Pornstar Question

[theboombody]

When pornstars lament their career choice, and suffer visible pain as a result, should viewers of porn feel any shame that they're consumers in an industry where a portion of the industry's employees feel such shame and spiritual pain? Even if the pain is brought upon themselves where no one forced the pornstars to choose the path they chose? Does the viewer bear any responsibility whatsoever for the pornstar's pain?

G-rated Shock Value
"No bad words. Just bad ideas."

 

[JoJo]

Interesting question. I'm leaning towards the response that if the pornstar willingly gave their consent, without any coercion or lack of other options, then they're responsible for their own career choice and any negative consequences that may come of it.

It becomes greyer though if they chose that option to avoid otherwise crushing poverty, similar to Fantine's choice to become a prostitute in Les Miserables to keep her young daughter from starvation, in that case arguably the consumers hold some responsibility. But then again, if those consumers didn't exist then she might have no options at-all and have died much earlier... it's complicated.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well...the issue of consent is a very murky area with porn. As well as common or garden threats and coercion, once you become a porn actress, most other people do not want to hire you.

Secondly...the viewer is involved in maintaining that system, the same as any consumer supports whoever they get their product from.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

You could just as easily argue that it's society's bilious, condemnatory attitude towards "promiscuity" that creates the "shame and spiritual pain" porn stars eventually seem destined to endure, as well as trapping them in the career due to a lack of other options. Given that this is the reality we live in and that it's not exactly a secret, certainly porn consumers do bear some culpability...even if only tangentially.

 

[Comocat]

I think that unlike other screw-ups in life, porn is essentially forever. I probably fuck things up on a daily basis, but usually maybe myself and a couple other people ever know about it. For example, there is a story every few years about a teacher losing their job because some kid found their teacher in an old porn vid.

That being said, AFAIK sex trafficking isnt a huge problem in the (legitimate) porn industry, so I dont feel bad at all about decisions people made.

 

[krazykidd]

Nope. What ever happens is entirely their fault. Assuming they did it of their own free will. Stop trying to scapegoat everything.

 

[Yopaz]

Stop pushing your morals. We get it, sex is evil.

To answer your question, no, the viewer is not to blame for the fact that some people get paid to fuck in front of a camera. The legal portion of porn does require a contract, they are being paid, they are paying taxes and while the job they do is degrading and makes it hard for them to get jobs outside of porn it's their choice. Some of them even like the job they do.

Respect other people. You are projecting a lot. People who have had sex with several people can't experience intimacy. Porn stars are suffering. This is your views, not facts.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Respect other people. You are projecting a lot. People who have had sex with several people can't experience intimacy. Porn stars are suffering. This is your views, not facts.

It is a fact for a large number of people working in a very exploitative industry.

Certainly, it may not be true for all, but that doesn't mean there's no truth to it.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Not any more than we should feel sorry for a factory worker who gets injured on the job making something we use.

And besides the lack of a logical reason, I don't believe there is ever a circumstance where someone [i/]should[/i] feel shame. Shame is an emotion that simply happens and if someone doesn't feel it, they're completely within their rights. Telling someone what to feel defeats the point of feeling.

That kind of preaching and chastising is purely self-serving. It doesn't help anyone other than the person who wants to feel superior for feeling the "right" emotion.

 

[wulf3n]

Respect other people. You are projecting a lot. People who have had sex with several people can't experience intimacy. Porn stars are suffering. This is your views, not facts.

It is a fact for a large number of people working in a very exploitative industry.

Certainly, it may not be true for all, but that doesn't mean there's no truth to it.

It's only a fact if you can prove it... Source?

 

[Adventurer2626]

I feel empathy for those that were actually forced into it or had the choice of doing it or living in poverty or on the street. Otherwise not too much. It very much depends on the individual situation. If pornstars wish to make their living the way they do, I have no objections so long as they understand the industry. Sadly life does not forgive naivete or ignorance.

 

[wulf3n]

You could just as easily argue that it's society's bilious, condemnatory attitude towards "promiscuity" that creates the "shame and spiritual pain" porn stars eventually seem destined to endure, as well as trapping them in the career due to a lack of other options. Given that this is the reality we live in and that it's not exactly a secret, certainly porn consumers do bear some culpability...even if only tangentially.

