Buck Angel (born June 5, 1962) is an American sex educator and former pornographic film actor and producer. He founded the media production company Buck Angel Entertainment. Angel is a transsexual man.[2] He currently works as an advocate and educator. Angel served on the board of directors of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation[3][4][5][6] from 2010 to 2016. The Foundation works to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right through advocacy and education.[7]
Angel made multiple suicide attempts in high school and was put in a psychiatric institution. He turned to running as a means of isolation. Angel was employed as a female professional model when he was 17. During this time, Angel continued to abuse illegal drugs and alcohol.[12]
Angel was unable to find appropriate help for transitioning during his adolescent years. He eventually met a therapist who affirmed his gender instead of viewing him as a "gay woman". Angel researched various methods of medically transitioning and began to transition at the age of 28.[12][14] Angel and his therapist got in contact with an endocrinologist who worked primarily with transgender women as opposed to transgender men. Angel was, as his doctor stated, "going to be [his doctor's] guinea pig" (for human subject research). Angel's doctor experimented with different doses of testosterone throughout a six-month period until they found a dose that met his needs. Eventually, he was taking 1mL doses of testosterone every 10 days.[12][13]
After beginning his hormonal transition, Angel searched for a surgeon who dealt with upper-body modifications to remove his breasts. Angel also wanted to pursue genital surgery to construct a penis. He felt that there was no sufficient technology at the time to create the penis that he desired and chose not to undergo genital surgery. Angel currently considers his medical transition complete.[12][13] Angel chose to undergo a hysterectomy in 2011 after experiencing "debilitating cramps".[15][16]
Adult film career
Angel (center) with Michael Brandon and Scott Spears
Angel began to produce and star in his line of adult films under the imprint "Buck Angel Entertainment". By this time, he identified and presented as male. As Angel had not undergone genital surgery, he promoted these works describing himself as "the man with a pussy", which became his trademark.
In 2005, he appeared in the Titan Media release Cirque Noir, becoming the first trans man to be featured in an all-male film produced by a company specializing in gay male porn.[17][18] The same year, he performed in Allanah Starr's Big Boob Adventures (directed by transgender woman Gia Darling), which featured the first filmed sex scene between a trans woman and a trans man.[19] The performance was nominated for "Most Outrageous Sex Scene" at the AVN Awards.
In 2007, Angel became the first and only trans man to win "Transsexual Performer of the Year" at the AVN Awards.[20]
His 2008 performance in Buckback Mountain received nominations for "Best Alternative Release" and "Best Specialty Release" at the GayVN Awards. Angel also appears in Naked, a 2008 documentary book and film about the adult film industry by director Ed Powers. In the film, he appears in a sex scene with porn star Wolf Hudson, which mainstream photographer Justin Lubin produced.[21]
Educational work
Angel in 2007
The HuffPost writes that Buck Angel's work in adult entertainment "pushed the industry to rethink [its] relationship with transgender actors and create visibility for trans and gender non-conforming men."[14]
Angel's work in porn evolved into advocacy and sex education.[13] He found the transition between his work as a porn actor and his work as an educational role model difficult because of the stigma surrounding the adult film industry. Angel received criticism from the trans community when he began working as an educator; in HuffPost, Angel expressed that the community feared his identity in porn would misrepresent transsexual men[14]
In 2010, Angel had the opportunity to be a guest speaker for Ideacity,[22] a conference billed as Canada's "premier meeting of the minds".[23] At Ideacity, Angel discussed the physical changes and emotional adaptation he experienced because of his transition.[24] Angel used his presentation to challenge societal ideas of what makes a man, highlighting how he was considered not to meet the requirements because of his vagina.[24]
Between 2010 and 2015, he created an award-winning four-part porn series about trans male sexuality called Sexing the Transman XXX.[25] The film won "Most Tantalizing Trans Film" at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2012.[26]
In October 2010, Angel contributed to sex educator and columnist Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project" by uploading his personal coming out story to YouTube.[27] He has also produced multiple public service announcements on the topics of positive body image, LGBTQ family acceptance, queer people of colour, and transgender health and well-being.[28]
In 2012, Angel became a contributor to The Feminist Porn Book,[29] an anthology by feminist scholars and sex workers about understanding pornography and how feminists direct, act in, produce, and consume porn.
Angel decided to focus further on his work as a sex educator in 2012[30] and began touring the world speaking about human sexuality.[31] His presentation, "Bucking the System", aimed to challenge traditional notions of gender.[32] Angel also began touring Q&A sessions about his documentary, Sexing the Transman,[33] and his autobiographical film, "Mr. Angel".[34]
Angel created "Trantastic Storytelling" in 2015, a service that offers opportunities for trans people to share their life experiences for educational purposes.[40]
In 2022, Angel began posting weekly videos to his YouTube channel and hosting a livestream every Wednesday with the help of his producer, Seth Carlson.[42]
British artist Marc Quinn included a life-size sculpture of Angel in his global tour.[45][46] Angel posed for Quinn's sculpture series on human transformations in 2010; the series was revealed at London's White Cube gallery. He was featured in four bronze sculptures, including two solo pieces and two pieces featuring Allanah Starr.[47] The life-sized sculpture of Angel is now a permanent fixture at the Art Gallery of South Australia.[48]
In 2012, Angel created a dating website for trans men called BuckAngelDating.com[49] because "there was still no special dating site catering to the unique needs of trans men."[50]
In 2015, Angel and Leon Mostovoy founded the cannabis brand Pride Wellness, which would donate a dollar to charity from each product sold.[51] They ended the venture in 2021, citing competition from big corporations.[52] In 2020, Angel launched a cannabis delivery service, Wings Of Wellness, aimed at LGBTQ customers.[53]
In 2016, Angel partnered with Perfect Fit Brand to create a sex toy specifically for trans men. The product is meant to reduce gender dysphoria and help trans men connect with their bodies and their sexuality.[54]
Angel was married[when?] to San Francisco-based dominatrix Karin Winslow (known professionally as Ilsa Strix). He filed for divorce[when?] after Winslow left him for film director Lana Wachowski, her client at the time.[56][57][58]
Angel met his second wife, body piercer Elayne, on a dating website in 2002.[59] The two married in New Orleans on November 17, 2003.[60][61] Elayne filed for divorce in May 2014.[62] Angel claimed that Elayne had moved $500,000 from their joint bank account and requested $2,000 in monthly spousal support.[62] To avoid alimony payments, Elayne claimed that their marriage should not have been legally recognized as Louisiana did not recognize same-sex marriage in 2003; Angel had not undergone genital reconstructive surgery, and his birth certificate was not updated to male until after their marriage.[61][62][63] In August 2014, the California Superior Court ruled that their marriage was valid due to the ambiguity in Louisiana's statute regarding sex reassignment surgery, which might include the "top surgery" that Angel had already received.[61][62][63]
Angel later married[when?] his third wife, the artist and director Rachel Mason.[64]
^Padva, Gilad (2014). Sensational Pleasures in Cinema, Literature and Visual Culture: The Phallic Eye. United States of America: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 99. ISBN9781137363640.
