Jul 092014
 

candida royalle

candida royalleThis Friday, July 11th at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT on Sex Out Loud, I welcome back author, visionary, and entrepreneur Candida Royalle. Candida will discuss her newest project with award-winning Canadian filmmaker Sheona McDonald, “While You Were Gone: the Untold Story of Candida Royalle“, as well as the unprecedented longevity of the sales of her Femme film line; the three new products from her sex toy line, Natural Contours, coming out in a few months; and how she’s helping release and distribute the work of other women, beginning with filmmaker Petra Joy. Jane Hamilton (aka Veronica Hart) will also join the conversation with Royalle to discuss how they both recently received a Doctorate in Human Sexuality from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality for their life’s work. After a long and distinguished career in adult movies, working on both sides of the camera, Jane Hamilton now uses her expertise to educate women in the U.S. and China on issues of pleasure, aging and self-esteem.

This week’s show is LIVE. Find out all the ways to listen here so you can call in with questions and comments at 1-866-472-5788, join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter, or e-mail me via tristan(at)puckerup.com and I’ll read them live on the air.

In 1984, Candida Royalle came up with the idea to produce adult erotica from a woman’s perspective. The mainstream porn industry scoffed at the idea, claiming “It can’t be done.” This only fuelled her determination.

She knew they were wrong.

Three decades later, her line of 18 features continues to bring in sales revenues and Candida Royalle is hailed as a pioneer in women’s erotica.

As Royalle’s work grew in popularity, she became a media darling, appearing on talk shows from Phil Donahue to Anderson Cooper to Tyra Banks; and written up across the globe – the Times of London, the New York Times, Time Magazine, Glamour, Marie Claire – too many to list.

The international sexology community embraced her work for its egalitarian depiction of “positive sexual role modeling” and she was the first adult film producer to be invited in to membership by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counsellors and Therapists (AASECT). She’s become a sought-after speaker, lecturing at the Smithsonian Institute, the American Psychiatric Association’s national conference, the World Congress on Sexology, and many more sexuality conferences and universities including Princeton, Columbia, Wellesley College and New York University.
In June, 2014, Royalle received an honorary Doctorate in Human Sexuality for her life’s work from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.

Building on the success of her films, and her work on female sexual empowerment and pleasure, Royalle partnered with Dutch industrial designer Jandirk Groet, and together they created the Natural Contours® line of high-style, discreet ergonomically designed personal massagers. The line debuted in 1999 and turned the world of sex toys on its head, showcasing vibrators as a “mainstream must-have” and raising the bar for all who followed.

In October 2004, Royalle authored her first book, How to Tell a Naked Man What to Do, (Simon & Schuster/Fireside). In 2006 she launched Femme Chocolat®, created to provide high quality intelligent erotica for the largely underserved non-caucasian market.

As pornography for women and couples grows in popularity, Candida continues to raise the bar. She is currently distributing the work of other feminist pornographers including European director, Petra Joy.

Royalle’s life has never been conventional. The daughter of an accomplished professional jazz drummer, she trained and performed in music, dance and art, attending New York’s High School of Art and Design, Parsons School of Design, and the City University of New York, where she was active in the women’s movement of the late ’60′s and early ’70′s. After a move West to San Francisco, she got involved with some of the original members of the infamous Cockettes, including the late Divine, to create avant garde jazz and theater productions.

In 1974, looking to finance her unconventional lifestyle, she entered the world of erotica as an adult performer and acted in more than twenty feature films. For some, this choice may have been seen as a dead end. But for Candida Royalle, this bold decision would shape the rest of her life.

At every fork in the road, Candida has chosen the path less traveled and, in so doing, has challenged herself, raised the bar and found a new way forward”.

They say “it can’t be done” and she says “just watch me!”.

Jun 012014
 
Club 90 Then and Now

Club 90 Then and Now

 

On June 26, four former adult movie stars who have become innovators in diverse fields of human sexuality will each be awarded the degree Doctor of Human Sexuality from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS) in San Francisco. Jane Hamilton (aka Veronica Hart), Candida Royalle and Veronica Vera will receive their degrees from Dr. Ted McIlvenna at the Institute. Gloria Leonard, who died in January, 2014 will receive her degree posthumously.

After a long and distinguished career in adult movies, working on both sides of the camera, Jane Hamilton now uses her expertise to educate women in the U.S. and China on issues of pleasure, aging and self-esteem. Candida Royalle created Femme Productions in 1984 and became known for pioneering erotic cinema from a woman’s perspective, encouraging other women to follow her lead. Veronica Vera founded the world’s first crossdressing academy Miss Vera’s Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls, enriching the lives of trans people across the gender spectrum. Gloria Leonard debated some of the toughest anti-porn activists and toured college campuses as a self-described “stand up constitutionalist” enlightening students on the First Amendment. She was the first president of the Free Speech Coalition. In addition, all four women, plus Annie Sprinkle comprise Club 90, the first porn star support group, which began in 1983 and continues to this day. They credit the resulting deep and lasting friendship of their Club 90 sisters with helping to manifest their individual dreams and successes.

Annie Sprinkle was the first porn star to be awarded a Ph.D. which she earned from IASHS in 2002.  Dr. Sprinkle will host the investiture and awards ceremony. The soon-to-be graduates will each present her life’s work at the Institute’s special “Days of The Divas” (June 24-26) as part of the curriculum. Most events are invited guests only, however, the afternoon of Thursday, June 26th will feature a “Days of the Divas Display—An Open House Meet & Greet & Show & Tell,” that will display Club 90 archival materials and ephemera to which the public is cordially invited.

Founded in 1976 by Rev. Dr. Ted McIlvenna, the IASHS was the first to award advanced degrees in the newly emergent field of sexology that grew out of the sexual revolution. Wardell Pomeroy a colleague of Alfred Kinsey was appointed the school’s first dean. (Chris O’Donnell portrayed him in the movie “Kinsey.”) Says, Dr. McIlvenna, “These Divas personify, what has always been, a primary goal of the Institute which is to spread the truth of human sexual experience in all its complexities. To acknowledge the Divas’ visionary work renews our shared commitment to that goal and helps assure our continued success.”