Andre Khalil (born August 23, 1977), better known by his pseudonym and stage name Conner Habib, is an American writer, podcaster, academic, activist and former pornographic actor of

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent. He hosts ''Against Everyone With Conner Habib'', a podcast where he discusses current events and politics, as well as philosophy, science and spiritual ideas by himself or with guests. Habib has written for numerous publications, including ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

'', ''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

'', '' MEL Magazine'', '' The Stranger'', ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'', and ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

''. As an adult performer, Habib has appeared in pornographic scenes in films distributed by companies such as

Titan Media Titan Media is a San Francisco-based gay pornographic studio founded by director and cinematographer Bruce Cam and Robert Kirsch (1961-2001) in 1995. Overview The company grew to become one of the largest producers of gay adult content in the ...

Men.com Men.com is a producer of Gay pornography, Gay Internet pornography, internet pornography content. It is owned by MindGeek. The domain name was purchased in December 2003 from entrepreneur Rick Schwartz for $1.3 million. Many porn stars have made ...

Falcon Entertainment Falcon Entertainment (also known as Falcon Studios), a United States company based in San Francisco, California, is one of the world's largest producers of gay pornography. Founded in 1971 by Chuck Holmes, Archived by web.archive.org. the comp ...

, and

Raging Stallion Studios Raging Stallion Studios based in San Francisco, is a major adult film studio and one of the world's largest producers of gay pornography. It was begun by Chris Ward and J. D. Slater; Michael Brandon (pornographic actor), Michael Brandon later bec ...

Early life

Andre Khalil was born on August 23, 1977, to a Syrian father and an Irish-American mother. He grew up in

Catasauqua, Pennsylvania Catasauqua, referred to colloquially as Catty, is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Catasauqua's population was 6,518 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Allentown in the Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th ...

, in a home environment he describes as “irreligious”. His parents divorced during his childhood, and both have since remarried. Habib would frequently visit Ireland, his mother's

homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

, in later years. Habib described himself as having a rebellious streak growing up: he recalled spending his teenage years immersed in the Pennsylvania punk scene, and that he once stole a book that deals with occult topics from the school library. Khalil was first exposed to pornography at a young age when he was watching television with his family via a cable-cheater box which stole channels from their neighbors: Khalil's father accidentally happened upon a channel dedicated to adult pornographic content, but the remote control failed to respond when they attempted to change channels. Khalil credited the experience for instigating his curiosity about pornography that persisted to his adulthood, and led him to question what he believed to be the disconnect between society's consistent stigmatization of sexual imagery and the desire for the same by its members.

Career

Academia

From 2004 to 2007, Khalil taught literature and composition while studying writing and evolutionary biology at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. He won the Distinguished Teaching Award for his efforts. In 2007 he worked as an English instructor at

Western New England University Western New England University is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. Academic programs are provided through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, School of Law, and College of Pharmacy and ...

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. Khalil eventually relocated to San Francisco to pursue his dream to become an adult performer, though he continued to work as a writer and teacher.

Pornography

Khalil came up with the name "Conner Habib" after he witnessed two straight men

dry hump Non-penetrative sex or outercourse is sexual activity that usually does not include sexual penetration. It generally excludes the penetrative aspects of vaginal, anal, or oral sexual activity, but includes various forms of sexual and non-sexua ...

ing each other out of jest in a bar in

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

. His pseudonym reflects his Irish and Syrian heritage: the last name Habib is a Middle Eastern name which deliberately highlights an underrepresented identity in pornography. According to Habib, his decision to create a name meant that he assumed a new identity which protects him as an adult performer from complicated and often discriminatory entanglements. Habib won the

GayVN Award The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by '' AVN Magazine'', the parent publication of ''GAYVN Magazine'', and continue the recognition for gay pornograp ...

for Best Newcomer in 2010. Habib was nominated for several awards at the 2012

Grabby Awards Grabby Awards (better known as The Grabbys) are presented annually in Chicago to honor work done in the gay adult erotic video industry. The awards are sponsored by ''GRAB Magazine.'' The Grabby Awards and ''GRAB Magazine'' are owned and operate ...

, and won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''Dad Goes to College''. In 2016, Habib was the co-winner of "Best All Male Threesome" for ''Dad Out West'' at the Raven's Eden Awards. Habib appeared in over 150 scenes featuring sexually explicit content during his time working in the adult entertainment industry. Habib's insight and opinion on pornography work inspired the title of the epilogue for author Heather Berg's 2021 publication, ''Porn Work: Sex, Labor, and Late Capitalism''.

