Since 2007, TROUBLE Films has been making porn for people from all walks of life, and with the release of Trans Men Of TROUBLE Films Volume 1, we were excited to get to know star Ramses Rodstein. We sat down with this artist, filmmaker, educator, and porn performer to talk about sex toys, churros, sex magic, and how FTM porn can finally go mainstream.
JH: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is Ramses Rodstein?
RR: Ramses Rodstein is a multi-faceted artist. A lot of my art work goes beyond of my erotic work. I’m a painter, I am a performance artist, I’ve done theater, so a lot of that is where I stem from. But Ramses Rodstein is my alter ego and also my artistic pseudonym. So Ramses Rodstein is specifically linked to my erotic work, but I do go by Ramses when I do other artistic projects, but I don’t always use the last name.
“Ramses” actually is interesting ’cause that name actually originated from a distant source. I did have a fascination with ancient Egyptian mythology when I was younger. But I was born a twin, my twin brother was stillborn, and I think one day I asked my mom, “What would you have named my brother?” And she said, “Ramses.” I was like, “Oh my God! That’s such a cool name.” I had done a lot of research on mythology and I decided that I was going to adopt that as my artist name, because it does have a connection to my brother that didn’t get to live this life. So, that’s where it stems from. And I thought it was also like a really great name historically, as well as the way it rolls off the mouth.
My regular name has R, starts with an R, and so does my last name. So I wanted just to alliterate, and also have some connection to my other identities. I actually came up with the name while I was working on a film with friends called Queerer Than Thou. And it was just a little film that I did right out of college, ’cause I went to school for film. My background is filmmaking, and my erotic work was just me putting those skills to use in a different context. When I came up with the name Ramses Rodstein I was in Berlin, and I thought, “If I had like a rock star name, what would my rock star name be?” [laughs] And I was like, “Rodstein,” ’cause it’s a play on my last name. I thought it was funny ’cause Ramses Rodstein has a flow to it. So, I thought that would have been a fun performer name to have.
It is. It is probably one of the best porn names I’ve ever heard. And I’ve heard a lot of them, but it’s pretty solid. How has 2021 been treating you?
2021 has been good. The way I see the world now is a little different ’cause of this pandemic. And so right now, I’m really grateful for my health and being able to still try to be creative in a pandemic. It’s been treating me well. I work a full-time job outside of my filmmaking creative endeavors that just fortunately provides me work still in the midst of a pandemic. So, I consider myself lucky right now. My wife is a full-time filmmaker, and so she felt a little bit more of a impact from losing work or shoots getting postponed. Luckily, my income has been able to help us get through the rough times.
Congratulations on getting hitched, by the way.
We got married in our living room via video chat with the County of San Fransisco, so it was really a new experience. We’ve been together for about almost eight years, so we were like, “Let’s just do it.” We’ve been engaged for a few years already, so were like, “You know what? With all that’s going on in the world, let’s just make this legal, so we are protected and can be there for each other.”
My wife is also someone who I collaborate a lot with on films, so she’s someone I usually hire to shoot some of the films that I’ve worked on.
So, it’s a family business.
Yeah. [chuckle]
So in Trans Men of TROUBLE Films you masturbate while wearing a strap-on cock, how do toys play into your sex life in your erotic work?
Oh, yeah, they’re a big part of my work. For me, strap-ons can also be an extension of who I am. It sort of affirms my gender and how I see it sometimes, and my gender is fluid. I do identify as male legally, but my gender is way more fluid than that. [laughter] So I think when I get the chance to jerk off with strap-ons on, it really affirms that part of my gender. And I identify as someone who’s switchy, who switches between being top—or dominant—or being a bottom—or being submissive, in different dynamics. And for me, toys add another level of affirming those aspects of me, so I have no problem using toys or strap-ons on myself and with other partners who enjoy those kinds of things. So I love toys. [laughs] It brings another dimension to sex.
Do you have any favorite toys that you like to use that you can recommend?
So one toy is a purple double-ended dildo, but it’s not shaped like a double-ended dildo ’cause sometimes they look like just two cocks attached to each other, but it’s curved in a way where one ends a little bit more thick and curved and the other end is slimmer. What I like about that toy is that you can use it in different orifices. [laughs] And it’s flexible. So if your partner is shorter or taller, you still have some leeway to be able to make the connection with the toy
When it comes to vibrating toys, I’m really picky. I do enjoy a good, old-fashioned Hitachi wand, but more indirectly, and usually at a certain point of having sex, usually while I’m being penetrated already. The vibrations on the Hitachi can be a little intense, but I usually can muffle it with a pillow or just going more indirectly at an angle. I’ve been curious about those more clitoral-focused vibrators. They always have terrible names, but I hear good things about them. I think one I’m thinking of is the Womanizer.
