When I found the article listed below, I figured it might do some people good. Entering the porno business is not as simple as some might think. One thing the author did not touch on in his letter that I would like to, is threats and violence aimed at sex workers of any kind, including porno stars. I have never met the writer of the article that follows my introduction, but the letter is fairly accurate if even understated.
There are a great many people out there with deep seeded sexual hang-ups. When these people come across or are faced with a women they find sexually threatening, they react poorly at best. In my nearly 3 years in adult movies, I have received HUNDREDS of very explicit death/rape/injury threats. They come in dam near daily. I have been attacked in a restaurant for being “BisexualBritni” and a scum bag who is destroying the world. I have been accosted at parties for daring saying “no thanks” to having sex. After all, “BisexualBritni” always says yes, right? I have had my car vandalized by people scratching religious icons into the paint and words such as whore and slut. People have actually done the work to figure out who I am, then tracked down my parent’s and informed them of my career choice. They have actually shown up at my mom’s place of employment to talk to her.
Of course, what are you going to do? Call the cops? When you call the cops and let them know your being stalked and they ask you why, make sure you tell them about your career and website. See how much they care about what is happening to you after they find out who and what you are. More likely then not, they will start investigating you and later arrest you for the content on your website. Sound far fetched? Have seen it happen 3 times already. A girl calls the police to report a stalker or even a direct physical attack, only to find herself defending an obscenity charge a month later. Of course, if you are in porno, you had better spend a large portion of your profits on a lawyer with the connections and skills to defend these sorts of legal attacks. I was forced to hire Larry Walters out of Florida. He is the PREMIER attorney in the country as it pertains to adult websites and adult actresses/actors. Bear in mind, the best is likley the most expensive. So, as you make mo! ney, never forget a large chunk of that belongs to the guy that keeps your ass out of jail. Never even consider being in the adult business without strong legal counsel.
Never forget, once your in porn you are part of a suspect class. You will be directly equated with pedophilic child rapists and you will be treated accordingly. Once you have been in porno, you can never have anything to do with anyone’s children. Whether male or female you are now a sexual criminal/predator in societies eyes. If a child ever makes ANY complaint about anything you may have done, you are automatically GUILTY. See, you’re a sicko porno person, of course you are capable of molesting and harming kids. You are guilty before you ever walk into a court room. Of course, if you have kids and divorce, you will no longer have kids. Your spouse will beat you to death with porno in divorce court. He/she will do it and get away with it. You will be lucky if you can see your kids twice a year, while being supervised by social services, when your spouse is done with you. After all, you are a sicko sex addict who might have sex with your kids if you are ever left alone! with them.
Last but not least. Your personal credability is gone. Forever will you be tying to sell something. People will never accept you for who you are. If you attend a swing party, it is to sell tapes and advertise yourself. If you dare show up in an online dating service, you are just there to advertsise your site. After all, why would a porn star need any help finding love or a sex friend, right? Middle aged women will find you so threatening that you will NEVER be invited to any sort of swingers party. They will say it is becuase you have sex with so many people and likely have AIDS. The real reason of course, is that they do not want their men within 100 yards of the porno star they jerk off to at night. So, if you think that being in porno opens sexual doors, it does just the opposite. It scares people and drives them away. Men are afraid they will not compare well to the professional men I have worked with and women do not want to be compared to me. Both, simply avoid me whe! n it comes down to the brass tacks.
Think twice before jumping into porn with both feet and your eyes closed. It is not the pleasure ride you may thnk it is. If you could simply read the replies I will get from this email, it might be enough to stop you. I will get HUNDREDS of emails telling me I deserve all the bad things that have happened to me. I will get more threats and accusations. The letters will be vile, filthy and ugly attacks on me. Of course, while these people are attacking me, a fellow Amercican they have never met, they will consider themselves on the moral highground. Attacking strangers with death threats is no where near as bad as being in porno, right? Get used to that mentality becuase people actually believe it.
Britni
Original Article......
So, you wanna be a porn star? The glamour and glitz has you awe struck and star struck? The easy money, hot sex, bright lights and fame have turned you into a groveling, begging porno wanna be? Before you make that final decision moving from “wanna be” to “active performer” make sure you consider some of my following points.
The United States has a few very deep hang ups that is rarely ever lets people recover from. Anything sex/sexual oriented is one of those areas. If a girl escorts when she is 19 to put herself though college, later becoming the senior trauma surgeon for a major hospital you can bet the year of prostitution will never be forgotten nor forgiven. She will always be that doctor who used to be a hooker. Thirty years after escorting, that stigma will still be attached. Now, what do you think will happen to you after you appear in a few hundred porno movies? Think it will be forgotten after you elect to leave the business? If you think so, you are dead wrong. Once a porno star always a “former porno star” and that is simply the way it is.
