Meet Madison Young. Born Tina Butcher, Madison Young is an American adult film actress, director, bondage model, published author, and sexual educator. In addition, the 35-year-old is also the founder of Femina Potens Art Gallery, a non-profit art gallery and performance space in California that serves the LGBTQ and Kink communities.
Stereotypes. It’s no secret that mainstream adult film entertainment is often perceived as shallow and cliche — cheap, even. And having entered the industry over a decade ago, Young has steadily spent her time trying to change the stigma surrounding the genre. Specifically, Young is challenging the stereotypes of what a conventional starlet should look like.
Sex-positive. Writing for Elite Daily, contributor Kevin Losani sat down to have a one-on-one with Young. "When meeting Madison in person, she’s a very smart, eloquent individual with a soothing demeanor and a presence that exudes a contagious, warm vibe,” he notes. "It’s a bit of a stark contrast to her work as a sex-positive artist: During her live one-woman sex show, she pushes her body to the extreme. And on film, she can be seen in aggressive, double-penetration scenes.”
Career. Throughout her career, Young has not only acted in, but directed a variety of adult films. She’s been in and shot everything from “mainstream vanilla p*rn,” as she refers to it, to hardcore BDSM and docup*rn, Losani points out. And she’s learned a lot of things — both good and bad — along the way.
Lessons. Some things that Young has learned throughout her career? First, that it’s not uncommon for a woman with fake breasts, fake extensions, and a fake tan to also fake other things while in the sex spotlight. Yes, we’re talking about female performers who fake their orgasms on camera.
Real sex. Young doesn’t believe in faking scenes, however. For this reason, she is advocating for not only real sex in adult films, but also real orgasms. In short, she wants authenticity. And, as mentioned earlier, she’s shifting her focus to mainstream adult films — the ones that are often referred to as shallow, cliche, and cheap.
Substance. Young feels that most mainstream X-rated films don’t carry any substance, and that this can propel confusing and often harmful messages about sex and body image to viewers at home. "To change this, Madison has resumed a position behind the cameras as well to help infuse feminism into [adult films],” Losani explains. "Her films have won multiple awards and have regularly been recognized at the Feminist P*rn Awards in Toronto.”
Feminism. Describing how she defines feminism in her life and work, Young told the Huffington Post: “Feminism with in the context of my life focuses on empowerment and choice. Choice of gender expression, choice to love, choice to express and articulate my sexual desires. Feminism informs my submission, my politics, my work, my writing, my film making, the way I make art, the way I parent. It involves a degree of consciousness of the intersections of systematic oppression, how to operate with in or outside of those systems, self awareness of how our individual actions contribute to larger existing power struggles."
Desires. While directing, Young focuses on the performer and what their values and sexual desires are. In other words, she doesn’t just angle her films based on what viewers want — she cares about the pleasure of actors and actresses as well. Interesting.
Sexual revolution. Drawing from a behind-the-scenes clip of Young’s session with Siouxsie Q, a journalist and fellow adult film actress, that he viewed, Losani explains her work ethic. She says: "I wanted to start something that was more about political daily actions that people are doing around a sexual revolution. I feel like there are so many people out there that are doing really revolutionary work in the sex industry. I’d like to highlight those people and point out to people that there are daily acts that we can embrace around our sexuality.”
Facets. Losani notes that Young’s sexual revolution features a number of different facets, all of which are equally important. For instance, verbal consent, body positivity, and inclusiveness to all performers are all integral parts of Young’s sex-positive movement.
Turn ons. In regards to her personal adult film preferences, Young told the Huffington Post that she loves “beautiful p*rn.” "Erotic films that capture the beauty of the body, the beauty of sexual desire. The erotic films and p*rn I enjoy often have an artistic edge to them,” she explained.
Turn offs. In regards to what turns her off, Young — perhaps unsurprisingly — revealed that she doesn’t like when the performers are faking it. "It's a huge turn off if I’m watching a p*rn and I feel like the performers are not actually having an incredible time or are absent or disconnected — that’s just a huge turn-off,” she said.
Sexual evolution. Young told the HuffPost that the adult films she directs herself turn her on. "The p*rn that I shoot and direct is a big turn on for me,” she revealed. It’s like looking through a photo album of pleasure induced moments with on and off screen partners. All these years I’ve been documenting my own sexual evolution, and that really turns me on."
Personal life. Even with an expansive family — a husband two young children — Young continues to write, direct, perform, and educate, Losani points out. Currently, Young is a certified sexual educator through the San Francisco Sex Information training program. Not to mention, she’s also in school for her master’s degree in clinical sexology at the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. If you ever need to know what feminism looks like, well, the incredible Madison Young is it.
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