirth, death and space orgasms)?  Were there any that didn't get mentioned? 

I have experimented with different kinds, certainly the Fire Breath Orgasm and energy orgasms.  I’ve had kinds that weren’t mentioned, spiritual orgasms.  I had a heart orgasm with a Sufi master that was really incredible.  I’ve never had a male orgasm.  Most of the kinds we talked about are things I’m familiar with.

Will you be touring with your new film?  Are other screenings planned?  

It will be playing at other film festivals, but it’s pretty eclectic and it is hardcore.  It’s too arty for porn distribution and too pornographic for a lot of film festivals.  What I’m hoping to do is show it around and make it available for people.  It’s not for sale yet, it’s just playing at festivals.  Eventually I would like to show it to groups for an hour, then talk about orgasms for an hour, then do an hour workshop at the end.  I think that would be nice.

What is your book about?  When will it be published?  Will you have a book tour?

My book is, Your Sex Life Make-Over: An Aspiring Sex Goddess’ Guide To A Spectacular Sex Life.  Penguin Books will publish it next year.  I am looking forward to having a wonderful book tour all over. 

What projects are you currently working on?  Do you have any ideas for another film?  Is there another ongoing project in the works?

I would love to make another film one day.  I have other ongoing projects.  I’m doing Seven Years of Living Art with my girlfriend. Linda Montano inspires the piece. I’m a Sexologist, and am always up for other projects with people.  I’ve been on the Board at the St. James Infirmary, which I love.  That’s ongoing for five years now.  I have a website, www.AnnieSprinkle.org (asm), which I would like to work on.  I want to do more photography.  I would like to do a deck of Tarot cards.  I have a million ideas.

You recently spoke at San Francisco Camera Works and displayed some of your photographs.  Will you be displaying them in a gallery soon?  Are you still taking pictures?

I put pictures up in galleries every now and then.  I haven’t been taking pictures, but I am going to take some for my book.  I lost my camera equipment in my houseboat fire and I have never replaced it all.  And, of course I would have to learn digital. 

Would you ever have an Annie Sprinkle Film Festival showing a variety of your porn, documentaries, videos, performances, etc.?

I would love to.  I hope to make a box set of Annie’s Greatest Hits, something that could get the work out there into DVDs.

Your life seems to have a natural progression, always very sex focused and now you have your doctorate in Sexology.  Did you search out a lot of the opportunities (like being a public speaker) or did they just come your way and you hopped aboard (like starring in porn)?

Most everything came my way.  I’ve been freelance since I was 18, for thirty-two years now.  When I was 18 I did my first porn movie and from there it was just one project after the next, depending on what I’m interested in, what people I meet and opportunities that came my way.  When I showed the Amazing World of Orgasm, it is truly a labor of love; the satisfaction of the being able to express something that was interesting to me and things that I cared about to a whole bunch of people was really satisfying.  That is what makes it all worthwhile.  I so get off when I express something and people see it and get it. 

What was your thesis on to receive your doctorate in Sexology?

It was titled, Providing Educational Opportunities To Sex Workers.  I interviewed 150 sex workers, asking what they would want to learn if there was Continuing Education for sex workers.  I found out what they wanted to learn and then designed a course.  It is an interesting 3-day course about finances, legal, health care and various things. 

The people you have met, been taught by, collaborated and grown with seem to have a lot of spirituality and a giving nature.  You seem to just find one another.  How do you explain this amount of good luck and chemistry?  Do you enter into new projects and fields with a plan, attending classes, to learn more, become more comfortable or do you just jump in and learn along the way?

I follow my muse and my clit.  I am lucky and I do meet wonderful people.  There are so many incredible people in the world.  We just find one another.  I think sex educators, sex workers and sex healers are incredible people.

When did you begin to meditate? Integrate sexuality with spirituality?  When did healing, Tantra and chakra work come into play with your sexuality? When did you begin using these themes in your performance?

Learning transcendental meditation was my 14^th birthday present from my parents.  I was going to high school in Panama during the sixties.  The Beatles’ were meditating and I wanted to learn.  That was my first kind of spiritual initiation.  I received a mantra.  I did psychedelics in my youth, quite a bit and I think they had a big impact on my work, sexuality and spirituality.  I began using Tantra when I met my friend Jwala, who is a Tantra teacher in Marin.  I was writing for Penthouse and I went to write an article about Tantra workshops and became friends.  That’s how Sluts and Goddesses workshops came about and I began studying more sexual spiritual stuff.

When you came out to your family about being a sex worker, what was their reaction?  How has it affected your relationships?  Was it harder or easier for them to accept you as a lesbian than a sex worker?

I came out to my family when I was 18 after I started working at a massage parlor, so right from the beginning.  I’ve never lied to my family.  I don’t talk about my work much with my family, I’m Ellen with them.  They accepted me all along.  They had a little trouble with porn early on.  They feared I was on drugs, but I was never that into getting high.  Sex was my high. 

You have been actively campaigning for safe sex in porn films (Pornographers Promoting Safer Sex) for many years, what year did this group begin?  What are your thoughts about the recent shutdown of the industry?  I read recently that Larry Flynt said that safe sex doesn't sell, what would you like to say about that?

The group (PPSS) only met a few times.  Sharon Mitchell has done a really fantastic job with AIM Clinic.  Larry Flynt’s films do use only AIM tested performers, his wife died of AIDS.  From what I understand all of their people get rigorously tested for AIDS where other companies don’t.  He’s at least better than others.