Girls especially, have a hard time getting past having ever performed in adult movies. They will always be seen as easy, cheap and slutty. “Any girl who would do porn must be a trampy whore”. That’s what the world believes and that is what you can expect to deal with forever. Future boyfriends and husbands will react poorly to it, and you may find it easier to lie to them and simply omit ever telling them. Of course, setting yourself up for the time one of your husband’s friends sees you in a movie and decides your husband needs to know what kind of person his wife is. A divorce laying in wait.
Contemporary morality standards simply does not make room for porno stars. Even the swinging community turns its back on current or previous porno stars. The adult industry sells nearly 15 billion dollars a year worth XXX movies but amazingly, no one watches it. Society jerks off to your movies with it’s right hand while pushing you away with it’s left hand. The flock to see porno stars at conventions but would simply never actually date one and certainly never take one home to Mom and Dad. Ask any porno star, especially girls, how her so called fans react the very second she says no to having sex with them. “You Stupid, AIDS infested, anal taking, cock-sucking WHORE”. Alas, their true opinion of you. If you forget that, you are in for a long ride.
Let us talk about the fallacy of money in porno. The average girl in porno makes about $800 for a simple boy-girl scene. About $1000 for a boy-girl scene involving anal sex. Orgy scenes with some of the better companies may pay upwards of $3000 but the girl really needs to be prepared to be brutalized by 20 guys with 11 inch cocks for 5 hours. Most girls are simply not up to that level of performance/abuse. A new girl in adult movies is new for about 120 days. She had better make the mark she came to make before that time is up. After that time, her work will get scarce as newer girls hit porno valley. There are hundreds of new 18 year old girls in the valley every month, practically begging to get laid on screen. Girls, also keep this in mind. The “biz” is all about youth. Every day past your 18 birthday is one day past the industry prime. Several companies will not even talk to girls after their 20th birthday. If you think you are going to break into adult movies at 27 yea! rs old, for get it. It will never happen. Last but not least girls: The “biz” has also become a place for ultra hardcore movies. If, as a new performer, you have issues with swallowing, anal, double penetrations, piss play and mildly violent sex scenes, you are likely to be ignored. As with sports, the “biz” has become about pushing the envelope and extreme events. So, back to point one. Five years from now, how do you explain to the man you want to spend the rest of you r life with how you could have possible done 7 black guys, who did you vaginally and anally, forcing you to take interenal cum shots and lots of semen swallowing? Of course, ending the video ends with the girl being a human toilet and allowing 7 guys to piss her face and in her mouth. Is this really an explanation you want to make? Think about it.
I have watched the porno business for about 5 years now. Two names come to mind as having actually made money and thus possibly made the sacrifice worth it. Jenna Jameson, the hands down, most sought after porn star in the history of the world. Then, the only girl to ever beat Jenna Jameson in a fan based popularity contest, BisexualBritni. These two girls have employed radically different styles to achieve fame and fortune. Jenna Jameson using natural good looks, charm and a classic porn star personality to make her presence known. Then, we have BisexualBritni. A girl who lacking some of the natural physical gifts bestowed Jenna Jameson, made her mark with a masterful, almost artsy domination of the internet. BisexualBritni’s ability to self promote is rivaled by no one I have ever seen on the InterNet and that includes Danni Ashe and Carol Cox. BisexualBritni, via web marketing genius no one yet really understood, took over a famous InterNet fan based contest and made a ga! me of it. During the 2002 Rog Reviews fan contest, Britni boasted that she could not be beaten on the InterNet and set out to prove it. The adult industry took little notice at first. Britni made it through the first few rounds eliminating people like Tera Patrick, Jewel DeNyle, Bridgette Kerkove and many others. By the time the 4th was starting and it was BisexualBritni VS Aurora Snow, the industry get interested. The “biz’ did all it could to ensure BisexualBritni would not defeat Aurora Snow but their attempts failed. BisexualBritni blew Aurora Snow out of the water by nearly 20 percentage points. The next round pit BisexualBritni against Jenna Jameson herself. The Jenna camp and ClubJenna.com pulled out all the stops and found themselves, a week later, on the losing end of a 4 percentage point margin. Had a mere girl, lacking any corporate backing whatsoever actually beaten Jenna Jameson at her own game? Incredibely, yes, she had. The final round was a run off between a! very famous and well known Jill Kelly contract girl named Jen! na Haze. BisexualBritni, after invading and taking over Ms. Haze’s online clubs routed Jenna by nearly 40 percentage points. The single most lopsided victory in the history of the contest. The adult world freaked out and BisexualBritni’s web mastery was never again to be under-estimated. To this day, BisexualBritni has never lost a single fan based or professional poll on the InterNet.
