Former porn actress and sex educator Annie Sprinkle visited the University yesterday and today to take part in a series of talks and movie screenings to educate students about sex and pornography.

The Tuesday events were a panel discussion on pornography in society and a lecture called “My Life as a Feminist Porn Activist.” Wednesday’s events focus more on sex, with an open sex clinic in the Danforth University Center, a screening of the documentary “Annie Sprinkle’s Amazing World of Orgasm” and a workshop on “ecstasy breathing,” described as “erotic experience through the breath, and a possible energy orgasm experience.”

“We’ll be giving real practical hands-on sex advice…well, not hands-on, but practical,” Sprinkle joked.

Sprinkle’s visit is being hosted by the Alternative Lifestyles Association.

Sprinkle will not be the only porn star visiting campus this Sex Week, as Ron Jeremy will be taking part in a debate on pornography on Friday. However, Sprinkle believes their talks target a different audience.

“He’s got the male, mainstream pop culture version, and I’m the political feminist, artsy person,” Sprinkle said. “Guys may find my talk interesting, although women resonate more with it because its a woman’s story. My talk is probably more for women while Ron’s is for the guys.”

And yes, Jeremy and Sprinkle have made several movies together.

Sprinkle’s career dates back to 1978, when she entered the world of pornography and prostitution at the age of 18. With 20 years in the business and as many as 3,500 partners, she became a pioneer of alternative pornographies and was the first porno actress to get a Ph.D. in human sexuality from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco.

“I was a pioneer in alternative kinds of porn,” Sprinkle said. “Still sexually explicit imagery, but more in the art category. It’s not mainstream, you can’t jerk off to it. It’s intellectual stimulation, more conceptual experimentation. I’m like the Yoko Ono of porn.”

An unexpected virtue of porn, at least in Sprinkle’s opinion, is its value as a cultural artifact.

“They’re historical documents, a mirror of where our society is at sexually. It documents people’s sexual habits. Porn from 100 years ago is very different; people had sex differently than they do now,” Sprinkle said. “There’s mainstream, but there’s also docuporn, artsy porn, fetish porn that’s quite sweet and some hard and heavy BDSM stuff that’s pretty extreme. There’s all kinds, but that’s how people are. That’s a reflection of our society.”

Sprinkle is no longer active in making pornography, instead focusing on art, writing, education and advocacy about pornography and prostitution.

“I know lots of sex workers who love their work and take pride in their work and do great service. But then I’ve met some who are pretty miserable. But it’s that way with many jobs,” Sprinkle said. “I enjoyed it. I liked sex and I felt like I was bringing pleasure to many. It was kind of interesting to get naked and have sex with strangers, a kind of performance art.”

Sprinkle contests the notion that pornography and prostitution are by nature exploitive of women.

“Most industries are exploitive—people are paid to do jobs. If you see sex as a bad thing but you have to do it anyway, that’s exploitation,” Sprinkle said. “The real problem is poverty. There are women and men who don’t have choices because they’re so poor they don’t have other options. I had other options.”

Ultimately, Sprinkle’s workshops are more than titillating talks about sex. She is a window to sex and art beyond porn, and her life is worth learning a lesson from.

“Porn is just one little part of what I’ve done. I love to talk about it, but it’s not all who I am,” Sprinkle said. “Mainstream porn was 20 years ago for me. It was a great adventure, but I’m on to newer and better things.”