#1225 Brittany Andrews: How Policies Against Sex Work Reinforce Patriarchy and Misogyny

00:00 Ricardo Lopes: Hello everyone. Welcome to a new episode of The Dissenter. I'm your host, as always, Ricardo Lobs and today I'm joined by Miss Brittany Andrews. She's a Hall of Fame actress and legend in the adult entertainment industry with over 30 years. Experience and we're going to talk about her career and some other topics related to pornography and sex work today. So, Miss Brittany, thank you so much for coming on the show. It's a huge pleasure to

00:32 Brittany Andrews: everyone. Well, thank you for having me. Um, I always love having a good conversation about pornography, sex work, and goodness gracious, whatever else we can muster throughout the rest of the interview.

00:46 Ricardo Lopes: Awesome. So, let's start with uh some background here. So you've been in the industry for a while. Uh TELL us a little bit about that. How did you become an adult actress and uh did you have Any other, uh, sex work-related occupations before that or not?

01:11 Brittany Andrews: So I started off, uh, when I was 17 years old with a fake ID in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a stripper. And you know, this particular strip club is not, you know, I live in Vegas and they've got the fabulous strip clubs. Uh, IT'S not that one. It's the exact opposite. It was totally in the ghetto, drive-by shootings like the pool was a basement pool with duct tape around it. Um, I'd like to go to it still to this day, like once every 10 years and everybody's like, you're gonna get shot. And every time I go, I'm like, oh my God, I'm gonna get shot. I mean, it is in the freaking ghetto, right? Um, AND so anyways, that's where I started off and then I went into, uh, feature dancing. Then I went into magazines, and then I went into film as an actress, and then I opened up my own studio and started producing, directing, doing distribution, owning websites, and you know, the rest is her story, not history, but her story.

02:20 Ricardo Lopes: And, and I mean, looking back uh through this past thirty-ish years that you've been in the industry, uh, how has it evolved, uh, over this period of time? I mean, looking back, what do you think are the main changes that you, you've seen?

02:42 Brittany Andrews: Well, you know, everybody always ask me this, like what's changed? And it's like everything has changed. But you know, when I first got into the business um back in the 90s, they were still, still shooting on 35 millimeter. It was before handheld digital cameras existed. So back then, it was, you know, big production, studios, contracts. MODELS, uh, that's kind of what defined like what the nineties were besides, you know, really big hair and black makeup. Uh,

03:14 Ricardo Lopes: AND there were still VHS tapes back then. Yes,

03:18 Brittany Andrews: everything was on VHS when I first started producing and directing. The first film, you know, that I did was on VHS. So then I would say, you know, that The era after that would be defined by, you know, peer to peer sharing, like the era of Napster, tube sites, and everything changed because the way that you used to make money by producing content and putting it on, at that time it was on DVD like literally the next day it would be on a peer to peer network and on tube sites and the business went into a very quick decline. Um, AT that point, um, almost everybody I know ended up going bankrupt during that time. I ended up going to, uh, film school. I was like, you know what, let me just retire and go to school. And actually it was a very smart move because at that time as well, it was, uh, the 2008 economic downfall. So right around the, the, the macroeconomy downfall, you also had our microeconomy of what I like to call Little Hollywood. Everybody was going bankrupt because of this whole peer to peer and tube sharing. Um, AND then, you know, I came back in when, uh, when it was now what you would call the creator economy and where creators now uh are able to own and I was already doing this back in the 90s, but I was really forward thinking, you know, I've managed quite a few adult film stars from the 90s and none of them was producing and directing their own. Content. They weren't really forward-thinking with ownership rights, where for some reason I really was from quite a young age. And so I left and retired when that way of making money of producing, directing and distributing no longer worked for me. And then I came back in when you had these creative platforms where you could distribute your content and start making money being a content creator again. So that's kind of how I would define, you know, like the 90s and then in between and like where we're at now and some of the changes and of course, so many technological changes. I mean, at the end of the day, the two industries that are always at the forefront of emerging technology are finances and the adult entertainment industry. And that's one of the reasons why I've been able to do so well and because, you know, I, you know, the adult Industry I've always evolved with it and I've always loved emerging technology. So, you know, I've been doing, you know, in 2020, I had sold over 100 NFTs in that year. So, uh, you know, I was one of the first people to jump on AI in so many different ways. I went to the first ever chat GBT seminar in the world here in Vegas. So, um, yeah, so that's, that's kind of how I would define some of those different eras and some of the changes.

06:20 Ricardo Lopes: And across those different areas, I, I mean, do you think that any of those mediums, I mean, VHS, DVD, and then the internet, the different platforms on the internet, the different ways of shooting pornography and so on, do you think that any of them, uh, stands above the others in terms of the benefits that performers, uh, get from it?