Jenna Jameson, the most recognizable face in adult movie history is sure to become a legend long after she retires from adult movies. Her style, grace and awesome acting skills are likely to turn her mainstream at some point. When that is, no one really knows for sure. Unfortunately, Jenna will always be looking over her shoulder and will always be a “former porno star” and that will hamper if not kill any chance she has of becoming a mainstream actress. Does that really matter though? Its been reported that Jenna already has more money then she can spend and her draw in the adult movie world remains very strong. If she does not break into mainstream movies, her career and financial status is secure on porn.
Of all the current porn girls, and there are hundreds of them, I can think of TWO that made real money in the adult movie biz. The rest, even some of the larger names, simply make 5 or 6 thousand a month while under contract and this is about it. That seems like a great deal of money to some, but $5000 a month is not real money and will not carry you after you retire. BisexualBritni and Jenna Jameson have been reported to have made millions of dollars in the adult biz. Jenna mostly from movies and the sale of movies. BisexualBritni from her website and internet ventures. The rest of the girls we so often hear about, The Gauges , Aurora Snows, Jenna Haze's and others will all simply get old and dissapear without ever putting away much. Will have been fun while it lasted but the reality of after porn and seeking real jobs will be an eye opening experience. Since both Jenna Jameson and BisexualBritni own several of their own business, it is unlikely either one will ever work fo! r another person as long as they live.
Now, we do not want to forget the men. You think you have a huge hard on and want to share it with the world? Go for it, give it a try. First of all, the porno biz will practically shut you out as they hear from 100,000 new men a month who are convinced they are porno material. You think having sex in your bedroom is at all like having sex in on the sound stage? Think again. Men, picture this. Your supposed to work with two girls on Monday morning. Of course, the girls know one another but do not know you. These girls have already worked with the whos who of men in the adult world. They have very little patience for failure and newbies. You show up and introduce yourself. The girls barely look up at you and grunt a hello back. Ten minutes later you hear them mocking you while they are having their make up done. Now, you step onto a set in which you know the girls are already making fun of you, and stand in front of 10 people you have never met. Lighting people, camera people! , set directors, ect. Now, you have to get it hard and have sex with these two girls who don’t really like you, in front of people who have planned for your failure by having another male actor standing by. The director barks at you to work it and get an edge and step into the ongoing lesbian scene. You do so. You step in for the meet and greet and have to keep your cock hard for the full 10 minutes with nothing is being done to you. Then, the sex starts but it is constantly stopped for angle, lighting and position changes. Not to mention, the girls who barely look at you when the camera is off. The lights are hot and you have to keep stopping. The scene takes nearly 4 hours to shoot. The director gets annoyed at you because you keep stooping the action to avoid cumming and when asked to cum, cant do it right away. The girls hate you, its hot and the entire set is hoping you fail because it gives them something to talk about for the next few days. Pressure is on because you! know this is shoot number 1 and you will likely never get ano! ther chance if you blow this.
Does this really sound like fun? Does it all mirror or even resemble the finished product you see on the VHS tapes you rent? I assure you, if you want your manhood to be lost in front of an entire stage crew, try porno once. Just once. Its like the only shot you will ever get at it or will ever want at it.
So, we have dispelled the myths. You will not get rich. Its not that much fun and you will be stigmatized for life. So, if you still want to do it, get in line. Just keep a copy of this letter in your packet as an “I told you so” when it is all over.
Regrettably, BisexualBritni retired from movies about 5 months ago citing the fact she could no longer make the hardcore movies she enjoyed making due to a changing legal climate. She was quoted as saying, “I would rather not make movies them make lamo, vanilla movies”. We here at Adult Entertainment News wish you the very best. You were a force to be reckoned with and you changed the industry forever.
