Tempe- As a registered nurse and a licensed practicing healthcare professional, Nina Hartley® may seem like the woman next door.
But this almost 50-year-old has been a porn star since the mid-’80s, and she’s still going strong in the adult entertainment industry.
Hartley grew up in Berkeley in the ’60s and ’70s; a time when sex was becoming more than just a concept behind closed doors.
“It was then that I came up with my life-long motto: Sexual freedom is a human right, sexual responsibility is an individual responsibility,” she said.
College Times got a chance to speak with Hartley before she made her way out to Arizona to give one of her infamous lectures about a whole lot more than just what she does as a career.
CT: How did you break into the porn business?
Nina Hartley®: I started in 1983 [at 24] when I was a stripper in San Francisco. I was working there to supplement the bills I had from being a student. I had also been a long standing exhibitionist with strong tendencies and desires to be sexual with people with no strings attached. I was discovered in 1984 and worked on my first adult film in March of that year. Then, I graduated in 1985 and have been doing this ever since.
You’re in an interesting position because you grew up in the ’70s and then worked your way into today. What’s the single biggest change you’ve seen in the sex culture?
Women started taking freedom instead of waiting for it to be given to them. There have been great advancements with gay rights, and also with swinging and polyamory. That’s a great thing. And with the proliferation of porn through the internet, it’s just moved onto a grander scale.
What kind of advice can you offer someone who wants to get into the porn industry?
Don’t. Don’t get into the porn industry. Take a deep breath and stand back and look at your life. Don’t beat yourself up. Also, I talk a lot in my lectures about learning how to listen and respect your physical body.
Can you elaborate a little more on what your lectures are about?
Obviously, it’s about better sex techniques and ways to liven up the romance. I talk a lot about the promotion of activities that will not lead to babies and death. That is, intercourse. But “sex” doesn’t mean intercourse. Toys, movies, use of hands and other things can get you intimate with a person and allow you to feel the feelings without the risk of death and babies. I also address getting in touch with your true feelings and thoughts, which can be challenging. Young people need to realize that sex has such consequences that we cannot go on just a fleeting thought. You wouldn’t just pick up one day and decide to go bungee jumping. You’d take a class and get a strong harness and double check it. That same thought process needs to be applied to sex.
Sex Talk with Nina Hartley®, Fascinations, 838 W. Elliot Road, Tempe, 480.921.8006, Friday, August 8, 7 to 9 p.m., free
