[Dharma Ga]

Women who work in porn are heavily critized for their choice of work. I believe in the freedom of the individual as long as no harm is done to another.

Tori Black is a favourite pornstar of mine as she genuinely seems to love porn and does it because she loves it rather than making a lot of money.

Why are women especially, so hard on women who work in porn, when the pornstars are doing what they want to do in life?

As a premise for the argument, we should exclude those pornstars who are working in porn despite not really wanting to do it.

[dalsgaard]

It's a good question. Another porn star who is doing what she likes to do is Ariel Rebel:
Top 3 Women of Montreal #1: Ariel Rebel in High Definition

I have to admit that I admire her a bit. She states in that video that 90% of the women working in the porn business, don't have any say about where they are going to shoot the scenes, or what they are going to wear. I can certainly see why someone would have something against that; but porn can also be a symbol of sexual liberation when it's done tastefully.

I don't see how women can have anything against that, and I don't think they have. Other than a lot of women don't like their boyfriends watching porn, regardless of the actress. ;)

[knittigan]

I'm going to assume we're talking about women who have a moral issue with porn itself and not the often exploitative conditions that pornstars have to work in.

Personally, I don't have a problem with pornstars. I believe that women have the right to autonomy over their own bodies and that includes the right to engage in any kind of sex work, if that is what they want to do. Ideally, if the working conditions and industry standards are high enough and a woman is truly making a choice, I think that porn can be incredibly sexually empowering. I don't think that women should be taught to feel ashamed of their bodies or ashamed of sex.

Female sexuality is still regulated more than male's is in the sense that it is seen as something that needs to be controlled and limited.* We can easily think of the double standard here.

As for women specifically hating pornstars, think of the virgin/whore dichotomy. Being a good girl means that you get things that bad girls don't (material things, a good reputation, safety), and because there is no in between and very often is indeed an overlap between the two categories (what is okay while you're in a relationship is often not okay while you're single), it's very often the case that good girls are only able to establish themselves as such by clearly pointing a finger at who the bad girls are. Since being a whore is seen as necessarily a "bad" thing, patrolling, enforcing, and maintaining that imaginary line that separates acceptable sexual conduct for women from unacceptable sexual conduct becomes of paramount importance. So when someone says that "she's a slut," what they're really saying is "I'm not a slut, I'm not like her."

Also relevant is the fact that it difficult for people to understand that sex has different meanings for everyone and <i>that is okay</I>. My upbringing aside, sex is a very intimate act for me because I'm quiet and shy. Casual sex is not for me. Been there, tried that, and it's not. And that is totally fine. I have the right to decide to not be a pornstar and the right not to engage in casual sex. But every other woman has the same right to make her own decisions about both of those and many other things completely independent of my own beliefs and values.

This is what I've observed.

*I'm not saying that there aren't problems with stereotypical male sexuality either: that men should or only do want sex all the time, that they're out of control, that male sex drive is some unstoppable force that we have to make allowances for... all of those are incredibly problematic too, and also really hurt people, just in a different way. If good female sexual subjects are never supposed to want sex, good male ones are supposed to want it all the time (including the times when they don't).

[Bote]

Nicole Sheridan also enjoys doing it (it's damn obvious lolz).

[Thomas D M Thompson]

it's the one industry where women are paid quintuple that of their male counterparts.

[fourtines]

it's the one industry where women are paid quintuple that of their male counterparts.

This.

And it's quite egalitarian - you can have all sorts of different looks and make it in porn.

I really wish women (in general) weren't so socially critical of porn, because if they looked at it they'd realize the diversity of what turns men on...it's pretty broad...it's much different than the fashion industry...there's thin women, curvy women, big tits, big ass, no tits, no ass, tall, short, redhead, blonde, brunette, Latina, Asian, black, hourglass, BBW, big naturals, voluptuous, runway model "Barbie girl" and "Pale Hipster Chick." It's actually a rather diverse industry, and yes women get paid more than men in this industry..unfortunately the only industry...but there it is...

Fetish/kink is another side variation of the porn industry, as well.

[Souljorn]

This.

And it's quite egalitarian - you can have all sorts of different looks and make it in porn.

I really wish women (in general) weren't so socially critical of porn, because if they looked at it they'd realize the diversity of what turns men on...it's pretty broad...it's much different than the fashion industry...there's thin women, curvy women, big tits, big ass, no tits, no ass, tall, short, redhead, blonde, brunette, Latina, Asian, black, hourglass, BBW, big naturals, voluptuous, runway model "Barbie girl" and "Pale Hipster Chick." It's actually a rather diverse industry, and yes women get paid more than men in this industry..unfortunately the only industry...but there it is...

Fetish/kink is another side variation of the porn industry, as well.

seriously if women didn't hate porn they could see that men love all types of women not only the unrealistic depiction of females by the tv screen.

It could greatly improve their self esteem.

[Mutatio NOmenis]

Well, women make their own standards of behavior and they are merciless about it? Ever read The Handmaid's Tale? It's obvious that if the women didn't buy into it, the society wouldn't last a day.

[Shahada]

This.

And it's quite egalitarian - you can have all sorts of different looks and make it in porn.

I really wish women (in general) weren't so socially critical of porn, because if they looked at it they'd realize the diversity of what turns men on...it's pretty broad...it's much different than the fashion industry...there's thin women, curvy women, big tits, big ass, no tits, no ass, tall, short, redhead, blonde, brunette, Latina, Asian, black, hourglass, BBW, big naturals, voluptuous, runway model "Barbie girl" and "Pale Hipster Chick." It's actually a rather diverse industry, and yes women get paid more than men in this industry..unfortunately the only industry...but there it is...

Fetish/kink is another side variation of the porn industry, as well.

I don't really think a lack of diversity is the main thrust behind most feminist critiques of pornography, but more the relentless commodification of the female form that pornography generally thrives upon.

I think there's a lot of problems with the industry itself but, especially being a male, I'd rather not engage in critiques of the actual performers. People do what they do for reasons, and in terms of "participating in an evil industry" I can't really see it as much worse than working for Lockheed Martin or something (though I would say it's probably more dangerous to the worker's mental and physical health and a lot less stable and lucrative in the long term than working at Lockheed Martin). The industry hurts the performers too, they're not really the problem anymore than a Wal-Mart greeter is the problem with Wal-Mart.

[Thomas D M Thompson]

I don't really think a lack of diversity is the main thrust behind most feminist critiques of pornography, but more the relentless commodification of the female form that pornography generally thrives upon.

Ever seen Boning Elders part 5, The Viagra Explosion? How about BBWs Orgy Party part 4? Maybe Food Sex 101: the Kink of Tenderizing?