Travis C. Leanoard, Associate Editor Adult Entertainment News
SueR, I do not know for which reason you did post this in the forum, I suppose you did it to warm up the environment. Personally, this kind of post is what I really dislike about public discussion forums like this one. It is the syndrome that takes people to spend a lot of their time getting entertained by a certain environment and then start to talk all the worst things about it. Sometimes the people who do this (like in this case) are even insiders of that business. In Italy we have one way to call this: "spitting in the plate where you are eating". Around here that is considered a really vile behaviour. I am presently working as a salesman/pr in the farming equipment business. Personally I would deny that intensive farming is harmful to the environment even in front of the biggest evidence (which is very far to surface, anyway). This is because I know where my money comes from and I will defend the source of it with all of my forces until I am phisically and mentally able to do it. It seems to me that Mr. Travis C. Leanoard is not very good at that, or maybe he is just dumb and he does not understand that, in case most of the potential new talents read what he wrote and took him seriously, the shortage of performers could result in a recession of the hardcore industry and his (main? second?) job would be gone.
Then, I would also say that I really can not see all that stigma attached to porn and that is not because I have never had an insider view of it. A few years ago I had been doing some writing of porn texts for an Italian porn website, as a second job, to pick up some more money. Since I do not think that this was something to be ashamed of, I did not hide the thing from anyone (though I could, texts are basically anonymous and there were no pictures of me there) and all my friends and relatives (parents included) knew about this. The whole thing produced just some mild joke, but I did not lose any friend or never had any anger reaction from anyone who did knew it. The only funny drawback was that, with the passing of the words, a guy that I haven't met for a while one day stopped me and told me "Hey, you're great, I have heard you had been screwing some chick for a porn site". Nothing that could not be dealt with a bit of irony. More, though I did not manage the mailbox of that website personally, AFAIK no threatening e-mail ever arrived there. The only drawback of my experience with the porn business was that the company that managed the site after a few months got broke and I was not paid the last few texts that I wrote. But that is something common to whole publishing sector (I have had similar problems with publishers of mainstream movie magazines, music meagazines and even with a pig farming technical website) and maybe it could have been helped by the fact that that company purchased their images from Vivid! So, while I live in one of most sexually conservative countries in Europe, Italy, a place where no 18 years old enters porn and the fresh young local starlets that have producers fighting for their services (because you cannot find better than that) are on average 35-40 years old. Thus, It looks strange to me that, in a country like the USA where you have literally thousands of young girls entering the porn business each year, you have people taking track of all of them, stalking them, threating them and so on ...
To sum it up, the whole piece sounds like something made up just to create some fuzz against the business and may be to scare away some performers from this forum.
I don't know about hundreds of evil emails and death threats, but then, I probably don't receive the quantity of email that some do. I have received threats, rantings about my chosen profession, and personal attacks in email. I have been physically and verbally attacked in person. I have withstood vandalism to my property, and my family has endured in the face of harassment. It's not an everyday occurence, but it happens often enough that I'm always looking over my shoulder, and waiting for the next time. I didn't enter the industry blind, having been an adult entertainer for several years already, I knew that it was only going to be more of the same. You see, you don't even have to do porn to be stigmatized as a sex worker. Just being a topless dancer is enough.
It's real. It's not right, it's not fair. If it scares a few would-be performers off, good, better that they never live out their porno dream than that they regret it for the rest of their life. This isn't buzz against the industry, the industry isn't doing this to us.
The only way to stop the persecution is to bring it out into the open.
(edited because I kept spelling receive like this : receieve)
Unfortunately, doing 'better' is just what they're telling themselves they're doing. I think it's hilarious (only because the alternative is untenable) that some Americans can do this kind of thing at the same time they're sneering at the Germans for Nazism.
You've replaced 'racial purity' with 'religious conviction' and now its OK? Actions speak louder than words and if they believe attacking people they disapprove of will get them into heaven, all I've got to say is, 'Hot enough for you?'
PS - Didn't some obscure Jewish guy say, 'Judge not, lest ye be judged?' Nah, I must be hallucinating again.
Editing is the aerosol of brain farts.
Edited by - hardware on 12/10/2003 12:11:36 AM
[Link]
humpsack Deactivated User
1 Posts 12/03
Posted - Dec 10 2003 : 3:20AM
It's great that you have the pulse of America. Obviously everyone in America is a closet porn Nazi. Especially because verbally accosting someone or vandalizing their property is right up there with gassing an entire race of people. Idiot.
While I don't condone any violence or vandalism, you have to understand where these anti-porn zealots come from. The same place as the "religous" groups that picket gay funerals: they are borderline retarded.
I know I damn sure don't have my finger on any cultural pulse (God, I hope not, I lack proper medical training), but I've figured out a lot about people just through observation and a smattering of empathy. I don't always like what I see, but I don't try to sugarcoat it or make it out to be worse than it is, either.
