Tony Battista’s Kid Writes “Pornographer’s Daughter”- Exclusive Interview with Kristin

by Jon Tribb  

I first came across Kristin Battista-Frazee in an article she’d written for The Daily Beast criticizing Rick Santorum’s war on porn. She’s the daughter of Tony Battista. In the early 1970’s Tony went from being a stockbroker to handling stag films. It was the transportation of one of these , Deep Throat, that lead to him becoming a convicted pornographer. Despite this he remains in the adult business to this day. When Kristin was a young adult she decided to write a memoir about her father’s trial and the effect it had on her family. It’s called Pornographer’s Daugher and is awaiting publication. Here she answers my questions about the religious conservatives views on porn and sex.

1 Are religious conservatives with their views on porn and sex in a minority or are their views shared by many Americans?
Religious conservatives are a very vocal, influential minority and the main reason why there is still this ongoing debate about whether or not pornography damages people and relationship.  For someone like Rick Santorum to become so popular with the conservative base of this country shows that his anti-pornography message still resonates.  Similarly, Mitt Romney’s openly gay foreign policy aide, Richard Grenell, (of two weeks) recently resigned under pressure from social conservatives. I suspect that in Romney’s case, he is really not that uptight but obviously needs to cater to this wing of the Republican party just as he needs to cater to the Tea Party.  But, as we know, Santorum lost his bid for the Republican nomination for president and this provides good evidence that conservatives do not actually represent the majority.

2 Some trace America’s love hate relationship to porn with the Puritan spirit. Would you agree or disagree?
I would agree our Puritan roots have inspired our ambivalence, and sometimes outright hatred towards, pornography. The notion that sexual thoughts are bad or dirty has been the basis of this country’s view on a lot of things; the private and public dimensions of sexual behavior, gender roles, fashion, careers, etc. I think it’s dangerous for religion to advocate keeping people clueless and silent about sexuality since it’s in the very nature of who we are and it’s important for everyone to have the chance to explore and understand who they are. But I realize that that same Puritan spirit has inspired spirituality for many and has brought people peace and solace, so if that works for people, good for them. Our religious heritage is a blessing and a curse in so many ways and to elaborate would take forever.

3 Would you agree that there has been a pornification of American culture?
I don’t like the word “pornification” because it takes on a negative connotation that is unnecessary in the discussion of pornography. Maybe I’m just thinking of words like fornication, say, versus, photography or biography – nicer, friendlier words. But yes, pornography is more readily accessible in our society and has influenced fashion and behaviors and with this insurgency, of sorts, and requires of people much more responsibility to balance the use of pornography in terms of how they conduct their personal lives. Just as they do with alcohol or all the rich foods we’re being asked to consume.  But like alcohol and gourmet food I don’t think pornography’s availability is a bad thing and the benefit is that it has prompted needed discussion around the role of sexuality in our lives. 

4 How would you define pornography and obscenity? Is it more than about time to redefine these words for the C21st?
Great question and I don’t think pornography can be defined.  The Supreme Court couldn’t even define pornography and Justice Potter Stewart was once quoted as saying pornography was hard to define but, “I know it when I see it.” Obscenity is really difficult to define and the latest guidance on that was Miller vs. California in 1973, which grants local community to determine what’s obscene.  This law is really obsolete because whatever offends one particular person doesn’t translate to other groups and everyone has a different tolerance. Also what is a community?  The Internet is a virtual community with millions of adult sites. How could anyone determine who would speak on behalf of this community? I think pornography is a customizable experience for everyone based on preferences, needs and orientation and has provided us a unique opportunity to challenge conventional thoughts about sexual satisfaction.  Most importantly, pornography by definition is not obscenity. Often times the two are considered the same and they are not.

5 Is the First Amendment still enough to protect people who make porn? Can more be done constitutionally to give a concrete right to free expression?
Yes the First Amendment is enough and no I don’t think we need more or different laws to grant freedom of expression. Our founding fathers were pretty clear about the First Amendment. Even as unclear or nonsensical as the current laws are, they work in a weird way. Since the community standard laws emerged, the First Amendment legal fights that ensued during that last few decades further solidified local laws that ultimately protects pornography in many ways.

6 What do you think of the community standards law? Is it confusing and unclear and should it be replaced?
As I eluded to above, the current community standard laws are obsolete, especially in the case where a community determines what’s obscene or not. This is made a lot more dysfunctional in that a definition of what is a community is totally blurred, or, say, much more complex, since virtual communities have no boundaries. Luckily, litigations on obscenity cases has set enough precedent so that pornography can continue to be accessed by adults, and so it doesn’t make sense to lobby for any new overarching federal laws. 
 

7 What if any laws should there be on the distribution of porn?
Strict enforcement that pornography should only be available to people 18 years and older.  Of course child pornography is absolutely a crime and we should be unyielding about banning it.

8 Whilst the religious conservatives can’t ban porn they can harass the adult industry. What do you think of the mandatory condom law and it’s possible effects?
I have mixed feelings about this condom law. On the one hand it does seem to be a political tactic to censor porn and anyone who performs in this industry is making a personal choice to take the risk of being exposed to STDs and HIV, despite the monthly testing. It seems like an occupational hazard of sorts.  We can’t dictate whether someone wants to work in the adult industry. But I would hope the porn industry could make condom use sexy and use its influence to promote the use of condoms and safe sex practices. The argument that the films are supposed to inspire fantasy and condoms are not a part of that bothers me. If I were single part of my fantasy is I meet a great guy and he’s into safe sex practices. What can I say? I’m just a practical girl. 