06:50 Brittany Andrews: Well, you know, it's funny because one of the questions I was asked by a paparazzi photographer one time who's been around longer than I have, and I really think that he thought I was going to say I preferred the performer of yesterday instead of the performer of today. And, you know, I, I think I kind of shocked him because back in the 90s, primarily, all you had to do was just show up, do the job, and then go home. Where Whereas now in order to be a successful content creator, I mean, you really have to, you know, understand how to be a producer, how to be a director. You have to understand platforms, you have to understand algorithms, you have to understand contracts, you have to understand compliance. You have to understand editing, post-production, storage, I mean, marketing on all the different social media platforms. And what that includes, um, managing a team because it's impossible to be a content creator in this day and age and be, you know, large scale successful without also managing a team, which means you also have to understand, you have to have financial literacy and understand accounting and taxes and I mean at the end of the day to be a successful content creator today, you have to have the same. Uh, KNOWLEDGE and wisdom in business that you would if you were going to run any kind of business, plus some because we're just so expected to be kind of omnipresent and to be everywhere. I kind of crack up at YouTube, uh, influencers because they're like, oh my God, I've got to go on like 3 platforms. I'm like Honey, I'm on like 50 of them. I've got the fan platforms, the clip platforms, my official website. Then you've got the tube sites, then you've got social media. And then with social media, I've got like, you have to, as a sex worker, you have to have multiple social medias because you're always um getting discriminated against and you're having your Instagram taken down, your YouTube taken down. So you You have to have multiple backup ones. So I mean, you really have to be a smart cookie in this day and age to be a successful sex worker, content creator, which I think, you know, a lot of people really downplay what goes on behind the scenes to be a success in this business in this day and age.

09:08 Ricardo Lopes: Yeah, you really have to be in a sense, an entrepreneur and acquire many different kinds of skills. Yes, correct. Mhm, YEAH. So, uh, but, but I mean, going back to the part where we were talking about how you got into the industry, what motivated you originally to become a sex worker? I mean, what is it that you find the most interesting about sex work and particularly pornography?

09:42 Brittany Andrews: You know, when I originally got in as a stripper, I remember this was back in the days when you would look in the newspaper and the classified ads, some young people won't even know what that is. But you would look in the newspaper for jobs and I remember being kind of like intrigued, curiosity. Um, THEY used to have like 1-800 phone numbers that you could call like sex party lines. Like I was always interested in those too. So I think originally it was curiosity. Um, YOU know, I do come from poverty as well, uh, growing up, and you know, I had a lot of jobs in management before I ended up. Um, BEING in the strip club and I remember making like $100 in 5 minutes. And I mean, back then, I think minimum wage was like $5 an hour and I was like, this is my calling, you know. And I'm a Leo, so I'm a natural born performer and entertainer. And as a woman, it was an industry, even though it was very difficult in the 90s, don't. Don't get me wrong, but it was something that without an education that I could see myself climbing, you know, the corporate ladder, one might say, relatively quick. It was an industry where I had control of everything and it just depended on how hard I wanted to work, what I was going to get out of it. And so there was really no limitation to how much I could succeed. Um AND so coming from like no education, poverty, being a female, this industry offered me opportunities that I could not get to in any other way in the 90s that I saw. And to me, uh, that was extremely, um, you know, it, it looked very good to me and I was like, Yes, this is, and I had no problem, you know, with my sexuality whatsoever at all. So, and just the fact that there were so many different things that I could do. I'm somebody that gets bored very easily. It just, it's so worked for my personality on so many different levels. I was traveling a lot back when I first started because I was feature dancing. Um, YOU know, it just had all of the, the, um, the things that I was looking for, uh, in life, you know, not just in a career, but in life, you know, so, um, it was very attractive to me and I just dove right in and I've just been swimming Lake Nemo ever since.

12:23 Ricardo Lopes: But I mean, looking at how the industry works nowadays and the different kinds of avenues that people who are sex workers and produce pornography can explore, particularly online and elsewhere. Uh, I mean, if, for example, uh, an 18 year old or a 19-year-old girl approached you and asked you, uh, and said that she was interested in getting into the sex industry and asked you for advice, I mean, what would you tell her?

12:59 Brittany Andrews: Well, I guess I would first have a conversation with her and see if she um has the right psychological makeup for it. You know, I know I definitely did at a young age, but that doesn't mean that everybody does. I was very strong-minded. Like I was not somebody that was going to be ran over or taken advantage of, you know, if somebody's very naive, they should probably wait a couple. OF years, you know, I had lived on the street and so I was very like street smart when I got into the business. If you're somebody that's naive and you're really young and you're shy and you haven't explored your own sexuality yet, I would probably say to wait a few more years before you jump in. Um, BUT if somebody's got all the right makings for it, you know, my kind of advice is to start with, I think like the safest way to get into the adult entertainment industry and to kind of flex your wings and see if you're meant for the business that's very safe is webcamming. So, you know, and that's something that once again you have to understand platforms, you have to understand. Algorithms, you have to learn how to market yourself. You have to understand, you know, finances and so I think it's a really, you know, and you're typically working, you know, in your home by yourself. So I think that's a really good way to kind of gauge whether you're right for this business or not is to start with webcamming because it's a very safe space to enter and to see if you're right for it or not.