Here's a take, it's my take, take it or leave it: some of the reasons people join a cult, or adhere to and congregate within some denomination of their chosen religion, or volunteer their time in a charitable organization or even join the military (other than for college money ), is to feel like they are serving some purpose greater than themselves, that the organization's goals are nobler and more worthwhile than any individual goals or aspirations that person may have had. (Sure, I know I'm simplifying; I do that a lot. I read Stephen Wolfram. )
You don't have to be borderline retarded to make poor judgement calls and then be reluctant to second-guess those decisions (especially if you've taken an oath and signed a contract, or fear for your immortal soul). I'm sure the Jonestown people thought they were part of something wonderful and exciting, something that was going to make the world a better place. Were they all retarded? No, just misguided.
Ya can't just attack someone on semantics and then make some wild generalization as your supporting argument, though! (I speak from experience, grasshopper).
Thoughts on the letter: People don't always know, when going into something new, what the long-term effects are going to be. I believe an article like SueR posted would be helpful to a young girl considering making some dough in the adult industry. I wish there was a letter like this for a lot of different things people get themselves into and then either have a hard time extricating themselves from or find the ramifications of that decision linger with them for an inordinate amount of time (or forever).
Oooh, I got to use the word "ramifications". OK, bonus round: borrowing from the cliche poll -- it only takes one "aw shit" to wipe out a million "attaboys". Let's say you get caught smoking a joint at the in-laws or pop positive on a random piss test at work. From then on out, until the day you die, as far as anyone who knows about it is concerned -- you're the pothead. Sounds like the same things stick to porn people (well, a lot of things would probably stick to porn people, especially after a bukkake or what have you).
All that said and best unread, I fear the religious zealots most of all because they have nothing to lose and nothing to fear -- they've got eternal salvation or 70 virgins to aspire to. What do the silent majority of us reasonable, rational people have? All I can figure is this: be nice to each other. That's all. And learning cause and effect, that would help. Those are my beefs, and I like 'em medium rare.
Did I say anything new and/or worthwhile? I'm never sure. Pass the conch, cobalt. Yes, cobalt.
Ouch ! That was bad , that was very bad ! Didn't stop me from laughing my ass of though , did it .
I put the icon in as a demonstration of what laughter should look like . I don't know about you but I often paint myself turquoise , curl up into a ball , and roll over and over when the mood for a good guffore takes me !
Yep , I fear them too . I'm talking here about the extremists mind , not the more normal religious types . I mean the people who put the 'fun' back in fundamentalism ( joke from the Simpsons , not Lee ) . They've handed over responsibility for their actions to a higher power , and can find justification for their deeds in the ancient scribblings of long dead men . Take away all sense of responsibility from a person and you have a very dangerous situation indeed .
Most of the *advice* from that article looks to apply equally to performers of any kind , and isn't probably the exclusive domain of pornstars . Say , the pressure on a first time male actor , or the money worries if you've not made a little nest egg for future years . The stigma issue does have to be a worry though . As far as porn has come towards mainstream acceptability , there's still a bridge that hasn't been crossed . Attacking a fine woman , a fine person like Kimi is crazy to me . It doesn't do you any good my dear , but I want you to know that I have been thinking about you today . Hopefully that doesn't come across too patronizingly .
We haven't seen you around here for a while now Sue , what's up ( BTW SueR = sewer ? , a play on words ? a statement about your feelings of revulsion towards porn ? or a mere coincidence ? )?
All seems a bit of a shame really... to be loathed for shagging for the entertainment of the masses…
I can appreciate the basic embarrassment of it all: porn is a display of stuff that’s been essentially private for hundreds of years. Well, at least in my street. And coming face to face with it in an unsexy environment is akin to having your fantasies wrenched out of your head and shared with the congregation at your grandma’s church. “And Mr TG has discovered a taste for remarkably fit Euro-babes swivelling on multiple dicks and gargling sperm! Would you read the lesson, TG?” “Certainly, Vicar – may I die of shame first?”
Which I guess is the gap between the reality (that girl in the office needing food and charm and promise before stripping, sucking and fucking), the daydream (that girl in the office spontaneously stripping, sucking and fucking) and the porno version (that Hungarian intern challenging the post room boys to tag-team DPs before taking the franking machine up the arse). The last two are about fantasy; the first is about containing fantasy in a social environment. (BTW - the whole franking machine type thing: may I commend all porn people for their super sphincteriness. I cry from paper cuts, fuck knows how you get through five hours of implement-hell. You should get prizes, or some kind of pension).