Oh, yeah, I’m familiar.
Yeah. I haven’t tried it, but I’m curious. And people who I know who have tried it have said they enjoyed it. So that’s definitely on my list of things. I also like Chakrubs, they do crystal-based dildos and wands, and they also do the little Yoni Eggs. I actually just got one in rose quartz.
Oh, cute!
That I’m looking forward to receiving. Also as far as strap-on cocks, oh my gosh… A lot of the cocks I’ve acquired have been gifted to me from porno shoots, so sometimes I forget the source. But I know Vixen is one of them that I’ve gotten, it has realistic-feeling skin. I got one dildo recently at a shoot through Crash Pad that had the trans-pride flag on it. I really enjoyed that one, it’s one of my favorites. It’s not too big, and it’s a favorite. Actually, it featured in one of my films, Pain Dulce. I’ve used it in a couple of other scenes that I’ve been in.
Yeah, and I saw on Twitter that you said that you were gonna come up with your own toy line. Could you dish a little bit on that?
I have a couple of ideas ’cause I wanna make two very specific toys; they’re very niche. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of my films, but I have my two films that I’ve made on my own, that I self-produced and directed. One of them is called Besos de Mazapan, and the other one is called Pain Dulce. They both play on food and sex, but specifically food from Latinx culture—Mexican culture, to be specific. The first film starts off with me feeding these little mazapans to my scene partner, and it really focuses on the sensuality of feeding each other and eating this very cultural, nostalgic candy that I had growing up, and it leading into sex. Pain Dulce incorporates a Mexican bread as something sweet that I really enjoy, but it was used in a very kinky context where it was punched into my chest, [laughs] or used as a power dynamic to keep me from eating it.
So I want to create a sex toy that references those things. One of the toys I wanna create is a concha-shaped ball gag, ’cause I am a kinky individual. [laughs] It’s very specific; when you put the ball gag on, you’re restricted with your mouth, but it looks cute because there’s a little concha on it. The concha is this sweet bread that has this fondant sugar on top that usually looks like a shell or turtle shell. And then the other sex toy I was thinking that I want to make a reality is a churro-looking dildo. [laughter]
Cool!
‘Cause I wanna make a film that involves a churro, but I do not recommend fucking a churro in real life ’cause that’s just yeast infection town, [chuckle] but I like the idea of having something that’s all-silicone, that looks realistic. Churro has a ribbed texture already, it’s star-shaped. I make a lot of art that is hyper-cute, so I thought I could make a sex dildo that looks like a churro and incorporate it into a film. I already have this idea for a film involving churros that’s connecting the sweetness of eating a churro and wanting to consume it in other ways.
The dildo would also serve as a device to use to hit someone with, ’cause I also enjoy impact play. I can actually make it, but it would be really a rough version of it. What I’m looking for right now is a manufacturer that could help me create it with quality silicone and body-safe materials, and be able to get the color and look of it correctly so that it looks like a churro.
I saw that you were tweeting about sex magic, which sounds fun and hot. Can you educate me a little bit about what that means?
I identify as a witch, my spirituality is very eclectic and based on Pagan practices. I incorporate a lot of my ritual and spiritual practices into my art, so I do ritual performance art as well. So sex magic, in particular, is the act of using sex in a form to manifest or channel an intention, because orgasms are very powerful.
If we think about magic in setting intentions, even if you don’t practice that sort of spirituality, but you’re Christian and you pray—that’s all a form of setting intentions and channeling some sort of intent, or wish, or prayer out to the world. Whatever you’re trying to bring into your life. So sex magic is using the energy of sex to further some sort of magical intent. I’ve done ritual art performances that are ritualistic, that aren’t necessarily erotic, but incorporate those elements into my performance. I am now working on making a film that does incorporate actually showing a sex-magic ritual that I want to do. My next film that I’m working on, it’s called The Cleansing, and it’s gonna incorporate three rituals with this other person, with an intention of cleansing them. I do a lot of cleansing work and protection work as part of my practice as well. Not for the public, but I do do it for myself and people close to me.
