Porn star’s book aims to put the record straight on pornography – because it’s here to stay

Dubbed “the pop star of porn” by Village Voice, Stoya is an award-winning performer in adult films, a director, a podcast host and an all-round entrepreneur. She is both a vocal defender of the porn industry and one of its most nuanced commentators.

“When I first considered performing in a hard core pornographic video, I also thought about what sort of career doors would close once I’d had sex in front of a camera,” she mused recently in The New York Times.

“Being a schoolteacher came to mind, but that was fine, since I didn’t want the responsibility of shaping young minds. And yet thanks to this country’s non-functional sex education system and the ubiquitous access to porn for anyone with an internet connection, I have that responsibility anyway.”

So her first collection of essays and articles is Philosophy, Pussycats and Porn, an eclectic mix of biographical vignettes and reflections that covers subjects from religious iconography to technology, but often circles back to sexuality, patriarchy and identity. “When you spend 12 years with your entire job being sexuality,” she says, you start to find all sorts of odd little angles that people aren’t really talking about.”

Stoya began writing when she grew tired of what she calls “parachute journalists” – those who report on subjects they know little about – “getting it so incredibly wrong with porn”.