14:38 Ricardo Lopes: But, but in terms of, uh, the fact that people, and of course in this case we're focusing on girls, women, uh, have to expose themselves, I mean physically online, they have

14:50 Brittany Andrews: to men and transgender males and females.

14:55 Ricardo Lopes: Yes, yeah, yes, of course, of course, but, but I, I, I mean, uh, talking about that aspect of the intimate of the public exposition of, uh, their intimate. I mean, physical body or whatever you want to, or however you want to put it. I mean, do you think that people need to have particular kinds of personality traits to be able to deal with that?

15:24 Brittany Andrews: Yeah, I mean, if you are gonna be worried about uh finding a boyfriend or your family or any of these different things, like I don't know how much I can swear on here, but Can I use the F word?

15:42 Ricardo Lopes: I mean this will be on YouTube, so it's better for you to avoid that.

15:46 Brittany Andrews: Let me just say I did not give a funk. OK,

15:51 Ricardo Lopes: OK, OK,

15:51 Brittany Andrews: that's fine. You know, I did not care whatsoever at all about who saw or whatever, and I found it to be very liberating, and I had like zero qualms with, uh, my own sexuality and expressing that or being a voyeur. So that's why I kind of said before, like if you're naive, if you're shy, if any of your personality traits don't lend itself to this. This being a healthy, a healthy space for you to be in, then you should not be in this space because God bless as somebody that has been in this business for 35 years. I've seen a lot of people that don't belong here, that aren't strong enough to put their foot down when boundaries are crossed. If you can't, um, if you can't forcibly enforce your own boundaries, then you should not be in this business. If you're too shy. To stand up for yourself. You should not be in this business because it is a business where people are going to test you and to push your boundaries to see how much they can uh get out of you. And if you're not willing to stand up for yourself and to protect yourself, then you will be used by this industry like many other industries. This is not the only one, the music industry, entertainment in general, and even 9 to 5 workplaces, they're all Also going to do the same. Um, SO I mean I think it's very important though when it's such an intimate type of thing like you're talking about, um, that it can do damage, you know, it can traumatize a human being if you're not, if you're not the right kind of personality to be doing this type of business, then yeah, if you, if you don't have the backbone for it, then you should probably stay out of it, uh, because nobody wants to see people coming into this business and then living in their. FOR the rest of their life, which can happen, you know, so, um, that's why I say I kind of feel like webcam is a good way to start because it's not super public, um, and it's not like, you know, shooting for browsers or something like right off the bat where everybody is gonna see it, kind of test the waters a little bit and be honest with yourself on whether, you know, this industry is for you or not.

18:10 Ricardo Lopes: What do you think are the most common misconceptions, uh, people in general, I mean, the general public have, uh, about pornography? Well,

18:22 Brittany Andrews: I think like one of the things that you just mentioned is exploitation, right? A lot of people think that that, um, all sex workers are exploited and really the exploitation comes when um you're having stereo. Types when you're putting shame on individuals, when things are criminalized and you're not allowing consent, ownership, you know, the ability for when consent is taken away to uh to be able to go to the police and to protect yourself. Uh, THESE are the things that I feel are exploitative and not the camera. The camera, I don't feel as exploitative as some of the, the stereotypes and the, the moral judgments that then go into laws and regulations that end up hurting sex workers instead of protecting and, you know, allowing a safe, healthy space for individuals to create, to own, and to have consent.

19:22 Ricardo Lopes: Uh, YEAH, because I mean, when it comes to, uh, there are particular kinds of people, they tend to be, for example, conservatives or certain kinds of feminists. I mean there are different kinds of feminists, some of them are sex positive and are in and defend sex work and sex workers in general, but some of them make claims like, for example, that there's never consent actually. Consenting pornography and sex work. I mean, do you think there, there's a risk of making that kind of assumption?

