David Kleinberg

David Kleinberg starts his comedy stage act, "The Voice," by jumping onstage as David’s Penis and saying, “I know, you’ve never seen a penis onstage,” and “I’m here because I’m the star of this show.”

David's act, focused on porn addiction is unlike anything we've ever seen before. If you haven’t heard of David Kleinberg, he’s been a successful writer and editor of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sunday Datebook, as well as a porn addict in recovery. David is a true pioneer. He has transformed the life story of his battle with sexually addictive behaviors into an engaging stage act.

Last month, on March 16th, David invited George Collins of Compulsion Solutions to participate in a panel discussion following a performance of David’s stage act at Stageworks Theatre in San Francisco, California.

Joining George on the panel were two women with an opinion of sex addiction that is very different from that of the counselors at Compulsion Solutions. Annie Sprinkle, a former stripper and porn actress, currently works as a performance artist and sex educator. The fourth panelist, who goes by the name of Lizzie Lipstick, is reported to be a prostitute/sex therapist who works primarily with couples.

The audience was comprised of a broad range of singles and couples of assorted ages, sexes, and sexual orientations who were very entertained by David Kleinberg’s performance. He wove in humor along with poignant moments of his journey from hopeless sex addict to a recovery brimming with deep empathy for others.

David's rendition of his struggle is often humorous, that is until his wife discovered his porn addiction. Through his revelations and insights, several audience members were motivated to stand up and take responsibility for their own addictions.

After the performance, David served as moderator for the panelists who spoke of issues such as watching porn. George Collins described how he saw individuals in counseling who struggled with porn, had their lives negatively impacted by porn, and have lost marriages and children. George Collins noted how courageous David Kleinberg is for telling his story. "If you can tell your story, that gives the next person courage to tell his or her story."

At Compulsion Solutions, the counselors often ask clients to both see and understand their stories. Annie Sprinkle and Lizzie Lipstick attributed at least some of the activities in pornographic movies as expressions of love. In general, the audience reacted with incomprehension at this claim.

It seemed that Annie and Lizzie had little awareness of the impact of sex addiction. They spoke of angry wives who don’t understand and guys who need help in the bedroom. On the other hand, George Collins talked about how porn promotes objectification and how Compulsion Solutions encourages true intimacy.

Although there were few sparks between the panelists, the evening succeeded in both entertaining and enlightening the audience members. Kudos to David Kleinberg for bravely sharing his story and encouraging others to do the same.