http://www.xojane.com/sex/duke-university-freshman-porn-star
Attached is an article written by a female student at Duke University who chose to pay for her tuition by becoming a porn actress. I think I really benefited from reading this article because she has an interesting perspective from an unusual position. A porn actress who enjoys the business, and has proven herself intellectually by attending a top college. Before reading the article, I had heard about this story, just that there was a student at Duke University that did porn. I remember thinking that she was probably receiving a lot of backlash from both girls and guys. I figured extreme conservatives were probably slut-shaming her, and she would be ostracized by the moderates who, I assume at Duke, would not think they would have a lot in common with a porn actress or want to deal with the second hand backlash. I felt bad she had to deal with the conservative backlash, but thought more about the moderate crowd's response to that negative feedback. I remember wondering if I could blame them. Would I want to become more than just class friends with a porn star that is now the top news story on campus? I'd like to think I would not even consider her cloud of controversy and justify not caring to know her too well because I probably would not have enough in common with a porn actress to be best friends anyway, but college can be overwhelming enough, so who knows. I'm sorry to say that was pretty much the extent of my thought process on the story.Then I read this article, and it really made me extremely ignorant for being so sure I would not have that much in common with a student at a top University simply because she is a porn actress. I was generalizing the entire sex industry by grouping her with all of the porn actors' horror stories I had heard of people in the industry and defining her by the stereotypes attached to her job. But she makes great points, one being that we need to stop stigmatizing the industry as a whole so much, so that people feel comfortable reporting abuse, and we can better distinguish between legitimate sex workers and non legitimate. I am still hesitant to accept the legitimate sex business completely though, because I guess there are still some jobs, like stripping, where I can't decide if it is still degrading even if it is consensual. But then I feel like I am belittling the people like this student at Duke, who say that they enjoy it and they feel like they are being treated like a little girl without an opinion when people say she does not know what she is doing. What do you all think?
I am not a fan of efforts that keeps individuals from expressing themselves or finding value in life. If a person thinks that working in pornography or stripping is a desirable career path, I don't believe people should try to stop them. There is variation in individuals' personalities and just because many people may think that the career is undesirable (or would not likely be chosen it given other reasonable options), some will likely enjoy it. This student is an example of a person who has the agency to decide her own lifestyle and her story is a good counterpoint to some feminist discussion. Great post.
ReplyDeleteMy only thing about porn stars is the health risks involved. One could say that she/he is taking the same risks as any virgin having sex for the first time. So another part of me says I would rather see you get paid for it than not. But, as a parent I don't think I could handle it if it was my child's choice.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the most interesting aspects of this article is the fact that the student herself was not ashamed of her past, but she was disappointed in the reaction of her peers.
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