19:58 Brittany Andrews: Well, I like what you just brought up, which is feminism. I think that's another misconception is that, um, if you're doing pornography, then you're not a feminist, right? Whereas it's really hard to say for someone like myself, uh, who's been an owner of everything since I've been 19. Years old, how can you not be a feminist and then also be an owner, right? So I believe that ownership is something that's extremely um important and to me feminism is about choice. And for me, I've made very empowered choices, you know, while within this industry my entire career from, like I said, I owned a studio at the age of 23. I was producing, directing, traveling in the world. Paying my taxes, taking care of my family. I took care of my mother. I've been my legal conservator of my sister for over 20 years. Like, and for me, feminism is also, you know, having the ability to take care of others and nurture and, and be a part of community and taking care of community. I also have my own, uh, charity called Hands Providing Hope that I've had for over 10 years, um, that is primarily focused in the Philippines and we do tons of Different things and I work with the government over there. I've worked with the typhoons recently. Like, to me that's feminism is being empowered and, you know, being able to financially take care of myself and financially take care of others, to have ownership, you know, I run a team of other women, um, as well, so I'm able to give other women jobs and I'm able to keep other women safe and to educate. All those different things to me is exactly what feminism is.

21:43 Ricardo Lopes: Right, but for example, the fact that, uh, some sex negative, uh, radical feminists, feminists who are against sex work, uh, make claims like for example, that it's always done under coercion, that it's never. A choice, particularly for women, that there's never consent there. I mean, don't you think that perhaps there are some risks associated with those kinds of assumptions and political discourse surrounding sex work and pornography?

22:18 Brittany Andrews: Absolutely. And I mean, obviously, like for myself, um, you know, I've been a DJ. I've produced regular films like I, you know, and I still keep coming back to this industry. So obviously, there's a choice. It's not a cult. It's not like you can't leave. But yeah, you know, individuals that want to turn, you know, grown intelligent women like myself into children that don't have a voice and they choose to speak for me instead of allowing me to speak for myself, end up then putting into law, uh, regulations that end up instead of, like I said before, creating a safe space for women to have consent and ownership, they end up doing the exact opposite and they take Take everything away and then they put you in situations of where you then, you are the victim, you know, such as criminalizing sex work and then not being able to when consent is taken away to then be able to go to the police and do a report on this. I mean, there's many reasons why, um, somebody speaking over my voice, um, is not going to be what's best for myself and my community, and it ends up putting us in danger instead of helping us.

23:33 Ricardo Lopes: Yeah, and what do you make specifically of policies that target sex workers, like, for example, when governments or states try to uh ban porn or ban porn. Specifically on the internet and what sometimes people call sin taxes, taxes directed at uh sex workers and so on. I mean, what do you make of those kinds of policies?

24:04 Brittany Andrews: Well, Can we say the word hypocrisy? I mean, when you're looking at the Epstein files right now when the top people in our government are currently um involved, I, I, I, I respect that we're on YouTube. We all know what's currently now in these Epstein files. Um, YOU know, me and everybody I know one of the most amazing things about the adult entertainment industry is before we do, um, Before we work, before we do a scene as we take all this time to go through consent. We go through all of our body parts, our do's, our don'ts, what do you like? What are we comfortable? We have a long conversation on consent and we do testing. We do every 14 days we're having, um, we're getting full panel testing. So, you know, you're talking about individuals that are doing some of the most heinous crimes, sexual crimes towards children, teenagers, and women right now that are coming after a woman like myself who's got autonomy, ownership, consent, um, and trying to pass judgment on me and what I do. Um, WHEN, when you look at what they're doing, and that is disgusting and vile, it's illegal. Nothing that I'm doing is, um, morally, in my opinion, as long as there's consent between two adults. Then, you know, it's just complete hypocrisy.

25:42 Ricardo Lopes: Yeah, and I, I don't, I don't know if you agree with me on this point or not, but I also get the sense that whenever people try to target, uh, pornography and sex work more generally and try to ban it or bring it down or turn it illegal in some way, they're not just targeting sex. Sex workers themselves, but they're also uh targeting uh women more generally in terms of them being able to make their own choices when it comes to their sexuality, their sexual expression, and so on.