9 What do you think about organizations such as Morality in the Media, the Family Research Council etc and their power and influence on politicians?
Everyone’s entitled to fight for what they believe in but I don’t think highly of these organizations. They are a dangerous influential minority who often use inconclusive research to prove all sorts of ridiculous things like that porn promotes violence against women and sex trafficking. And also they mix their arguments with child pornography, which obviously should be banned, but confounds the whole discussion and doesn’t promote real conversations about how porn is utilized in our society. It’s a dishonest, cheap trick and should be recognized as such.

10 Although Republican candidates claim they uphold family values the party has been involved in quite a few underage sex scandals. What do you think this says about the mentality of the men of the GOP?
It’s not just legislators in the GOP who have been caught in sex scandals over the years, prominent Democrats like Anthony Wiener, Wilbur Mills, and John Edwards are also in the mix. We certainly can’t forget the Republican screw ups like Mark Foley, John Ensign and David Vitters that have been caught in some sticky scandals.  Elected officials in the Republican party seem to be a bit louder about portraying themselves as role models for family values but both sides have had their fair share of embarrassing moments. I guess you could say that hypocrisy somehow doubles the crime, and I love that Larry Flynt is out there trying to expose the hypocrisy. When he was promoting his book, “Sex, Lies And Politics: The Naked Truth” on the Piers Morgan show and Morgan recounted to Flynt that the incoming speaker Bob Livingston (R-La.), who he exposed as having an affair, called Flynt a bottom feeder, Flynt’s quick response was, “look what I found at the bottom.”  You know the old saying; people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

11 Which aspects of sex work do you think is most important for any US government to concentrate on?
Well, I think sex work is illegal almost everywhere in the US but in small pockets of the country it’s legal. I think no one under the age of 18 should engage in sex work. Also the healthcare aspect is very important so as to ensure that sexually transmitted diseases are not spread, I think customers of sex workers should be screened to show they have a clean bill of health as well as the workers.

12 What should be the role of porn in the life of a couple?
That’s up to those couples and not for me to state an opinion on. It is available to people if they want to engage in that type of entertainment because they are consenting adults able to make their own choices.

13 Do you think children are becoming hypersexualized? What if anything should be done to protect them?
I think commercials and shows are racier today than when I was growing up and parents should be more vigilant about what their kids watch. Everyone has to be involved and engaged in protecting children; family, friends, government, schools and churches. We all need to be involved and engaged in what our children are doing. 

14 Are filters enough to stop children seeing adult content on the net or should ISP’s be required by law to block such sites at source with an opt in system for adults?
I don’t know enough about the effectiveness of ISPs to say if it should be required by law or if this type of requirement would be detrimental to the porn industry. But I know there are lots of different software products to block porn sites on the market– but obviously none of them are fool proof.  In China they have put massive efforts into blocking pornography and controlling the Internet but it hasn’t been 100% effective, nor will it ever be.

15 What’s your view on abstinence pledges?
It’s unrealistic to think these types of pledges should be the only line of defense for teens in their decision to become sexually active. It’s an admirable goal but in the event people don’t think they can uphold an abstinence pledge they should be armed with the information to engage in sexual activity in a safe way.  Remember those who are uninformed suffer the highest rates of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

16 What can be done to improve sex education in the US?
I think incorporating sex and HIV education in US schools has progressed over the years and become more accepted but not all states mandate it. I find it really odd 33 states mandate HIV education but only 22 states mandate sex education. This makes no sense to me since HIV is a sexually transmitted disease for the most part. I hope one day all 50 states make sex education a requirement.  In some research I found this pretty good policy brief   about what is covered and required in the US.  If we do achieve mandated sex education in all states, I realize the parent opt out avenue may still be available.  It seems too many times parents are fearful about their children receiving this education in school and opt them out.  But it’s very necessary for healthy development and I would encourage parents to become more open-minded about sex education and buy-in to this educational process. Also I think at the age of 13, teens should be able to make their own decisions, independent of their parent’s wishes, as to whether they want this information. Let’s face it sex is a part of biology, teens deserve access to education on this important topic.

17 Would you describe the proposals made by the Republican candidates as a war on women?
If I think logically about these recent attacks on birth control and Planned Parenthood, it’s really nothing new and has been lurking in the shadows since the 1950s and even further back in time. But to hear the articulation of these primitive views made so recently and to be given such a credible platform by the media public just sickened me and to tell you the truth I couldn’t pass it off as some oddity the press was reporting with amusement. I was really angry.  I think there is always going to be a segment of our country that believes in very old fashioned notions and will use an interpretation of religion to rationalize their position to keep women at a disadvantage. But conservatives will pay the price this election season and progressive women today are in a much better position of power to fight against these archaic notions.

18 Where can people find you on the net?
On Twitter at @porndaughter and www.porndaughter.com .  You can also find my dad’s stores at Premier Factory Outlet  http://premieradult.com/ , Beach Adult Emporium http://www.beachadult.co/ , Southern Exposure http://www.southernexposure.co/