In this film, I’m gonna incorporate a cleansing ritual that I’ll do for them, specifically around their love life. To cleanse them of any negative connection. And it does incorporate some rituals that are basic Mexican culture, like limpia of using an egg. “Limpia” is another word in Spanish that means cleansing. I’m gonna incorporate a very specific ritual that I will share in the film, and then it will transition some BDSM elements into the ritual, and then it will transition into another actual sex-magic performance that me and Pluto will perform together that will involve some eroticism and some BDSM elements. We both are witches, so we’re both gonna tap into the intentions we want to set with that sex that we’re gonna be sharing. Yeah, it’s gonna be cool because I don’t think people see that often, so it’s usually something very sacred and I’m designing this film in a way to be very visual. And I love working with music, so I’m gonna be creating a soundtrack to go with it, and perhaps maybe some intentions that we’ll say outwardly in the film track throughout the film. I’m really excited about doing this project because it can shed some light on how different folks practice sex magic.
What’s it like working in a TROUBLE Films set?
It’s been a while since I worked on a TROUBLE Films set, but it’s always been really easy and fun. I’m good friends with Courtney, and it’s always been pretty chill, always very ethical in the way they approach things. I’ve always felt comfortable on set. And it feels almost like you’re shooting with friends, and I appreciate the opportunities that Courtney has presented for me in being able to make films for their company. I’ve done three scenes for TROUBLE Films over my career as an erotic performer. My very first one was with Jade Phillips, and that one was a fun one because we incorporated some acro yoga into that scene; it was very physically exerting. I was more active in those days, and I was exploring aerial work and circus things. Jade Philips was actually teaching me how to do acro yoga, and that was before we started doing porn. Jade Philips wanted to get into porn, and I said, “Let’s just shoot a film together and make this happen,” and we ended up applying to TROUBLE Films, and we got casted to do our scene there. So that was a lot of fun. [laughs] It was chill. We had two little mascots at TROUBLE Films, a cute little black cat and a little adorable little white dog that belonged to Courtney. They’re all in doggy and cat heaven now, or wherever they may go.
But I do have all these fond memories of being on set, stretching before we’re about to shoot, and the little pets come and they’re like, “We wanna say hello.” So it’s always something really sweet and cute. But yeah, it’s always been chill, down-to-earth vibes when working with TROUBLE Films.
How does your activism and education work overlap with your sex work?
A lot of my activism is rooted in trans activism and racial justice. I think the way I incorporate that into the work I do is making sure that a lot of the work that I do does have some inclusive nature to it, and I model safe-sex practices in my films. I think what’s been really empowering for me in the course of my time doing erotic work has been being able to self-identify my own categories for my work, and being able to work with other companies that may not have such of a wide spectrum of categories, but educating them in that we exist, and maybe there’s other ways to talk about it as opposed to not.
Also, I try to model consent in my work, even if it’s subtle, ’cause I do sometimes do BDSM work, and some of that can be consensual non-consent, so it’s just making sure that in the work that I do it’s clear that everyone participating is having a good time. I’ve been doing porn since 2012, and it’s 2021 now and so much has changed. What was really amazing in the earlier years just working with a lot of independent queer companies and filmmakers, was that there was more of this idea around being more ethical and making sure there’s safe practices happening. And that’s one thing I really appreciate about my experience in the work that I’ve been doing.
But with FOSTA-SESTA getting passed, it’s really changed the way we can exist on the Internet. For independent filmmakers, the Internet really made it possible for us to create our own content. But now, platforms like Instagram and Facebook are censoring more because of this new law that’s in place that will fine them for exhibiting any sort of pornography, or erotic work, or nudity. I feel like there’s a fine line between what’s acceptable and what’s not, and I feel like my erotic work is a place where I can bring those concepts up. I think a lot of the reason why I do porn is because I wanna create the kind of work I wish existed for me as a young queer wanting to find affirmation in folks like myself, having a good time, being desired. I think about that kind of stuff when I’m creating my work and who my audience is. A lot of my current work that I’m working on is wanting to bring more light into the ways my spirituality intersects with my eroticism.
Over the past few years there’s been somewhat of a revolution in porn featuring trans women, where they’ve really become just much more humanized, and some of the performers have achieved mainstream porno success, but porn featuring trans men is still kind of existing on the margins of porno. What do you think is holding FTM porn back from kind of breaking into the mainstream the way trans women porn has?