26:26 Brittany Andrews: I, I do appreciate you bringing that up, but yes, have you ever heard of the saying, thou dost protest too much? Have you heard of that thing? It's like pretty much every time you see a lot of these evangelical conservatives that, you know, are standing on some type of pedestal preaching about something, whatever they're preaching about, you then some kind of scandal comes out, you find out they're gay, you know. They have the most conservative, um, convention, we all know who Grindr is. Grindr blows up, right? So I mean, once again, it goes back to this hypocrisy that I was talking about before, but then like what you're talking about, then it goes into complete uh control and misogyny, which, you know, I think we're at a We're at a place right now in time where, you know, we're really seeing like some of the most ugly and the worst that's being amplified, you know, whether it comes down to, uh, racism at the moment, you're seeing um some of the worst appalling attitudes towards racism that are being uplifted and amplified, and I would say the same thing for misogyny right now as well. There's a lot of um You know, and, and being a sex worker, you are dealing consistently like with all of these kind of right-wing conservative rescue groups that are trying to rescue sex workers. So I was very familiar with it, you know, before like Project 2025. And the Heritage Foundation started, uh, really kind of posting, you know, this war against, you know, I feel it's a war against almost everybody, the average American citizen to gay, transgender, people of color, women. I mean, just like, it seems like they hate everybody equally. Uh, BUT there was a certain distaste, I think, absolutely for women and female sexuality, ownership, consent, um, these different aspects that, um, they really want us submissive in the kitchen, having children, and not being able to educate ourselves, and, you know, and that's the Patriarchy, right? And at the end of the day, patriarchy, and you hear it time and time again, doesn't just hurt women. It hurts men, it hurts society, it hurts culture, you know, I, I really feel like men need to step down. They're ruining this world and this planet, and I, you know, I just feel like, uh, well, the statistics and the numbers don't lie. Men, uh, women. I think because we bring life into the world, we have a lot more reverence and love and compassion for humanity and would find a lot of different ways to diplomatically get through um situations, you know, political situations outside of, you know, let's get some nuclear codes and just blow everybody up and beat everybody down and starve people to death in concentration camps. I mean, It's, it's pretty horrific what's not just only going on in the US, but what's going on in Gaza, what's going on in Iran right now. I mean, there's just so much like violence and terrorism from governments towards, towards we the people and, you know, all kinds of You know, women are an oppressed minority just along with, you know, uh, people of color and indigenous people, and, you know, we the people have to all come together and, uh, you know, stand up against all of these atrocities that are happening right now.

30:09 Ricardo Lopes: Yeah, and one thing that I find particularly ridiculous, even absurd, I would say, uh, because you mentioned also the patriarchy and then people, politicians in particularly trying to control women's bodies through, for example, policies that target sex work. Uh, THE thing that I find absurd is when there are sex negative radical feminists. Decide to align themselves with those conservative and religious people against sex workers as if they wouldn't take the first opportunity they get to also to take the rest of the rights that women have in America, for example, and other places as soon as they could, right?

31:04 Brittany Andrews: Well, you know, I mean, as a woman, you know, it. Devastated me, uh, when this particular president was voted in, and it wasn't everybody, it was specifically from, from woman to woman that I had an issue like how can women vote against their own, their own rights, um, but you saw so many people. In this last election, you know, from farmers to brown people that voted against themselves under this current administration, and it took me a lot of trying to educate myself and There's been quite a few women that have left what I would like to call the mega cult to try to help us other women understand like how could you go against your own kind. Like it just like really blew my mind. But you know, the way that they're indoctrinated, you know, within like Christian nationalism, like Mormonism, all these different things for women to be subservient, no critical thinking, not to be educated. Uh, TO, to, to go, uh, with whatever the man says. You know, it, it helped me and then also some other content creators that I was listening to how a lot of white women instead of aligning with other women, which statistics show that quite often women don't align with other women until they've been divorced and they've had to try to make it on their own, then they find their way quite often to, you know, uh, a liberal, more democratic kind of policies, but as long as they are Um, you know, married with children and in the, in the sanctity of a marriage, they will choose to align themselves with their whiteness before their womanness, and they feel as long as they are aligned with uh whiteness and the man that they will be protected within that space, but History shows us that if you're a white woman in this situation that you are not going to be protected. You are still going to be uh essayed and you're still going to be used and abused. Like this is not the protection that you're hoping that it's going to give you. It's going to turn around on you and I mean, I think Pam Bondi. We just had Pam Bondi, you know, in front of Congress. I mean, this is like a perfect example of a woman. I mean, it was so vile and disgusting that when they had the survivors stand up right behind her, she wouldn't even give them the common courtesy to turn around and look at them. I mean, this is a woman that's not even willing to look at other women that have been, and they were children when they were abused and, and used and just it it blows. MY mind as a woman that's supposed to be loving, nurturing, compassionate. Like that's an aspect of femininity, and you're completely turning on that for your own selfish, narcissistic, uh, you know, career. But I, you know, I'm hoping that the US has got its own Nuremberg trials and she will have her day in court. And once again, like I just said, like this is not going to protect you. You are on the wrong side of history. And if anybody has ever I mean, right now it feels like nothing is going to happen, but I'm really hoping that in most situations, you know, that we can look back in history, you know, there is a comeuppance that will happen and that time will, will come and I, I'm, I'm hoping, I'm looking forward to seeing that day because I mean, it just, I mean, you can obviously hear the rage inside of me, just seeing another woman do that to other women. It's just, it, it's, it's, it's vile and disgusting.

