While porn studies delve into history and theory books in order to legitimize its position within academia, scholars can often times lose track of the most essential voices that offer us an important perspective on the industry, those of the porn performers themselves! In this episode, I talk with gay porn performer Chris Harder. Harder’s journey through the industry is an interesting one mostly due to the fact that he comes from a theater background. He studied theater and queer theory while going to school in North Dakota, so his porn performances reflect a journey of a young man coming to the big city who documents his sexual awakening via his onscreen performances. However, theatrical ambitions were not stifled by his porn career. In this interview, we talk about his one-man show that he wrote and stars in titled: Porn to be a Star. The show is a hilarious romp where he plays various fictional characters that reflect on his journey growing up in the Dakota plains, moving to the big city, and discovering a new side of himself by performing in porn. Harder is also one of the world’s leading boylesque performers. He teaches classes teaching people how to perform for burlesque theater and has traveled the world performing his act. In this interview we talk about how his burlesque work is intertwined with is porn performance, how is sexual inspirations influence his work, and how the queer theory that he learned in school still influences his work to this day. Harder is one of the kindest and funniest personalities in the industry, and I think that comes across well in this interview.    More info about Harder’s tour dates can be found here @HARDERburlesque New York Times feature about Harder’s burlesque classes “Let me Entertain You: How I was Banned from Boylesque Because I Work in Porn” Clips from his one-man show Harder’s performance at the New York Burlesque Festival pornocultures.podomatic.com facebook.com/AcademicSex @PornoCultures https://concordia.academia.edu/brandrroyo