Book Review: Confessions Of A Transsexual Porn Star – By Tempest
The Autobiography of Megan Chavalier
This is the story of Transsexual Adult Film star Meghan Chavalier. Trying to start off this review without using one of the seemingly endless transsexual double entendre so prevalent in the adult industry has proved to be quite challenging so lets turn this to something I know a bit more about?
Megan out rocks most rock stars in her telling of her life story, all the while retaining a sense of integrity to herself and the choices she makes right and wrong. She may not be Keith Richards but her tale of rebellion, sex, drugs and more sex is certainly worthy of a place on the wall next to his, my guess is Keith is just lucky Meghan never picked up a guitar, this girl gets things done when she sets her mind to it and I love that.
Now if your picking up this book looking for a thrill hearing about all the sordid details in the world of Tranny Porn you will probably not find what you are looking for here. What you will find is the story of how Meghan grew up in an dysfunctional family in a small Wisconsin town, discovery of her sexuality and Tran sexuality, on to working drag shows and strip clubs and even prostitution until she finally arrived on the adult film scene thanks to, of all things, smoking. She tells the story with grace, honesty, and strength some might not expect but tends to be a characteristic of many transsexual women. The story humanizes her beyond an adult star giving a window into her real world as she struggles with her own identity, various addictions, legal problems, botched cosmetic surgery, fear and loss of friends to HIV, and many failed attempts to find a partner who is a match for her unique spirit. The book isn’t so much about being a porn star as a honest and frank tale of what leads up to that point and perhaps even more so, what happens afterwards.
At just over 200 pages I found the book to be a bit short but then again that might just be the perfect length. The book moves along at a rapid pace that makes for a very easy and enjoyable read and always moving things forward and after all, perhaps there is more than one story to be told here. The other downside of the book was I felt that the cover artwork didn’t do the work and Meghan justice to what was within (no, no, Meghan still looks stunning on the cover? something about hard to read fonts?but once again that’s just me.). Yes I know insert “book by the cover” line here but this time it really seems to be true.
The book is well written and most of all (what I like to see most in autobiographies) brutally honest. This isn’t designed to get you to like Maghan, its not about winning more fans, selling video’s or pleasing people (in fact she starts off by saying that her honesty will likely anger more than a few friends,) and that is what makes it great. I would suggest this book to anyone who is curious about what leads up to and away from the life of a Transsexual adult star. Gay, Straight, Bi, TS, TV, CD? its all alphabet soup and this book is an interesting read for anyone regardless of what flag you might fly (or in keeping with the metaphor… what bowl you dip your spoon in.)
Her book is available from many fine booksellers and online at MeghansBook.com
Tempest
Rock N Roll Gender Outlaw
This Revolution Starts In the Mirror