Australia’s Biggest Porn Star Angela White On The Misconceptions She’s Sick Of Hearing

Angela White is one of Australia’s — if not the world's — biggest porn stars. Born in Sydney and based in Los Angeles, White has held the title of Adult Video News (AVN) Female Performer of the Year three times. AVN is considered the ‘Oscars of porn,’ which basically makes her Meryl Streep.

With over nine million Instagram followers and an OnlyFans salary that’s too large to mention, White has taken the adult entertainment industry by storm. 

“I saw pornography as this space where I could finally safely express and explore myself in an environment where I would be celebrated for that,” White tells Refinery29 Australia over Zoom.

White has been active in the adult entertainment world for almost two decades. And yet, even as a porn star with many accolades, she continually comes up against many misconceptions. 

Here, she puts to bed some of the most common myths she’s done with hearing.

While pornography certainly isn’t without its issues spanning consent, hyper-sexualisation and addiction, White pushes back on the rhetoric that women enter pornography only from a place of victimhood.

“I can only speak from my own experience [but] there is that that consistent myth that all women in the industry are coerced into the industry, that they don't enjoy their work, that maybe they're drug addicted and have no other options,” she says. 

“And that myth continues to be persistent despite the fact that it's inherently sexist in and of itself, because… we all applaud the men because being a promiscuous male is seen as triumphant but being a promiscuous female — or embracing your sexuality or having sex with multiple people — is seen as stepping outside the bounds of acceptable female sexuality.”

White is a proud owner of her own production company and directs, produces, stars in and edits her own content. 

“When I first started shooting porn, I was working for other companies and I was bringing their vision of sexuality to life. But I really wanted to be in an environment where I was able to control everything, from the location to the wardrobe, to my onscreen partners [and] scenarios,” she says.

Being able to express her whole self in pornography is imperative to White, it’s the “whole reason” she got into the industry in the first place. Her vision for her content is very initiative and personal.

“Sometimes it'll be me seeing a performer and seeing something really special about them… and wanting to experience that for myself. Sometimes it'll be just wanting to try something new. So, for example, I shot from my own production company all my big firsts. So my first double penetration scene, my first anal scene, my first gangbang, my first blow bank.” 

“I was able to try something new, but in an environment which was completely controlled by me. It was safe in that everyone's tested and we go through consent forms and know what we're willing or not willing to do.”

Back when White started off in porn, purity culture was raging, abstinence pledges were the norm and sex ed was even worse than it is today. Some may assume that we live in a progressive society that’s sexually liberated, but White knows there’s more to the story. 

“I still think there's quite a lot of shame that surrounds sex and sexuality. I do think that things are getting better but just looking at the comments that I get on social media, I do experience a lot of stigma and a lot of hate around the fact that I'm basically doing what I want to do with my body, which is… embracing my own sexuality and having sex with whoever I want to,” she says.

“[My OnlyFans fans] will talk to me about fantasies that they are too scared to tell their real-life partner in the bedroom. So they'll seek out pornography to experience things that they're not comfortable with sharing with people in person.”

There's no secret that sex work can be a lucrative career. But for White, the joy in it isn’t only financially motivated.

“I love being able to connect with people on screen; not just my on-screen partner, but also the viewer at home. I feel so proud of myself when I have a magical moment on set with somebody. If you can watch two people truly connecting on screen, it reminds you of hope of that connection. I just love the fact that I get so much joy out of my work and that then it brings so much joy to other people,” she shares.

“Women embracing their sexuality is already scary for people, but then to also make money off it and put it out there for the world to see, it makes it so much scarier for so many people.”

It’s not hard to see that White loves her job, and she lights up when she speaks about how “incredibly empowering” her experience has been.

“I've been able to create a career from something that I'm so passionate about. And given that I'm also the producer and director as well as the performer, I'm able to really create the pornography that I want to see in the world. So that's women especially, but everyone on set, really enjoying the sex that they're engaging in, because I feel like that's what really resonates with the fans and the consumers.”

“We only have one life. If you're not truly embracing your sexuality and feeling comfortable and confident in your own body, you are living in fear. You’re not living your most authentic life; you're not able to enjoy sexuality, which such an incredible part of our lives. Maybe try not to care about the judgment — what's the worst that can happen?”