2-06: How Intimacy Coordinators Make Sex Scenes Sexier & Sexual Violence Prevention in Nightlife with Amy Northup

Oral Arguments

This week’s guest is intimacy coordinator and director Amy Northup. First, in the intro, Norma talks a little about the current state of AI in Hollywood and proposed legislation (article linked below). Then, Amy explains what she does and what a day in her life might look like, and dispels the myth that intimacy coordinators “sanitize” sex scenes (they actually make them sexier). She shares both hilarious and illuminating stories from sets, where actors realized they hadn’t been asked about their own boundaries before then, or times when an actor was empowered to change their mind. Norma and Amy get into the self-betrayal of violating our own consent as survivors, and their approaches to working with people who might be experiencing a trauma reaction. Amy tells about the challenges and progress in getting more intimacy coordinators on film and TV sets, and the current strikes in Hollywood and how AI plays a role. Then, she tells about her work in nightlife and how it prepared her for her career now, and the work she does with OutSmartNYC in nightlife sexual violence prevention. Amy and Norma discuss the New York Adult Survivors Act and the barriers to reporting within nightlife, and calculated risk and putting up with a certain level of BS.

Follow Amy Northup

Instagram @supnorthup

http://www.amynorthup.com/

Follow Norma Buster:

Instagram @normabuster_

Twitter @normabuster

OnlyFans https://onlyfans.com/normabuster

Follow Oral Arguments:

Instagram @oralargumentspodcast

Twitter @Oral_Arguments

C.A. Goldberg, PLLC Website:

https://www.cagoldberglaw.com/

More on the Adult Survivors Act in NY:

https://www.survivorslaw.com/

Articles/Books Mentioned:

“California lawmakers want to protect actors from being replaced by artificial intelligence” https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-09-13/california-bill-entertainment-workers-ai-digital-replicas

Book: How Sex Changed the Internet, and the Internet Changed Sex, Samantha Cole

https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-sex-changed-the-internet-and-the-internet-changed-sex-an-unexpected-history-samantha-cole/17897761?ean=9781523513840&ref=&source=IndieBound&title=How+Sex+Changed+the+Internet+and+the+Internet+Changed+Sex%3A+An+Unexpected+History