Which makes me wonder what sort of social environment someone lives in that makes them want to pick on porn-babes. The ladies what shag for our pleasure. Here’s my pitch, Ms Porn-person: I like to wank, you like to perform. That’s you and me done: me in living-room, you on screen. Now, if I were a good-godly boy, that might become: I like to slog through tomes of godly goodness, you are an evil slut-bitch from hell. Which obviously translates to liberal-speak as: “I’m an inarticulate cretin (look up ‘cretin’– always worth a chuckle that one) with sexual urges constrained by the texts and personal values of my faith. And, God damn it, you make me think of sex all the time! Ah! Get out of my head!”
Which is to say, religious types take their social environment with them and will insist upon dumping that crap on everyone else. That it turns to bullying and violence demonstrates how little they recognise their beliefs as beliefs rather than facts. And it’s horrible. And you have all my sympathies – as far as the sympathies of a happy wanker may matter. What I don’t get is why the good-godlies don’t turn on those big-haired, moustachioed cable-preachers? They all look like they’re about to drop the shiny suits and pummel the arse off a chubby ‘70s chick with a nasty perm. These are porn stars from a world without sex!
I guess good-godly-types have their own equivalent of the daydream (the world is filled with love, those pullover/jumper things, and oddly silent, undescribed sex), the cable version (“you will all believe or burn in hell – THE FRANKING MACHINE WAS JUST THE BEGINNING!!!”), and reality (no-one much cares or understands what we believe, and they seem to find the pressure we bring intrusive and sometimes threatening. And they think sex is fun. Oh bugger, I’m small, my values don’t influence the world, and I’m losing control!!!). Which is great, because in a few years you’ll be able to scream “Christian!” at them in the street and they’ll run for cover.
I no more want a Christian being Christian than a porn star being porny in my office, my supermarket, or at the bus stop. I think the Christian should do it in his room, the porn star do it on my TV, and I’ll sit in the front room, happily wanking…
And as for destroying the world – hah! I pay, you earn, they irrelevant. There. That works. Let’s yell about what the world was all along…
About 12 years ago, I was stalked at work by a man who was emotionally unstable, and oddly enough, it started when he came to view me as some kind of 'slut'. It began when he erroneously thought I had an affair with a married man (not the case at all, I was just friends with the guy), but nothing would change the stalker's mind about it.
The first guy, Pete, would follow me around work, park his car near mine, leave work at the same time I did, stare at me in a lascivious way, at meetings and especially during lunchtime in the cafeteria. He didn't do it out of any religious principles, he wasn't religious. He did it because it was amusing, to see me look so uncomfortable, whenever he wanted to . Basically, it made a boring workday for him less boring.
After 6 months of this, it finally came to an end when one of the senior managers confronted him, and told him there would be serious negative consequences to his pay, and maybe even his job, if Pete continued on with these games. It stopped immediately, not because Pete had new found respect for me, but because he valued his salary.
So, I have sympathy for porn actresses who have way more of this behavior to put up with, it's just awful to deal with, and in my case, it didn't stop until another man got involved.
Let's not forget that this type of unacceptable behavior happens towards other professions as well. Sports figures, Hollywood movie stars, musicians, etc. The most likely culprit of these crimes are religious zealots or mentally ill people (often both). Although I could imagine that it happens to porn stars / adult entertainers even more than the others. You would hope that entertainers of any kind would be informed about these unsavory individuals before they even consider going into their profession.
But I guess her fiancé or husband would have no problem whatsoever if it were 7 white guys who did all those things. It's funny how some people are so prone to revealing their racism without even realizing it. And notice his misleading use of the word 'forcing' (buying into the mainstream media myth that women in porn are 'raped' or 'forced' to do things against their will).
As for Mr. Leanoard's article as a whole, some of his points are valid (even BisexualBritni and Kimi Lixx have corroborated some of them), some are exaggerated, and some aren't true at all:
* Many women enter porn over the age of 20. Many have porn careers that span many years (for example, Nina Hartley has been in porn since the 1980s).
* Women who leave porn are routinely and readily absorbed into the regular (non-porn) workforce. Some go to trade school, some to college. Some women continue to work in porn behind the camera in various capacities.
* Women who are contract stars with feature film companies generally don't do the really extreme stuff. Even in gonzo, there are many women who don't do pissing, anal, DP, gangbangs, etc. To the best of my knowledge, Nautica Thorn, for instance, doesn't do the extreme stuff. Ditto for Serena South and many others. There is plenty of work in porn for women who aren't willing to do the really hard stuff. The women who do the really hard stuff are doing it by choice (and are well-compensated for their services).