35:04 Ricardo Lopes: No, no, it's perfectly understandable. And earlier you mentioned social media and Instagram and other platforms that sex workers nowadays resort to, to basically publicize themselves and so on. What do you make of the fact that many of those social media platforms nowadays, and I read some news, for example, from back in December on X Twitter that they were targeting. Um, OR banning or suspending accounts from, uh, or, or sex workers' accounts and, and there's lots of shadow banning on Instagram, on X, and other platforms. I mean, don't, don't you think that makes, uh, uh, that targets their livelihood but also at the same time makes their work less safe?

36:04 Brittany Andrews: Well, you know, I mean, once again, this is the misogyny. Most of these businesses would not have grown to the kind of popularity that they had without sexy bitches being on those platforms. I mean, come on, let's all get real. Everybody, uh, I mean, the two things that everybody knew Twitter for was Uh, crypto and pornography, right? And then, uh, Instagram, we all know how many men have gotten in trouble in their relationships because they were following hot girls in bikinis on Instagram. So none of these tech companies have a problem completely building their infrastructure on this business and then when they get to a Certain place financially where they no longer need us in the same kind of way that women quite often are used and then, uh, disposed of, uh, then decide to turn, turn around and turn against us. And yes, all of those things happen and you know, within the adult entertainment industry, we have a union called APPEG and that particular union has been in a lawsuit with Instagram. And Instagram is very aware of that there's a whole racket that goes on of not only just shadow banning, but then banning your account. And then people from Instagram that work there contact you and based upon the amount of followers and your popularity charge you a certain price to get your account. Back, right? And so, I mean, I know some, I mean this is literally like, um, you know, this is racketeering. This is a racket of where they're more or less like blackmailing you and saying, yes, you know, well, you can have your account back but it's gonna cost you $5000 10,000 dollars, $20,000 right? So there's that whole aspect and Instagram is very aware that this is going on, which is illegal, right? Um, AND then also too, exactly, you know, a lot of different, uh, platforms sex workers use as a way of verification of community, of safety, checking on each other, uh, letting each other know if certain individuals, um, are, are risky or dangerous. Yes, there's many different ways that we've built. To me because we can't rely on the police or I mean, and you can see with the whole Epstein thing like why would anybody, you know, actually report anything because nothing ever gets done, right? So as a community, we've learned many different ways to come together and find creative um infrastructure and ways and part of that infrastructure is using social media to stay safe. And so yes, when you Uh, take those platforms away from us, then, then you're taking away our ability to connect with our community and to, um, you know, share information about keeping ourselves safe within that community.

39:15 Ricardo Lopes: Mhm. So, I, I mean, of course, this also involves uh the social stigma that we know surrounds uh sex work and sex workers. Um, IN what ways do you think uh we can humanize the sex workers? I mean What can we do culturally? I know that's, that's probably not something easy to do, but what can we do culturally to help humanizing sex workers and provide the general public with a more positive view of them?

39:57 Brittany Andrews: Well, thank you. One of the things is having us on your podcast and allowing this conversation to exist, you know, and I, I, I remember when the, the word sex worker first came out. I was so happy because the, the shape. Shame isn't in the sex, it's in the way that you treat the worker, right? And so I really appreciated when the word sex worker became a word that, you know, press and media started utilizing because obviously, you know, sex work is work. And I think once we start utilizing like that particular word sex worker instead of pornographer or prostitute or whatever word you want to use, but to use the, the correct word, I believe that gives dignity to the sex worker and also uh make sure that it emanates and amplifies the concept of worker rights as well. But besides, you know, having a conversation um about it, uh, I think another way of humanizing is men talking to men about how they talk about women, right? I think that's something that's very important. I, um, if, you know, a man is having another conversation about women or sex workers amongst their friend group, you know, to stand up, uh, against men that are misogynistic, that are volatile, and, you know, like we really need We really need men. We need our allies, you know, it's not all men, right? There are some beautiful allies of men that are out there. Um, AND then also too, we need laws that, you know, reflect safety, consent, these different things. So I think it's a, a, a combination. Of, uh, treating us like human in public spaces, having the conversations, having the laws that reflect it. I think those are a couple of different things that can, um, you know, humanize the, the sex worker and also, you know, there's always so much, um, there's always so much focus on the sex worker. But the sex worker wouldn't be there if there wasn't demand, right? So, you know, I think we need to also look at the scope of we all have sex, even our own moms had sex. Like we're all having sex. It's not, um, it's just sex, right? We all do it. We eat, we poke, we pee, we, and we have sex. It's just part of the human experience, so. Um, I think making it less taboo and finding the healthy humane aspects of sexuality and how to promote that is also a good way of, um, you know, promoting the, the, um, the space in which a sex worker operates.

42:56 Ricardo Lopes: Yeah, and by the way, since I asked you about that, have you seen any sort of positive evolution, any sort of progression in terms of how people deal with uh sex workers, particularly the ones that have some, some sort of uh popularity like some um, Uh, like some porn actresses, I, I mean, have you seen any positive evolution over the past 30+ years that you've been in the industry?