You are also active with the St. James Infirmary and Scarlot Harlot in improving conditions for sex workers, ultimately legalizing prostitution.  What are some of the things you see happening in the lives of sex workers - positive and negative in the past few years?

St. James Clinic is a really positive force.  Negative is John Ashcroft and Bush, really coming down on sex education and funding, etc. 

Many women and sex workers look to you for guidance and healing.  Who do you look to?

Thank you.  Betty Dodson is a role model and Linda Montano, my girlfriend, Elizabeth Stevens, my friend Joseph Kramer and a number of friends.  Carol Queen and Robert Lawrence are really brilliant Sexologists and friends. 

You will be 50 soon.  How are affected by this?  What do you recommend to others for reaching a milestone age or place in their life?

I’m very happy about it, but I sure don’t want to die any time soon. If I do, I want to be reincarnated forever because life is so much fun.  I’ve learned to become okay with aging and gaining weight.  What do I recommend? I think it’s an individual thing.  For me, it was working on self-esteem issues.  It’s so different for everybody.

You are first and foremost an artist.  Do you still see yourself riding a political wave?  Is it a conscious edge to be pushing the envelope, to provide a new angle of awareness and information?  Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself to keep creating?

Sex is political and always will be.  I’m not trying to be provocative.  I do like exploring new territories whenever possible.  I don’t put pressure on myself to keep creating necessarily.  I have to keep making stuff to make a living, but I’m not motivated by money. 

You have said that one’s own sexual realization can bring about a better well-being of all life on Earth.  If you could teach a workshop at a G8 Summit with the world leaders, could it bring about world peace?  What kind of workshop would you teach?

The happier, more sexually satisfied people are, the happier everyone will be.  For the G8?  Everyone there is so different with such different backgrounds it would be very difficult.  I would really have to think about that.  I would probably show them the orgasm documentary and have everyone talk about orgasm.  They probably wouldn’t do that.  I wish it were that easy to bring about world peace.  I don’t think a sexual workshop could bring about world peace right now.  I’m not naïve.  It’s an ongoing thing to have sex education and hope that it’s helpful for people. 

If the president said he would grant you one attainable goal to occur in the next year, what would you ask for?

Get the fuck out of office.  We need a new president.  Bush is not in line with ANY of my agenda - from gay marriage to abortion rights to sex education to freedom of expression to nonviolence, conflict resolution - the list goes on. 

There is a group called the National Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  At the last State of the Union address, President Bush invited a representative to be present in the audience for when he discussed abstinence programs.  This group uses rubber snakes to promote their cause with names like, Herbie Herpes, Lucy Loss of Reputation, Albert AIDS and Hester Hepatitis.  What kind of an effect do you think these programs have on young people?

People need to be warned about the hazards of sex, that’s all well and good, but to just talk about the hazards, that’s not a good idea.  Then people miss out on all the benefits, pleasures and beauties of sex. 

You have had a life-sex philosophy that states, "We are all sexually abused by virtue of the fact that we live in a sex-negative society."  There are still many sex-negative trends, including a 292% increase in the number of breast implants in 18 year olds.  What can be done to make people smarter about their bodies and sexuality? 

In a lot of ways things are getting better.  The media is showing different body types, more than they used to.  That’s really good.  There’s more diversity and more acceptance. A friend of mine died from her implants.  It’s a risk.  I’ve taken a lot of risks, so I can’t get down on 18 year olds for taking risks. If 18 year olds want to get breast implants and they’re safe, they should.

It seems we are in a new sexual revolution with the amount of information, awareness, activity and art coming out (internet, books, radio/TV programs, music, sex advice columns, etc.).  Do you feel that sex-positive creative people are more successful now?

Just by virtue of the fact that young women porn stars are becoming millionaires is very wonderful.  There is more sexual information available to people than ever before. This is so fantastic.  It boggles my mind, and I love to think about this is how far since 1950 we’ve come, how much things have changed. People know where the clit is.  Women are so much more orgasmic.  Women have so much more freedom.  You can imagine with all this information, things are going to change that fast every couple of years.  In thirty years, I think sex will look quite different.  I think the thing that’s really going to shake things up is people are going to have more of an awareness of energy, working with energy in relation to sex.

With so many young women studying your performances and herstory, would you ever consider creating a school where all genders can learn more about their sexuality and spirituality, while increasing their knowledge about sex work, activism, pornography (and the laws around it), performance, art, photography (still and moving) - in other words glean various aspects of your goddess nature for their own artistic endeavors?  Life experience could count towards credit.

That sounds wonderful.  I certainly couldn’t do it by myself.  Maybe have my friends involved too.  The Institute for the Advancement of Human Sexuality is very similar.  I think it would be great if more of those kinds of places existed. I would certainly love to be involved with one. I’m hoping that the Center for Sex and Culture will happen soon and I can be involved with that more.

Thank you Annie.  I really appreciate your taking the time.  If anyone wants to learn more about Annie Sprinkle, please visit her website at: http://www.AnnieSprinkle.org (asm).

Annie’s film closes with a quote by Wilhelm Reich, “The orgasm is no longer a mere biological function used in procreation, nor the side effect of casual pleasure… it is the very center of human experience and ultimately determines the happiness of the human race.”

This article can be found in the SFSI Newsletter (available to graduates only), in the Columbus Free Press (www.freepress.org) and the American Sexuality magazine, online publication for National Sexuality Resource Center at: http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/  .  Please contact me for further publication opportunities.  Thank you.