* While it's true that most porn women don't make nearly as much money as BisexualBritni or Jenna Jameson do, nonetheless, most women working hardcore porn find themselves earning far more money in a month than the average American does. For example, just one vag scene a week can yield upwards of $3,000 in a month for less than one day's work per week. And if a woman plans out her porn career before starting it, paces her career once she's begun, and manages her money wisely, she can be far better off financially than most Americans ever will. Selena Silver is on that track. Bridgette Kerkove went that route. Any woman can if she so chooses (sadly, most don't, but that's not the fault of porn).
* Not every man would have a problem with his fiancé or wife having been a porn star. In fact, I'll bet that any ex-porn star who genuinely wants to marry would be able to find a mate who'll accept her regardless of her past (and I believe she should tell him upfront as soon as the relationship becomes serious). Plus, as we all know, some porn stars (male and female) are already married or have girlfriends or boyfriends who accept what they do for a living (IIRC, that was even true of BisexualBritni during her porn career and still is as far as I know).
* While there are a lot of sickos in society, not everyone in society reacts negatively or judgmentally to porn stars (or ex-porn stars). In fact, what we're really talking about here is the lunatic fringe, because most people don't act that way. As Recondite pointed out, anybody in the public limelight (including mainstream celebrities) are more susceptible to the lunatic fringe than ordinary citizens (though as Kimi Lixx pointed out, they pose a particular threat to female sex workers of all types, not just porn).
* Regarding the plight of porn studs, not all the women they work with hold them in contempt or speak ill of them behind their backs. Also, it would be counterproductive and silly if the director and crew were hoping that the porn studs would fail to perform. If that were to happen too often, they would all obviously be out of their jobs.
My purpose is not to paint a 'rosy' picture of the porn business (by many accounts, it can be a pretty tough business and there's obviously a stigma attached to it). Rather, my purpose is merely to balance some of the negatives presented by Mr. Leanoard so that, hopefully, a more realistic picture of the porn business can be gleaned. As a career, porn is obviously not for most people. But then, that's true of many other occupations as well.
There are many terrific things about doing porn and being part of the porn industry. If there wasn't, there wouldn't be any reason to do it. In light of the drawbacks that do exist, it's not hard to extrapolate just how great the perks are that keep performers from leaving.
This post was about the drawbacks, so I spoke to that aspect. If there is a thread devoted to the positive aspect of doing porn, I'll speak to that.
There is no one single experience in any industry. Some factory workers feel it is impossible for them to escape and ever do anything else. Trapped in their dead end, manual labor, low lifetime earning, job. Other factory workers are happy to be in a job that frees them from the desk, the beeper, the mental grind and physical inactivity of a white collar position. I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again. Being a porn performer is just like any other job in it's "work" facet.
Just to be clear, my last post was directed exclusively at Travis C. Leanoard for making some comments or observations that I felt were either exaggerated or not true at all. It's one thing for him to express what he feels are porn's legitimate drawbacks, but it's quite another for him to stretch the truth almost beyond recognition in some cases. However, as I mentioned before, some of his points are valid and should be given serious consideration.
Having lived a few months in Italy, let me add that generally as an European I am shocked again and again to read how conservative America is! On the other hand I cant really believe that in a country with more than 200 Million inhabitants it is not possible to just do porn like any other college holliday job and just go back to school after it without anybody knowing how you earned your money. Given this and how much the autor stresses that those girls were <abused> for many hours in a gangbang (earning them 3000 Dollars, is that true?), I guess, this is a spy-attack on the porn biz pretended to come from inside.
Why I write all this? Because the least we need is less girls. More: There is place for Hundrets of girls in porn. There is place for everybody. If a girl likes Golden Showers or wants to be pissed on for money, where is the problem?! If a girl dont likes anal, she does not do it. Also no problem. Market is so big! True every day older than 18 is 1 day too old. But many girls are actually 25 but look like <just turned 18>. Not true age is important, look only. I am new here and dont know how many girls considering a porn career might lurk in here. But if any do: Dont get dis-encouraged! Do with your body what you like, please! Dont believe those non-porn extremists, because most porn-fans just wait for YOU new girl!