But it's not the porn consumers that create the environment of "shame and spiritual pain" it's the non porn consumers. They're the one's who are culpable.

 

[loc978]

You could just as easily argue that it's society's bilious, condemnatory attitude towards "promiscuity" that creates the "shame and spiritual pain" porn stars eventually seem destined to endure, as well as trapping them in the career due to a lack of other options. Given that this is the reality we live in and that it's not exactly a secret, certainly porn consumers do bear some culpability...even if only tangentially.

Hear hear, harumph and other such stuffy expressions of agreement. I'd also like to make the mandatory reference to societal double-standards here:
For a woman in this society, having acted in porn is forever shameful... for a man, at worst it's a dirty little secret on-par with being an extra in a universally reviled film... at best it's a mark of excellence.

I say if folks wanna hate "sluts", "whores", et cetera... they should hate me as well. I would welcome the sudden lack of hypocrisy.

To the OP and "spiritual pain"...

Spoiler: your brain has a higher polygon count than your spirit

your brain has a higher polygon count than your "spirit"

 

[Thaluikhain]

Not any more than we should feel sorry for a factory worker who gets injured on the job making something we use.

It could be argued that, in this case, the harm is the point.

But, putting that aside, should we feel responsible for buying products sourced from somewhere that treats its workers badly?

It's only a fact if you can prove it... Source?

What? That the porn industry is exploitative, or the porn stars are often treated badly? Neither of those two points is particularly controversial.

 

[Yopaz]

Respect other people. You are projecting a lot. People who have had sex with several people can't experience intimacy. Porn stars are suffering. This is your views, not facts.

It is a fact for a large number of people working in a very exploitative industry.

Certainly, it may not be true for all, but that doesn't mean there's no truth to it.

Oh, the industry is rotten and I suspect there's quite a few shady things under the covers. However I think the reason they are exploited is that they don't really have anywhere to turn. Because society won't accept them outside of their web history.

I'm just pissed at this guy for making these threads based on nothing but his own opinion including a reference to a Youtube series on his channel in several posts and for every thread he starts. He has made a thread about how Christianity should strive to prevent fornication, he has made a thread about how you can't experience intimacy if you have had sex with more than one person and now he's making this thread about how porn stars are suffering "spiritually". I'm more pissed off by claiming that it's their spirit that's suffering rather than the fact that they have been boxed into a line of work due to desperation.

I apologize for this rant and for not making my point clear in the first place. I've just had it with this guy posting variations of the same several times.

 

[wulf3n]

What? That the porn industry is exploitative, or the porn stars are often treated badly? Neither of those two points is particularly controversial.

No, that people who work in an exploitative industry can't experience intimacy.

edit: and/or that they majority are suffering to a lesser extent.

 

[Harleykin]

"oh no people in porn are being exploited"...they type on their smartphone wearing shoes from that one big brand sitting in that minimum wage slave pit of a franchise store drinking an moccalattemaladingdong for 0.99c .

comparing numbers to ppl actually being exploited compared to "oh no those poor pornstars" is hilarious to me.

yous said it right in the opening
the path they chose

smokers smoke
boozers drink
pornstars do that one thing (no bad words)

 

[Angelous Wang]

Respect other people. You are projecting a lot. People who have had sex with several people can't experience intimacy. Porn stars are suffering. This is your views, not facts.

It is a fact for a large number of people working in a very exploitative industry.

I would ague this is very country specific, in the UK and USA I really don't think you will find it is "very exploitative" because there is a shit load of laws and rules that governments actually enforce because they are always concerned about legal pornography becoming illegal prostitution.

If you said it was very exploitative is Russia on the other hand, I'd probably agree. If you just look at the amount of new (real) 18 year old girl videos that show up in a year the amount of Russian girl vidoes dwarfs the amount of USA/UK girls.

 

[Yopaz]

What? That the porn industry is exploitative, or the porn stars are often treated badly? Neither of those two points is particularly controversial.

No, that people who work in an exploitative industry can't experience intimacy.

I don't think he ever made that claim. I was simply referring to a different thread made by the OP and he disagreed with the bulk of my post and not necessarily that statement.

Edit: I quoted you before the edit. You made a fair point in that one. Sorry for jumping the gun.