Post-pornography

Habib relocated to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland in 2019, where he became involved in projects unrelated to his pornography career. Habib hosted ''Ulysses - For The Rest Of Us!'', a live lecture series and book club centered on

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

’s ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' in collaboration with the Museum Of Literature Ireland. The series ran from June through September 2021, which coincided with the commencement of the

Bloomsday Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June, the day his 1922 novel '' Ulysses'' takes place in 1904, the date of his first sexual encounter with his ...

festival on June 16, 2021. In October 2021, Habib co-curated an event called “Utopia Ireland” with Una Mullally for The National Concert Hall over the course of five days and nights. Habib's debut novel, ''Hawk Mountain'', was published by W. W. Norton & Company on July 5, 2022.

Activism

Habib often advocates for

sex workers' rights Sex workers' rights encompass a variety of aims being pursued globally by individuals and organizations that specifically involve the human, health, and labor rights of sex workers and their clients. The goals of these movements are diverse, but ...

and

sex positivity The sex-positive movement is a social and philosophical movement that seeks to change cultural attitudes and norms around sexuality, promoting the recognition of sexuality (in the countless forms of expression) as a natural and healthy part of the ...

in his writings and presentations. In 2013, Habib promoted discussions about sex positivity and sexual health in a series of presentations and workshops. One such event, which was to be held at

Corning Community College Corning Community College is a Public college, public community college in Corning (town), New York, Corning, New York. It was initiated in 1957 and moved to its Spencer Hill campus in 1963. This two-year college serves three counties: Steuben C ...

and organized by the student group Equal, was canceled after his invitation was rescinded by the college's president following her discovery of Habib's involvement with the adult film industry. Habib authored an article published by ''BuzzFeed'', where he criticized the school president's decision to publicly denounce him. Habib would end up leading a free discussion off-campus at Southeast Steuben County Library, which is located near Corning Community College, on March 21, 2013. Between 2014 and 2016, he served as the Vice President of the

Adult Performer Advocacy Committee Adult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC) is an American organized labor group for pornographic actors. Launched in 2014, shortly after the closure of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM), the organization released a video call ...

, a nonprofit organization with goals of improving quality of life and experiences in the industry of active adult performers. Habib was awarded Publicist of the Year at the

Sexual Freedom Awards The Sexual Freedom Awards is an annual British event that honours achievement in the sexuality and erotica industries worldwide. Founded in 1994 by campaigner Tuppy Owens, the awards were first called the "Erotic Oscars", until the name had to be ...

in recognition of his efforts to promote sex-positive attitudes through his writings and presentations.

Podcast

Habib is the host of the counterculture

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

''Against Everyone With Conner Habib''. It launched on June 6, 2017, on YouTube, with Habib intending to release at least two episodes each month as an ongoing series. According to Habib, the podcast's name has a dual meaning: it represents his personal desire to resist "dumb ideas and bad public conversations and stupid think pieces" propagated by powerful and influential people, as well as his "aspiration to be against everyone, in the sense of literally pressing up against everyone." The podcast's subject matter is eclectic and may include topics such as radical philosophy, occultism, sexuality, science and literature. Notable individuals who follow the podcast include American musician

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Poss ...

, and English singer

Olly Alexander Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is a British singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of Years & Years and for his performance as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series, ''It's a Sin''. Early life Alexander w ...

Personal life

Habib was based in Los Angeles prior to his relocation to Ireland. Habib was previously in a relationship with game designer and musician

Jeb Havens Jeb Havens is a game designer, video game developer, industry activist and singer-songwriter. He has worked for companies such as Cyberlore, Electronic Arts (EA), and Google, and is known for his work in video games such as '' Playboy: The Mansi ...

for five years. They have since remained close friends. Habib is a follower of

anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers ...

, a

spiritualist movement Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

founded by the esotericist

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habib, Conner 1974 births 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American LGBT people American LGBT novelists American LGBT rights activists American actors in gay pornographic films American bloggers American expatriates in the Republic of Ireland American gay actors American gay writers American people of Irish descent American people of Syrian descent American podcasters Gay pornographic film actors American male pornographic film actors LGBT people from Pennsylvania Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Pornographic film actors from Pennsylvania Sex worker activists in the United States Social philosophers University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Western New England University faculty Writers from Pennsylvania