Photo by Mark Berry
Last month, Buck Angel spent a week in Toronto. He did two workshops for the sex shop, Toronto’s Come as You Are,
a performance at the club Goodhandys and a question and answer talk for the Aids
Committee of Toronto, ACT. I was
fortunate enough to be granted an interview with Sarah, one of the owner’s of
Come as You Are, Sergio who took care of Buck during his week here, and Buck
himself at the ACT event.
Born a woman, Buck spent a
great deal of his life before his transition unhappy and dissatisfied, one
might say, desperately so. All that
changed when Buck transitioned. He also
became the first and most famous transman porn star. Arguably, Buck Angel is the most famous
female to male transsexual in the world.
Buck has a fan base that spans many countries and demographics. As
the only Transman star in the sex film trade, his fans are men and women, gay,
straight, and all combinations in between.
Buck Angel does not care a whit what you think of him. He defies labels because he refuses to
resolve any of the contradictions that anyone finds in him. And this is one of the things that is so
wonderful about him, making him an inspiration and poster boy for following your
dream. His life is a direct contradiction of how
quick people are to put labels on things.
If we don’t label things and put a cage of definition around ourselves
and others, there is the fear that we might spiral out of control and that
society would be reduced to anarchy. If
you are a queer of any awareness, you already have a solid foundation in the
issues that transsexuals face in our society.
But you may be critical of Buck’s life choices all the same. If you are straight and have never given
transsexuals more than the sensationalistic nod that the media gives
transpeople, you may be shocked by
Buck’s choices and lifestyle. I think
we are shocked and critical because we are unable to see the shades of colour
between black and white. We crave easy
simple answers where often complexity, contradictions and paradox are the only
explanations. It is for these reasons
that you must listen to this show today.
