Kali Sudhra is a very busy person: Besides a BIPOC pornstar, she is the talent manager of Erika Lust, an English teacher, an event coordinator and a workshop giver. You may read our discussion about her life, her views and her experiences as a sex worker.

How did you start doing porn?

I started two years ago when I was on a search for more representation of BIPOC in porn. I didn’t find the European market to be that diverse, and I thought to myself ‘’why don’t I try to perform and see what happens’’ !!!

What is the thing you love most about your work and the thing you hate most?

I love being able to meet so many new people, and make networks. I love going to porn festivals and events which are like big reunions where you get to see all your friends and have a great time! I hate the whorearchy that exists within porn. Sometimes porn performers can look down on you if you do other forms of sex work (like escorting for example) because they like to see themselves as ‘’above’’ sex workers when in reality they are doing a form of sex work!

Can you tell us about otras please?

Wow.. This is a whole other interview! OTRAS is a union of Sex Workers that I helped form that caused quite the polemic here in Spain. The ministry of Labor accidentally legally approved of the syndicate. They then said they made an error (one month after we had already received notice that we were an official union) and since then it’s been chaos. We have been attacked by abolitionists (people who are against sex work) and the PSOE government. Even Pedro Sanchez vowed to dismantle our union. They made our statutes illegal, but they cannot make our union illegal. We have received very little support from any political party, and are constantly presenting the issue of Sex Worker Rights to many different parties, without any success. We will continue to fight and we won’t let this set us back.

What is the difference between life before porn and now?

I guess my life after porn has changed a lot, I have lived lots of stigma and harassment for being an out sex worker. At the same time, I have also made such meaningful friendships from working in the industry, and I really do see that as more significant than the haters who send me messages.

How was working for erika lust?

I still work here! I have been working here for the last two years. I have changed a lot of things in the company through being a sex worker and being able to speak about performers rights. I think Erika really values that because it gives her a different perspective to have a sex worker as her talent manager. I get to handle all concerns about performers and make sure that they feel well taken care of on and off set. We still are working on more projects and always trying to do better.

As far as I know you mostly work for indie/feminist porn productions. Is it possible to make a living from it or the only way of doing it is to go mainstream?

It’s really hard to make a living off of porn, unless you are mainstream, young, white, thin. I am neither of those things, hahahah. Hence my three other jobs. I am a Talent Manager, I am a teacher, I coordinate events, and I give workshops. I think that’s actually four now that I am counting. Hahaha.

How do you see the future of porn?

More inclusive!!!! And above all I see the future of porn with more variety (not just in bodies, sexualities, abilities, ages, etc) but in terms of storylines and themes. I hope to see more horror and sci fi porn!

Name us 5 favourite musicians, 5 favourite porn performers

Five favourite porn performers: Bishop, Lina Bembe, Vex tape, Sadie Lune, Chelsea Poe

5 Favourite musicians: TLC, Sev Daliza, Salt n Peppa, IAMDDB, the Internet

Is there someone that you would love to work with?

I would love to shoot something for the Crash Pad series and I would be honored to shoot again with Four Chambers. In terms of performers would love to work again with Jiz Lee, they are increible!

As a person of color have you faced racism at your work environment?

I mean, no one has directly said any racist slurs or anything but it’s important to know that there is and will continue to be a difference in the work available to BIPOC and also a difference in financial compensation. This is a fact, and something that needs to change. Be right back, I am working on it 😉

Do you have some advice for people that want to start doing porn?

My biggest advice is do your research before you jump into porn. Think about things like stigma, STI testing, how it could affect your relationships and future ability to get jobs, how would you deal with if your family found out, etc etc. Porn is a BIG thing, it can be fun and rewarding, but you also have to look realistically all its implications. If you have questions, find someone you trust and respect and ask them! Try not to oversaturate performers you find on instagram with questions that you could find in interviews, or on google. Be respectful and informed!

What are your ambitions for the future?

I would like to write and direct my own porn. I know that sounds really boring, but for me it gives me limitless possibilities of creating new narratives of brown queer sexuality. Apart from that I would also love to develop more workshops for youth to talk about consent, sex, porn, healthy relationships. For me, youth inspire me with their energy and innovative attitudes.

Kali Sudhra
Adult performer and kinkster

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