This week Erika reviews Jiz Lee’s book anthology. I’ve not yet sat down with it myself, but by all accounts it’s one I’ll be making time for soon. We’re such big Jiz Lee fans, and I think this idea is just the bees’ knees. You can learn more about it on the Coming Out Like a Porn Star site, and here’s the Talking Porn comic, referenced at the beginning of the strip!
Erika thinks you’ll love it.
Buy it from one of our Friends (With Benefits)
Edit October 2024
Jiz reached out to us recently to let us know about their second edition dropping! While we’ve not read it yet, we’re super excited; 10 new essays that catch us up to today’s topics on OnlyFans, Deepfakes, AI facial recognition, and more… and even better; it’s now ordered by subject! A wonderful read made all the better. Check it out if you get a chance!
↓ Comic Transcript
PAGE 1
Coming Out Like A Porn Star review by Matthew Nolan and Erika Moen, published January 12, 2016 on https://www.ohjoysextoy.com/coming-out-like-a-porn-star
This comic is illustrated with a bouncy, graphic, cartoony style in a palette of pink hues with black linework. Erika is a white, cisgender woman with a pink undercut who wears a knee-length skirt with a long-sleeved top and strappy boots. Delores, her companion, is a voluptuous white woman with black hair down past her shoulders, a big tattoo on her right upper arm, and a fun polka-dotted floofy dress that shows off her cleavage.
"Hey Erika," Dolores cheerily asks Erika. "Remember when you and your pal Leia were speculating about the potential pros and cons of being in a porn?*" (*ohjoysextoy.com/talking-porn)
"Yeah!" Erika chirps.
Dolores continues, "And Leia was all-"
In a flashback we see Leia and Erika sitting at a wooden park table as she advises, "We're just civilians, you should talk to some actual professionals to get their insight." as she takes a drag on her cigarette.
Back to the present, Erika replies to Dolores, "Uh-huh."
"So..." Asks Dolores. "Didja?"
"Not exactly, not yet. (I'm gunna!)" Erika responds with faux guilt at her tardiness. Now positioned between the open cover of an enormous book, she continues. "But I DID just finish a whole book on that very subject and, whoah mama, it was a hell of a read."
"Do go on!" Dolores enthuses.
"The awesome Jiz Lee compiled a collection of 57 essays from sex workers, talking about how they each navigate their professional and private lives and titled it "COMING OUT LIKE A PORN STAR, Published by Three L Media""
The book cover features Jiz Lee, a nonbinary adult performer and activist, as they are in the process of going through a vulvic-like tunnel opening against a solid pink wall. They wear a t-shirt and workers boots, while their jeans are around their ankles, leaving their underwear exposed. They look back at the reader over their shoulder with a confident expression, both catching the viewer looking at them and seeming to invite us to join them in their trek through the cover.
PAGE 2
With Dolores looking over her shoulder, Erika reads from the book (which is now regular size in her hands), "As Lee writes in the introduction,"
Jiz Lee now takes center stage. They are a queer person of asian descent with a short undercut, petite gauges in their ear lobes, and a tank top over a sports bra. " 'Coming Out Like a Porn Star started from the personal questions I asked fellow porn performers as I struggled with the reality of telling my family about my increasing involvement in the adult industry." They explain. "Were others out to their parents? How did they talk about it to their siblings? What could I learn from their experiences? In asking questions, I'd hit a nerve. Everyone had a story to tell. Some were heartbreaking, others casual. Some surprised and inspired me. Stories ranged from funny to fucked up. They taught me about stigma. They revealed privilege. Gave me relief. Made me furious. They encouraged my own process of coming out. Through their examples, I found myself more prepared." p. 14
Taking the book, Dolores asks, "Ah, so it sounds like it's a resource book just for sex workers then."
"No, no, no," Corrects Erika. "It is much, much, much more than that! This book is required reading for anyone who patronizes the sex industry* or just has an opinion on it." *(Including porn and webcam watchers, strip club go-ers, full service customers, etc)
Between the two famous theater masks of a laughing and wailing face, Erika says, "If you wanna partake in or have a standpoint on this form of work, you gotta take a minute to listen to the workers speak for themselves. And trust me, their experiences run the entiiiiire gamut, from traumatic to ecstatic."
PAGE 3
With a pen in hand, we can see that Erika has underlined numerous passages in the book she's holding as she tells us, "Beyond sex work, this is a big book of people sharing their human experiences. I was surprised how many times I found myself underlining passages because I could relate so completely. Reading this anthology really exemplifies that in spite of our differences, we are all *just people.*"
"Did you *really* just say that?" Chides Dolores.
