Sharon Mitchell is an American

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

and former

pornographic film actor A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. In 1998, she founded the

Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation The Adult Industry Medical Associates P.C. (formerly Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation), also known simply as AIM or AIM Medical, was a non-profit organization devoted to STD testing of pornographic actors for HIV and other STDs on a ...

(AIM), which tested over 1,000 adult film performers per month before a 2011

data breach A data breach is a security violation, in which sensitive, protected or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Other terms are unintentional information disclosure, data leak, info ...

led to a lawsuit and the clinic's closure.

Early life and career

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, Birth, by birth or adoption. Children who have half-siblings, step-siblings, or have never met their siblings, either living at the same house or at a different house—especially those who were born con ...

, Mitchell was

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

and raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population w ...

. She married briefly at age 17 before becoming an

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

actress and dancer, performing with the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

. In the mid-1970s, she began appearing in

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

s such as ''Captain Lust and the Pirate Women'' (1977), ''Sexcapades'' (1983), ''

Water Power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...

'' (1976), and ''

The Devil in Miss Jones 2 ''The Devil in Miss Jones'' is a 1973 pornographic film, written, directed and produced by Gerard Damiano and starring Georgina Spelvin and Harry Reems. It is widely regarded as a classic adult film, released during the Golden Age of Porn (196 ...

'' (1982). She also had small roles in mainstream films, such as ''

Tootsie ''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Ga ...

'' (1982) and ''

The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Chr ...

'' (1978). Mitchell made approximately 1,000 pornographic films over a 20-year career, including 38 as a director. She is the subject of the 1986 verité film '' Kamikaze Hearts'', directed by

Juliet Bashore Juliet Bashore (born 31 December 1956) is an American filmmaker. She is best known for her award-winning feature film '' Kamikaze Hearts'' (1986), a pseudo-documentary set in the Golden Age of Porn in San Francisco. Life Bashore studied English ...

, which follows her behind the scenes of a porn adaptation of

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

and explores her tumultuous relationship with then-girlfriend Tigr Mennett. During her years in the adult industry, Mitchell developed a

heroin addiction Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. Op ...

. In 1996, after a male

stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

who was obsessed with her porn films

assaulted An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d, and nearly killed her, she quit drugs, became a certified

addiction counselor About 1 in 7 Americans suffer from active addiction to a particular substance. Addiction can cause physical, psychological, and emotional harm to those who are affected by it. The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as "a trea ...

, and later obtained a MA and a PhD from the

Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS) was a private, non-accredited, for-profit graduate school and resource center for the field of sexology in San Francisco, California. It was established in 1976 and closed in 2018. D ...

while working a variety of jobs including video engineer's assistant, caterer, florist, dog walker, and maid. In 1998, Mitchell founded the

(AIM), an organization which provided information and STD testing to workers in adult entertainment. As of 2004, they were testing 1,200 pornography performers a month. According to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, many in the adult industry credit her with raising the visibility of the risks of

HIV/AIDS in the pornography industry Sexually transmitted infections in the pornography industry; deals with the occupational safety and health hazard of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by workers in the sex industry. Since the 1980s, many cases of pornographic p ...

. In 2011, a security breach led to over 12,000 adult performers' personal information being released publicly. A privacy breach lawsuit was filed against the institute, and they closed their doors in May 2011. Oversight of the protocol was assumed by the

Free Speech Coalition The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) is a non-profit industry trade group, trade association of the pornography and Sex industry, adult entertainment industry in the United States. Founded in 1991, it opposes the passage and enforcement of obscenity l ...

Awards

Mitchell is a member of the

AVN Hall of Fame The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.XRCO Hall of Fame The XRCO Hall of Fame lists well-known adult entertainment works and workers. The list is managed by X-Rated Critics Organization and inducted annually during the XRCO Award The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organizati ...

(since 1988).

References

External links

* – * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Sharon Living people American adoptees American pornographic film actresses American pornographic film directors American sex educators American sexologists Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality alumni Pornographic film actors from New Jersey Women pornographic film directors 21st-century American women Year of birth unknown 20th-century American women

Early life and career

Awards

See also

References

Further reading

External links