XXX Worker pushes boundaries

Simon Spark, Mt. Washington, Kentucky

Growing up (mostly) in Bullitt County, I was thankfully introduced to transgressive artists like David Bowie, Lydia Lunch, Marilyn Manson, and Courtney Love at a young age. Even though most of them weren’t gay, they expressed and carried themselves in a way that inspired me. They confused my family and intimidated the redneck kids who bullied me.

I’ve always known I was a gay male, but, as I got older, I related more and more to the idea of being queer. I never felt part of any community or demographic, so the label “queer” fit me the best. I was an alternative, the Other.

Now that I’m shooting adult XXX scenes and exploring that industry, I feel the same way I did as an outcast growing up in a small town.

I approach it as performance art and feel empowered by it, which makes some people giggle and roll their eyes. I’m not physically the usual vision people have when they think of a gay guy in porn. So, again, I’m the outsider. The Other. But that motivates me and pushes me to prove people wrong. There’s nothing I’d rather be than an outsider at this point in my life.

“OUTSIDE OF SOCIETY IS WHERE I WANNA BE.” — Patti Smith

I don’t really participate in the “gay scene” in Louisville anymore, mostly because I’m so busy at the moment with work, cosmetology school, and pursuing adult work – but I definitely support it.

The scene has definitely evolved since I was a bratty 21 year old go-go dancing at Connections, thanks to “Drag Race culture.”

It’s become more embracing of cis females, trans women, and people of color, which is exciting (and long overdue)!

I’d like to see our community embrace something other than the steroid-addicted gym rat archetype and expand our knowledge of art from only female pop singers, though. I’d like to see more of us stand up for women’s and POC issues. I’d like us to become more open as far as sex work and the stigma that goes with it.

I’ve always felt extremely supported and inspired by women, and I want them to know I support, love and appreciate them just as much.

I’m inspired by the way the LGBTQ community as a whole supported one another and demanded action after the terrorist attack at Pulse in Orlando. I’m inspired by the trans community, who experience such ugliness and genuine hate just because they live their truth.

If you identify as queer in Kentucky (or anywhere in the South, really), you were born to be a rebel and push boundaries. It is your nature to be the antithesis of societal norms and break rules, because we have to in order to survive.

twitter: @simon_spark

ig: @fucksimonspark