"Shaddup!" Retorts Erika, throwing her hands in the air dramatically as emotive stars spring up around her to emphasize the sincerity of her statements. "I can't help it! These stories are all so... so... *so human!*"
Surrounded by icons labeled "Love, family, tragedy, hurt, healing, rejection, acceptance, comedy, figuring out where you fit into life...", Erika continues, "You'd have to have a heart of stone to read this and not relate to at least one author in here."
"So you really liked it?" Dolores asks.
"Well, I loved the good stuff!" Replies Erika, hugging her copy of the book. "And I'm happy to say that the majority of this collection IS composed of The Good Stuff." Her expression changes to one of incredulous judgement as she pulls an entire lemon from between the pages. "But, like all anthologies, there's a number of unremarkable pieces and just a couple that left me asking aloud, 'How did THIS ONE get in here???"
Page 4
"Fortunately, the gems far outweigh the duds." Erika concludes, holding the book open.
"Which ones were your favsies?" Dolores asks, looking over Erika's shoulder at the book.
A gallery of portraits of each sex worker announces the title of their piece and name.
"how to Come Out Like a Porn Star: An Introduction" by Jiz Lee
"The Name of Your First Pet and the Street You Grew Up On" by Conner Habib
"Porn Made Me Like My Parents" by Joanna angel
"Like Getting Kicked in the Gut" by D.R.
"The Call by Candida Royalle
"Nooooooooooooodie Girl" by Stoya
"Hot Pink Handbag and Other Garish Things That Cry Out 'Take Me!' " by Lyric Seal
"Little Data" by Dale Cooper
"Branded: The Precarious Dance between Porn and Privacy" by Kitty Stryker
"On Coming in" by Gala Vanting
"The Mechanism of Disappearing to Survive" by Cyd Nova
"The Luxury of Coming Out" by Annie Sprinkle
"...and too many more to include all of them here!" Finishes Erika, looking frazzled.
PAGE 5
"Other than a few duds, my biggest complaint has to be that it's organized alphabetical, according to author name." Erika says while being jostled on all sides by clouds with essay titles and page numbers on them. "This book woulda read more cohesively as a whole if the stories were arranged by subject matter, writing style, strength... As-is, the reading order is a bit too jumbly. But y'know, as far as complaints go, that's a pretty surface level one!"
Now riding an open book as it sores through the air, Dolores asks, "Ok, so even though I don't really have a special interest in the sex industry, y'think I should still give it a read?"
"Absolutely!" Affirms Erika, her crop of bangs flying back. "This collection of personal stories if fascinating, compelling, and so universally human. I already know I'll be re-reading my favorite essays over the coming years. This anthology is a real stunner."
Transcribed by Erika Moen on October 14, 2024
PAGE 1
Coming Out Like A Porn Star review by Matthew Nolan and Erika Moen, published January 12, 2016 on https://www.ohjoysextoy.com/coming-out-like-a-porn-star
This comic is illustrated with a bouncy, graphic, cartoony style in a palette of pink hues with black linework. Erika is a white, cisgender woman with a pink undercut who wears a knee-length skirt with a long-sleeved top and strappy boots. Delores, her companion, is a voluptuous white woman with black hair down past her shoulders, a big tattoo on her right upper arm, and a fun polka-dotted floofy dress that shows off her cleavage.
"Hey Erika," Dolores cheerily asks Erika. "Remember when you and your pal Leia were speculating about the potential pros and cons of being in a porn?*" (*ohjoysextoy.com/talking-porn)
"Yeah!" Erika chirps.
Dolores continues, "And Leia was all-"
In a flashback we see Leia and Erika sitting at a wooden park table as she advises, "We're just civilians, you should talk to some actual professionals to get their insight." as she takes a drag on her cigarette.
Back to the present, Erika replies to Dolores, "Uh-huh."
"So..." Asks Dolores. "Didja?"
"Not exactly, not yet. (I'm gunna!)" Erika responds with faux guilt at her tardiness. Now positioned between the open cover of an enormous book, she continues. "But I DID just finish a whole book on that very subject and, whoah mama, it was a hell of a read."
"Do go on!" Dolores enthuses.
"The awesome Jiz Lee compiled a collection of 57 essays from sex workers, talking about how they each navigate their professional and private lives and titled it "COMING OUT LIKE A PORN STAR, Published by Three L Media""
The book cover features Jiz Lee, a nonbinary adult performer and activist, as they are in the process of going through a vulvic-like tunnel opening against a solid pink wall. They wear a t-shirt and workers boots, while their jeans are around their ankles, leaving their underwear exposed. They look back at the reader over their shoulder with a confident expression, both catching the viewer looking at them and seeming to invite us to join them in their trek through the cover.