43:32 Brittany Andrews: Absolutely. I mean, when I first got into the business, there was no way, you know, the adult entertainment industry also just like I always say you've got big Hollywood and little Hollywood, and just like big Hollywood, we had our own Me Too movement. Um AND at that point, everything changed about how we went about doing things with consent. Like back in the 90s, we didn't have a 25 minute conversation before you shot a scene on consent and so that has been something that's changed a lot. I think um There was a lot more racism in the adult entertainment industry in the 90s where it's much more diverse, uh, not just with color but body shapes and I think um also um Once again, women are owning things, so, uh, but,

44:27 Ricardo Lopes: but by, by the way, uh, uh, since you mentioned that point of, uh, you thinking that there's less racism and there's more variety of bodies nowadays, uh, on the other hand, do you think That perhaps there's at least a little bit of risk that some of that has to do with fetishizing people who are uh of particular ethnicities, races, body shapes, and so on.

45:00 Brittany Andrews: I think that's a fine line, right? So I personally, I've always loved Asian men, right? So, and I've never met an Asian man to this day that's like, oh, I don't want you to like Asian men. You're fetishizing. I'm a blonde woman with big boobies, right? Like I'm fetishized too to a certain extent, right? So, um, I feel like if you have a true love for that ethnicity and it's your preferences. Yes, you know, sometimes, uh, but it's like a line, right? It's like what is your intention and your motivation. So I do feel that so much of the content that's interracial really comes from thou doth protest too much. And I see it all the time in my own fans. It's like these super conservative white men that have Got some kind of racial hangup that it comes out in their sexuality that's just like not, uh, not cool, right? So yeah, some of that can, but what I do hope is that at least it is a space where the workers are protected enough that maybe, you know, I do feel that a lot of um Like I do a lot with uh BDSM. I'm a dominatrix as well, and I do feel that a lot of um BDSM has a lot of psychological roleplay in different things that people work out their traumas. So I kind of hope that it might be something. Somewhat of a safe space that people can heal and work on some of these things. Um, BUT of course, not all people are looking to heal through their sexuality and a lot of people aren't looking to heal, but they actually do end up doing it without even knowing it by kind of delving into some of these things. But once again, the main thing is, is that if somebody does have bad intentions with racism because I see it happen on my own fan pages, like I have the ability to block them and not tolerate that kind of BS from somebody. So, but in general, um, I do love, love, love seeing like I come from the days of the nineties where it was, you know, everybody had to look like a Playboy model. It was very cookie-cutter, blonde, 5'7, double D, 125 pounds, where now, one of my best friends in the business is Julie Ginger. She is a big girl and there is a lot of love from her, you know, and I just, I love I love it for the fans too, right? That, I mean, how many guys wanted to see somebody like Julie Ginger before and like there was no content being made for them, right? So I'm happy for the consumer that they have a wider variety, that there's opportunities for more men, women, transgender in the business because it's, it's so diverse, right? And I, and I love that so much because like Somebody like myself that came to this business because I was born uneducated and I was able to give myself a life that I'm so blessed and so grateful for. Like, I want everybody to be able to have, you know, access to that. And now with the diversification of the business, yes, so many others are able to really, you know, develop an empire and create a really good life for themselves.

48:29 Ricardo Lopes: Have you seen uh the rise of the MILF category? I mean, the first time it came around was in, I think, the early 2000s after the release of the movie American Pie, where the uh acronym comes from, and then the explosion occurred around the mid to late 2000s. I mean, do you look at uh the rise of that category as something positive because If I understand it correctly, if I have, if I'm getting my history right before that, I mean, basically, uh, the porn industry was only interested in women up till around, I don't know, 25 years of age or something like that.

