In surprising fashion, female-to-male transsexual porn star/activist/entertainer/educator Buck Angel’s most commonly asked question is which bathroom he uses. And for those curious minds, it’s the men’s. But really?

Though Angel takes it all in stride, he stills finds it interesting that society is so obsessed with ensuring men use the men’s washroom and women use the women’s bathroom - at least the one they were born into.

"It’s stunning people want to know what toilet you use," he says, "but it’s fascinating. I understand that is the thing people might want to know but I also think it’s the reason transgendered people are so afraid to use public washrooms."

But that doesn’t mean people can’t ask Angel anything and everything, and he literally means anything and everything – especially when it comes to sex. The pornographer turned activist will be in Calgary this month fielding questions while on a panel and hopes to hear many about sex, his past, his present and he doesn’t want anyone to hold back.

"I think people feel very comfortable talking to me about sex so I’m hoping a lot of the questions are sexual in nature," he says. "I think I will get a lot of questions about being a trans-man and my porn history; it’ll probably run the gamut of my sex change and how I got into porn and why."

All of which are questions he has no problem answering.   After working behind the scenes in the porn industry and observing the stigma around the word "porn", Angel wanted to inspire more positivity in the industry.

"People can never understand why someone would want to get into the porn industry, but for me I noticed there wasn’t a lot of positivity in it and I think specifically for trans-women, they didn’t feel in control of their work and were feeling a lot of the times degraded," he explained. "I think that’s how sex workers feel a lot of the time and that’s really sad."

So Angel decided to produce his own porn, and he’s already noticed a big change in the right direction.

"I noticed there is a lot more genuine queer porn being produced and now all kinds of people are doing it. Even lesbian porn has become more positive and gay women are taking over, not just a straight man producing it the way he thinks it should be."

However, Angel still wants to see progress regarding the stigma of porn.

"I think many people think of ‘porn’ as a dirty word and it doesn’t have to be. That doesn’t mean everyone has to watch porn but everyone should have a positive attitude about sex, whatever that means to them."

And that’s the "stepping stone" of how Angel became an advocate for people who feel they don’t fit into a box.

"I’m not just a pornographer anymore. I want to help people feel more comfortable about themselves."

Dabbling in a bit of everything leaves little time for Angel but, he is starting to focus on fitness and making a DVD to help people take control of their own fitness and health. Known for his rock hard body, it’s hard not to see how successful such an Angel-produced fitness DVD might become.

"I use to hit the gym and pump weights but now I focus more on overall fitness and eating properly and I want to share that."

The critically-acclaimed documentary Angel produced last year, dubbed Sexing the Transman, will be featured through a Fairy Tales event and Angel hopes people learn a lot from the film.

"I think it’s fascinating that these people go through a life-changing transformation. It’s really fascinating that these men who used to be women use to be very attracted to women, but after their transformation became very attracted to men. It’s just so fascinating."

Angel says it’s also liberating to watch these people become more comfortable in their bodies and love themselves and love sex after not liking anything about it before the transformation.

While Angel might be known as a hardcore porn star, the "real man with a pussy", he wants to be known as the activist he has become and that’s what this film is all about.

"I love hearing from people who take something from this film, or something I’ve done. It’s amazing."

Calgarians will have two chances to approach the self-described "approachable" Angel at the movie premiere or at the sex panel talk on Saturday, February 16th where he will be joined by local dominatrix Lady Seraphina and local trans activist Lyn Baer.

"I want people to come up and hang out with me and ask me questions, he says. "I hear people tell me after they wanted to talk to me but were too nervous, so no, please come up to me."

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Contributor Krista Sylvester |

Person Buck Angel |

Topic Celebrity Interview | Fairy Tales Film Festival | Most Read Articles in 2018 | Transgender |