PAGE 2
With Dolores looking over her shoulder, Erika reads from the book (which is now regular size in her hands), "As Lee writes in the introduction,"
Jiz Lee now takes center stage. They are a queer person of asian descent with a short undercut, petite gauges in their ear lobes, and a tank top over a sports bra. " 'Coming Out Like a Porn Star started from the personal questions I asked fellow porn performers as I struggled with the reality of telling my family about my increasing involvement in the adult industry." They explain. "Were others out to their parents? How did they talk about it to their siblings? What could I learn from their experiences? In asking questions, I'd hit a nerve. Everyone had a story to tell. Some were heartbreaking, others casual. Some surprised and inspired me. Stories ranged from funny to fucked up. They taught me about stigma. They revealed privilege. Gave me relief. Made me furious. They encouraged my own process of coming out. Through their examples, I found myself more prepared." p. 14
Taking the book, Dolores asks, "Ah, so it sounds like it's a resource book just for sex workers then."
"No, no, no," Corrects Erika. "It is much, much, much more than that! This book is required reading for anyone who patronizes the sex industry* or just has an opinion on it." *(Including porn and webcam watchers, strip club go-ers, full service customers, etc)
Between the two famous theater masks of a laughing and wailing face, Erika says, "If you wanna partake in or have a standpoint on this form of work, you gotta take a minute to listen to the workers speak for themselves. And trust me, their experiences run the entiiiiire gamut, from traumatic to ecstatic."
PAGE 3
With a pen in hand, we can see that Erika has underlined numerous passages in the book she's holding as she tells us, "Beyond sex work, this is a big book of people sharing their human experiences. I was surprised how many times I found myself underlining passages because I could relate so completely. Reading this anthology really exemplifies that in spite of our differences, we are all *just people.*"
"Did you *really* just say that?" Chides Dolores.
"Shaddup!" Retorts Erika, throwing her hands in the air dramatically as emotive stars spring up around her to emphasize the sincerity of her statements. "I can't help it! These stories are all so... so... *so human!*"
Surrounded by icons labeled "Love, family, tragedy, hurt, healing, rejection, acceptance, comedy, figuring out where you fit into life...", Erika continues, "You'd have to have a heart of stone to read this and not relate to at least one author in here."
"So you really liked it?" Dolores asks.
"Well, I loved the good stuff!" Replies Erika, hugging her copy of the book. "And I'm happy to say that the majority of this collection IS composed of The Good Stuff." Her expression changes to one of incredulous judgement as she pulls an entire lemon from between the pages. "But, like all anthologies, there's a number of unremarkable pieces and just a couple that left me asking aloud, 'How did THIS ONE get in here???"
Page 4
"Fortunately, the gems far outweigh the duds." Erika concludes, holding the book open.
"Which ones were your favsies?" Dolores asks, looking over Erika's shoulder at the book.
A gallery of portraits of each sex worker announces the title of their piece and name.
"how to Come Out Like a Porn Star: An Introduction" by Jiz Lee
"The Name of Your First Pet and the Street You Grew Up On" by Conner Habib
"Porn Made Me Like My Parents" by Joanna angel
"Like Getting Kicked in the Gut" by D.R.
"The Call by Candida Royalle
"Nooooooooooooodie Girl" by Stoya
"Hot Pink Handbag and Other Garish Things That Cry Out 'Take Me!' " by Lyric Seal
"Little Data" by Dale Cooper
"Branded: The Precarious Dance between Porn and Privacy" by Kitty Stryker
"On Coming in" by Gala Vanting
"The Mechanism of Disappearing to Survive" by Cyd Nova
"The Luxury of Coming Out" by Annie Sprinkle
"...and too many more to include all of them here!" Finishes Erika, looking frazzled.
PAGE 5
"Other than a few duds, my biggest complaint has to be that it's organized alphabetical, according to author name." Erika says while being jostled on all sides by clouds with essay titles and page numbers on them. "This book woulda read more cohesively as a whole if the stories were arranged by subject matter, writing style, strength... As-is, the reading order is a bit too jumbly. But y'know, as far as complaints go, that's a pretty surface level one!"
Now riding an open book as it sores through the air, Dolores asks, "Ok, so even though I don't really have a special interest in the sex industry, y'think I should still give it a read?"
"Absolutely!" Affirms Erika, her crop of bangs flying back. "This collection of personal stories if fascinating, compelling, and so universally human. I already know I'll be re-reading my favorite essays over the coming years. This anthology is a real stunner."
Transcribed by Erika Moen on October 14, 2024