49:20 Brittany Andrews: So yeah, when I originally retired the first time, it was in 2006 when I decided to leave. And at that time, the word MILF had just came out and I remember them wanting to call me a MILF. I think I was like, you know, 31 years old or something, and I was like, oh my God, my career is over. I'm old. Right. And I mean, I really thought that way at that time and the word mouth came out and none of us particularly cared for it because at that point, there was no word that existed that I had ever heard of that described an older woman in a positive light. There was only like Mrs. Robinson, right? But that was so minuscule. It really, you know, it wasn't very big culturally. And so we thought it was just another degrading term for women and you know, it's, it's very funny because You know, now, uh, so in the adult entertainment industry, we call people that are not in the adult entertainment industry, we call them civilians, right? And so all of my civilian older female friends, like it's funny because a lot of them don't realize that hashtagoldbiatches are trending, right? Like they still are going by the old playbook that they have to like, don't, don't ask me my age. I'm like, oh my God. God, don't you know, like, that's one of the best things. Like, you know, and it's so true. Like MILF became the most searched, uh, keyword on all of the different platforms around the world, not just in the US. So, um, I'm so happy, you know, definitely, just because I'm in the adult entertainment industry does not mean that I agree with everything and how they do it. There's many things I disagree with. Uh, BUT this is one thing that we got right, you know, was absolutely we made the playing field for women, uh, pretty much the same as men, right? So men, if you got money and you're older, you're cool. Women, if you're a hot bitch and you're older, you're cool, right? Like we finally have leverage to continue to play in the game as we've gotten older and, um, Yeah, you know, I, I love the whole milk thing now. I mean, obviously I, I left the business and I came back and the milk was booming and you know, now I'm able to, and I'm also trying to work on something because I'm sure you've heard of guilt, grandmother, right? But I like another one because I'm 52. I'm almost like past the milk stage. I'm going into the guilt stage, but I like glammy, so I'm going with. Glammy. So, you know, I'm just like so aesthetically happy that, you know, I'm able to stay in this business and other, and all the women in the world can, can age and still be sexual and attractive and have value, which is what we did not have before. We were disposable at a certain age where now we, and it's not like our looks are our only value. I mean that's Very obvious. As an older woman, I'm much more experienced. I have a lot more wisdom. There's so many different things that as an older woman that I offer as value, but just in a very shallow perspective of keeping us in the game, just like men, not the only thing is money. But I think you kind of get my point that it, it changed the playing field for women and I'm, I'm very proud of that, that porn gave that to women.

52:45 Ricardo Lopes: Yeah, great. So one last question then, because you mentioned, of course, that you do not necessarily agree with everything that goes around in the porn or the sex industry. What would you like to be changed in a more, in, in a positive way?

53:07 Brittany Andrews: So one of the ways that racism was kind of ingrained into the industry is we used to have something called the Cambria Law. So this was like back in the 80s. So back in the 80s, a lot of uh pornographers were getting jailed like uh a hustler, Larry Flynt, Russ Hampshire from VCA. And so there was like a list of things that There were to kind of keep us out of the realm of obscene and keep us out of jail. One of them was black men shouldn't have sex with white women, right? That was one of the things that was on the Cambria law, which is how it was kind of ingrained into the adult industry, this racism. So obviously I don't, I didn't agree with that, but I understood at the time where it was coming from, like what their intention was. Uh, EVEN though it was incorrect. Um, AND so one of the things that I've disagreed with, uh, since, uh, 19, well, maybe around 2000, I think this started happening was, so 1999 was when we had the internet bubble burst, right? Before then, like people were getting Ferraris as signing bonuses and I remember wanting to start my first website and I was like, I can't afford to give a webmaster a Ferrari. But when the bubble burst, everybody came to To, um, the adult entertainment industry because nobody had gotten paid. Everyone knew that adults had money. So then I started my first website and one of the first things that, um, that was part of like having a website was something called a tour, right? And the tour was before you got behind the paywall. And so originally as part of the tour, one of the things that we had is everything was like PG-13. Like there was no explicit content that was outside of your website. Um, AND then, uh, somebody made a decision, you know, funk that. We're just gonna do whatever we want and we're gonna put, you know, adult images everywhere. Um, AND as a woman, I don't have kids. OK, I do have kids. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs, but you get my point. I don't feel that the adult entertainment industry did the right thing by saturating, uh, the internet with adult material that children could see. And I've always firmly believed if we don't self-govern like we tried to with the Cambria law back then with a bunch of different things, if we're not self-governing, when the government comes in and, you know, uh, takes a riding crop to our earth, we shouldn't be surprised, right? Because we didn't do the right thing and I do feel as though we failed the public. By not protecting children with adult imagery, and now we've got all this age verification coming at us, um, and that is hurting many adult businesses right now, but we should have did the right thing from the beginning and we chose not to, and these are the consequences. And I know a lot of people in my own industry are not going to agree with what I just said, but I said what I said and I meant it.

56:14 Ricardo Lopes: Yeah, so, look, uh uh uh let's perhaps wrap up our conversation here. It's been very, very interesting. Thank you so much for coming on the show. But just before we go, where can people find you on the internet?

56:31 Brittany Andrews: Well, my name is Brittany Andrews, B R I T T A N Y and you probably could find months of free content just by searching my name. But be a good person and support your pornographers and uh you can find me everywhere. On all social media, I go by DJ Britstar, DJ B R I T S T A R, and between those two names, you can find me pretty much everywhere. I'm everywhere. Omnipresent as they may say. After 35 years, you're gonna be everywhere.

57:07 Ricardo Lopes: Great, so Miss Brittany, thank you so, so much for coming on the show. It's been a great pleasure to talk with you.

57:15 Brittany Andrews: Thank you very much, and I hope I get a chance to come back again one time. Thank you.

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