The Role of Masturbation in my Development as a Writer and Man of Culture

Annie Sprinkle as "Eve," by Richard Sylvarnes

Thanks to masturbation, I got to know who Annie Sprinkle is, back when I was still forming my sexual identity! I saw her in Hustler long before I ever saw Monika Treut's My Father is Coming, in a layout with Les Nichols, her female-to-male transsexual lover (which opened my mind a little bit beyond the institutionalized homophobia of Maple Ridge). And now, years later, you can read my interview with Annie and her partner, Elizabeth Stephens, on this very blog. Hi, Annie! Thanks, masturbation!

Thanks to masturbation, I was introduced to The Plugz when I was still in junior high school (Myspace here)! Yes, folks, because of porn, I knew the music of Tito Larriva before I saw Repo Man (and LONG before I saw From Dusk Til Dawn, where Tito and Tarantula do their epic "Angry Cockroaches"). It was even before I discovered my most beloved LA punk band, the Flesheaters, with whom Tito had a brief tenure. And it was all thanks to the appearance of the Plugz quasi-reggae classic "Electrify Me" in the soundtrack to New Wave Hookers (with a young - too young - Traci Lords!)


Yes, folks, I jerked off to Traci Lords back when it was still legal to do so, never imagining that she was my age at the time. I still remember that cute little devil suit! Yum!)



Thanks to masturbation, I was very likely introduced to the work of Russ Meyer, on Pay TV, in my youth. I don't think I would have invested a lot of time in his cinema were it not for my cravings for sexual stimuli back then - wanking got me off to a good start. And would I have seen Marco Bellochio's Devil in the Flesh without that blowjob scene (um, downloadable here, by the way, minus the introduction about Lenin's hat; hell, the blowjob scene is still my favourite part!) It's even possible that my introduction to David Cronenberg was because I was pursuing a Marilyn Chambers tie-in, via Rabid (tho' I might have come to him because of my love of horror movies; I don't recall). I wonder how many late night movies I channel-surfed through, looking for fuel for my pubescent lust, that would later become really important to me? I even encountered Antonioni's Zabriskie Point that way, since it was in the right time slot for movies with nudity. I didn't jerk off to it, but the sex-in-the-desert segment sure caught my eye, at around age 12... It looked curious, so I filed a mental note to look at it again sometime, and now it's a favourite!

Thanks, masturbation! Where would I be without you?