The vast majority of us are not, Zander. But I agree, we have a long way to go. Can you imagine the stress created when you try to marry Christianity with Capitalism? Christianity is not a capitalist religion; I can quote you a lot of scripture to support this claim. The accumulation of material wealth is considered a no-no; the rich man has about the same chances of getting into heaven as threading a camel through the eye of a needle. Or something like that, I'm no Bible scholar. But I'll look it up.
So you take that, put "In God We Trust" on the money, then get up in front of people and say "we have freedom of religion" on one hand, but Bush's "faith-based initiatives" on the other, and it all starts to get mighty confusing and conflicted.
So change gears back to the sex issue; Jesus didn't put the onus on sex, Paul did (unless someone can correct me). I got this from Godbody by Ted Sturgeon, so please correct me if I'm wrong.
Unfortunately, in a society based on these and other accepted hypocrisies, you'll get a market flooded with hardcore pornography that shuns the very talent and production companies that provide it.
Show us how to feel good so we can feel bad about it.
Ashcroft, to pick on him again because it's fun for me, is such a sexually emotional dwarf, his antics strike me as those of a repressed 10 year old. But that's who's in power, and those are the views that get thrust onto the world stage.
Trust me, though, our so-called leaders should not be considered representative of the views of the general populace any more than anyone who lived in Germany during the Third Reich should be considered a Nazi. Right place, wrong time, happens all the time.
If we truly had not only freedom of religion but even if we truly practiced the "unofficial official" religion of Christianity the way it was intended, a lot of this stalking and harassing and stigmatism would disappear. Christians are supposed to forgive, forgive, forgive, and when you're wronged yet again, forgive yet again.
Forgiveness, tolerance and pacifism. Not Crusades against abortion clinics, sex industry workers, and other religions! Too bad the Christians who are the most vocal are like the leaders I complain about, and give people such a horrible impression of themselves -- those are the ones who turn off the rational, reasonable masses to the beauty of Christ's teachings.
I'm agnostic, by the way, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But you know what, I'd stand with a lot of the people on this board on Judgement Day, if there is such a thing, rather than the self-proclaimed righteous. I fear them. They want my soul and they don't even have correct change for it.
P.S. Anyone interested in a quick read (only 100+/- pages ADHD ADicTs), here's Godbody by Theodore Sturgeon
It saddens me beyond description to read that the people who produce this beautiful art for us could be subjected to such awful persecution.
It also infuriates me that law enforcement agencies would take the attitude described by Britni when someones life may be in danger.
Porn movies depict the wide and wonderful range of natural, loving behaviour between consenting individuals. They should be used as teaching materials in schools, for goodness sake, not forced underground by bigots.
Instead of this, the networks get rich showing our kids thirty murders a day in prime time.
Those who act in erotic films contribute at least as much to our community as sports stars and hollywood celebrities. They deserve to be treated with honour and respect.
Finally, one for the ladies. Any man who would leave you because you have worked in the industry is not worth knowing. Tell your boyfriend or fiance as soon as you get the opportunity. It gives you the chance to find out if he's a worthless bigot before it's too late.
Thanks for listening to my rant folks. If I ever find a new planet to move to, you're all invited.
porn is like any other business. it's very competitive - like working at the bank, they don't need your particular ass to get the work done. If you are unreliable, annoying, late and bitchy you will lose money and work. Maybe in porn you can get away with a little bit more than you would at a regular job. Working a job where you are the product is always hard and some people can't separate between their professional persona and their private self. It's the same as if you were a mainstream model or pop star or musician. When people critique a pop singer's work or a TV host's work it always falls back to that person. In porn you are told you're too fat, to skinny, to short, to flat or whatever and unfortunately your looks are what matters to sell the movie. That's what makes porn feel a little ugly sometimes but like I said it's not like everything is like heaven if you work for any other corporate company. Porn is a job. It's not a big party where you can show up whenever you want and where you can do whatever you want. It's business, there's budgets, schedules and dead lines but it still is a lot of fun. It's not for everybody though. You truly have to be made for this. I can only speak for myself but I truly feel that porn is the right job for me. I wanted to be a porn star since I was 16 and I believe this is what I'm good at. I like my job so much that I'm willing to deal with the few negative things that come with it. I don't feel shame for what I do in any way. I'm not rich and I don't have millions in the bank but I'm able to invest money, open up a IRA account for my retirement, pay for health insurance, I drive a nice car and I can always pay my bills on time. I make a good living with porn, I don't have to struggle financially. That's a lot to me and I'm very thankful that I can make in a day what a normal person has to work for a whole month.
I agree porn can be a horrible experience if you're not into it and if you don't like it. But sitting in an office all day can be too.
