The daughter of Deep Throat distributor kingpin Anthony Battista has written a new book, The Pornographer’s Daughter: A Memoir of My Childhood, My Dad, and Deep Throat. Kristin Battista-Frazee details what it was like to grow up with one of the most successful pornographers in history. 4 years old when the film premiered, Kristin is now in her 40s and only watched Deep Throat for the first time last year. Excerpts from Kristin’s interview with VICE below:
VICE: When did you first watch Deep Throat?
Kristin Battista-Frazee: I watched it for the first time last year. I thought I probably needed to if I was going to write about it. I’m glad I waited, because now it doesn’t seem like a big deal. But I also understand why it was so popular—Linda Lovelace had this incredible skill and that skill was realized.Did you discuss sex as a family?
Not really. We were a pretty normal family—not extreme Catholics, but traditional—so there were no chats over chicken pot pie on a Tuesday night. I had the classic school sex education, which was pretty effective. A video in class, some discussion. It was a weird time—don’t forget I grew up in the AIDS era, so we were indoctrinated with the belief that casual sex would kill us.How did your dad break the news that he was distributing porn to theaters across the East Coast?
I was six or seven when I found out. I say “found out,” but my parents said it was “something for adults,” which meant nothing to me. But as I got older, Deep Throat became more ingrained in popular culture—people had heard of it—so I got a feel for why he was out working long hours. It wasn’t a formal sit-down thing; it was more of a natural thing within conversation. He still worked for his company while distributing Deep Throat. To him it was a business venture.Do you watch porn now?
I do for research purposes, yes. I’m friends with a few of the best, like Jessica Drake. Stormy Daniels and Jenna Jameson, too—fabulous women, although Jenna’s had some personal problems. I’m reading her books: Sugar, Honey, and Spice. They’re wonderful.How did your mother and grandmother feel about it?
My grandmother, Maria, was something else. She wanted to see the film, so she took her friend Ida along after my dad got her free tickets. Part of the reason was that it was free—she was a child of wartime, and took anything free that was being offered. She thought it was disgusting, but she did understand that people were sexual beings. My mother was of two minds, but ultimately my father was very good at his job—at distributing—and she mostly supported him. She even decorated the bathroom of his strip club. Yellow curtains.Deep Throat arguably reshaped the sexual landscape for pornography. Are you proud of your father?
I feel proud that he fought against forces for what he believed in. There will always be a vocal minority against porn, but that’s life.-Read full interview here via VICE
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