Yeah, this one is an interesting question because when I got involved with porn… It’s been so different. I think part of the reason, in regards to mainstream porn, is that the categories for porn are very limiting. It’s interesting ’cause I was thinking about this question and I thought, “What is holding us back?” And a lot of it is visibility and awareness. In society, generally, when you think of trans, the first thing that comes to mind is trans women, and there’s very little information around trans men, and I don’t know why that is. Maybe because trans women have been more visible in media and stuff, but not necessarily always in the most positive light. And I think there are a lot more opportunities for trans women to do work and get paid well. And I think what I’ve come across, is just that people don’t know we exist. [chuckle]
When you look at… If you search on a porn website or any kind of clip or web-based site, there is just one category that encompasses our whole community, which is transsexual or trans. And if you click through those links, it’s mostly trans-women focused, and then maybe you’ll see a trans man or FTM tag pop up. I feel like if we created those categories, if we started adding trans women, and trans men, and non-binary, perhaps more people will be like, “Oh, what is that? Let me click on that,” and get traffic to those types of works. I feel like a lot of mainstream porn relies on tags and categories that fuel traffic to those types of works, but I don’t ever see any FTM specific categories or non-binary-specific categories. I feel like once we start incorporating those kinds of things, I could see there being more avenues of people coming across that more often, as opposed to getting just lost in the shuffle, cause trans-women porn and trans-men porn, there’s overlap.
I’ve worked with trans women before in my erotic work, and they are sometimes marketed in very specific ways. I know a lot of trans women performers that I’m friends with who have done a lot of work to try to change the way trans women are viewed in the media, in pornography in particular. They’re always being portrayed as topping, and I’ve had performer friends that have challenged that. They said, “Trans women can be submissive, not all trans women wanna use their cocks. Not all trans women have certain body parts; why aren’t those things more visible as well?” I was thinking of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, where language really influences our perception and our experience. If we give content creators more of a voice in how they wanna be categorized and what categories are out there, I think there might be some more visibility around that.
Also, I feel like most of the time, the folks that have been able to become more mainstream or get more work as a trans-masculine person or FTM-identified person, are usually folks who are able to pass as male more easily, who fit more of an ideal body, physique. And myself, my gender is very fluid, I’m not a hyper-masculine person. I don’t have the six-pack and buff physique. I think folks like myself don’t often get opportunities that folks who do fit those categories can. They have a little bit more mobility in getting work. So I do recognize that sometimes racism and certain ideas can also create barriers in what kind of content gets made, who gets hired, who gets the funds to be able to make that content.
I think a lot of my sex-activist performer friends have done a lot of work to push the boundaries around how we are portrayed as a community in erotic work, and have made strides in how we are categorized and what kind of awards we’re up for. Another thing I’ve noticed is that there’s been times where my own erotic work, where I’ve submitted to some erotic film festivals, and it gets put in the category that I was not anticipating. I got my film Besos de Mazapan into an international film festival, and it was put in with lesbian programming when that’s not how the actors identify; that’s not the material. There were other categories, like food porn, and maybe this was more of a gay boy thing, but because they see our bodies a certain way, they wanna pigeon-hole us into a category that might not be in alignment with how those actors identify. We still have a ways to go. And I always try to push those boundaries to get people to open up more.
What makes you feel sexy?
Oh, this one?
Yes!
Well, what makes me feel sexy? I think the first thing that came to mind was fishnet. [chuckle]
Really?
And I feel like it’s probably in the forefront of my mind ’cause I recently did a photoshoot just specifically wearing fishnet. I just ordered a whole bunch of more fishnets for my next film, ’cause I was like, “Oh, you know what? I really enjoy fishnet.” Fishnet, I like the way it feels on my skin, I like the way it looks on my body, and I feel like I may have a little bit of a fishnet fetish myself. [laughs] But, yeah, whenever I put fishnets, I always feel sexy in it. And I think I enjoy fishnets on other people, because I’ll feel how delicate it is as well and it’s easy to rip off. I feel like if I were wanting to feel sexy, wearing fishnet definitely always puts me in that sexy headspace. Yeah, that’s the thing that makes me feel sexy.
Awesome. Any final words to your fans at HotMovies?
Keep on paying for your porn. That’s how you’re gonna support porn performers the best. Subscribe to their OnlyFans, follow their Twitters. The more kind of support independent performers get, that just helps them to be able to get the opportunity to create more content. So if you really love my work and want me to make more, find ways to support that. Find my clips on HotMovies, or buy my films directly from me. The pandemic has made it a little bit challenging to create content in the same way that we’re used to, but now that people are getting vaccinated… I feel like we’re the best at handling the pandemic. We already know how to do safer sex practices and talk openly about our statuses and stuff, so it’s not challenging in that regard. But if you do love a performer, find ways to support them, that’s really what I’m always advocating for.
Watch Ramses Rodstein in Trans Men Of TROUBLE Films Volume 1!
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