Hey Dad, Let's Talk 2| PORN: Rape by Proxy |
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A Focus on the Family Poll (October 1, 2003), found that 47% of families surveyed admitted that pornography is a problem in their home. Porn usage is viewed by many Christians as an addictive lust issue which can destroy marriages, and is discouraged as a form of sexual immorality. The mainstream public, on the other hand, may find porn distasteful in some regards but useful in others. It is not uncommon for magazines and therapists to recommend porn usage as a means of "spicing up" a dull sex-life. It is viewed by such as an acceptable form of adult entertainment as long as it doesn't become an addiction or involve children. In general, Christians and mainstream alike are making the somewhat tacit assumption that women in the adult entertainment industry are there by free choice. The majority of Christian articles I've come across are focussed solely on the sexual immorality of the end user and that's as far as it goes. Now, if all porn stars were truly in the business consensually, then porn usage would indeed be a matter of chastity only. But if the women posing for both camera and film are actually sex slaves, then the use of pornography is far more sinister than lust. . . . 2 Main Ways in Which "Porn Stars" are Sex Slaves 1) Statuatory Rape and Teen Prostitution 2) Exploitation and Coercion
STATUTORY RAPE and TEEN PROSTITUTES What is the profile of a teenage runaway who becomes a stripper, a prostitute and/or a porn star? Such underage teens typically come from abusive childhoods and make easy prey for the pimp who comes along offering "love," food and shelter in exchange for sexual slavery. Melissa Snow at the End Human Trafficking blog reports: "Here in America, the average age a child is targeted and recruited into sex trafficking is 13 years old." Bob Herbert, New York Times opinion columnist says, "Teen girls do not 'choose' a whore's lifestyle because it is so glamorous. They are coerced, raped, beaten and controlled by pimps who take advantage of their youth and play off a popular culture that glorifies sex as something women are supposed to deliver on cue." These teenage women will eventually reach early adulthood without any sense of self-worth or dignity. They are usually addicted to drugs and alcohol as well. Where once prostitution was the only means of food and shelter, it eventually becomes the only means of financing costly substance addictions as well. If opportunity presents, posing for web sites and adult films will be done in addition to stripping and prostitution. The abuse and slavery of these young women will continue for a lifetime unless they are rescued . . . or perish from murder, suicide, AIDS, or substance overdose.
EXPLOITATION and COERCION "When I did my first adult film something very 'dark' came over me. . . . A powerful strange force enabled me to perform at intense levels only to come off the high and find myself shattered from the shame and degradation. I loved the attention but hated myself at the same time. I loved to hear how great I was but hated the brutal sex. I began to do very hardcore movies and only more drugs and alcohol could get me through them." (ex-Porn Star, Shelley Lubben) Consider where a woman is coming from to agree to a job as a stripper and/or a porn actress. Like the runaway teen, she usually comes from an abusive or negligent childhood and has never known what it means to be loved and valued as a person. In the current hook-up culture of our highschools, colleges and universities, she likely has a trail of demeaning sexual relationships behind her, drug and substance abuse, overwelming debts, and even young children to feed and clothe without a spouse. A minimum wage job will not cut it. Thus, already approaching a state of depravity and financial despair she sees an ad in the paper for a local strip club or a so-called modeling agency (often a cover for porn producers recruiting new stars!) . . . and the rest is history. "My first scene was one of the worst experiences of my life. It was very scary. It was a very rough scene. My agent didn't let me know ahead of time . . . I did it and I was crying and they didn't stop. It was really violent. He was hitting me. It hurt. It scared me more than anything. They wouldn't stop. They just kept rolling." (ex-Porn Star, Sierra Sinn) "I did over 100 xxx hardcore movies where I was slapped, hit, choked and forced to sex scenes I never agreed to." (ex-Porn Star, Michelle Avanti) " . . . Guys punching you in the face. . . . You get ripped. Your insides can come out of you. . . . You’re viewed as an object and not as a human with a spirit. . . . People do drugs because they can’t deal with the way they are being treated. . . . The main thing going around now is crystal meth, cocaine and heroin. You have to numb yourself to go on set." (ex-Porn Star, Jersey Jaxin) "I went through more heartbreaks and became suicidal. I was taken to the hospital for panic attacks. I tried to overdose on xanax, strangle myself, and cut my wrists . . . " (ex-Porn Star, Crissy Moran) Do these sound like consenting women who enjoy what they are doing?
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: If a woman is intoxicated, is she capable of willingly consenting to a sex act? Or if a woman says yes one time, does that mean you can now have sex with her whenever you want without permission? If a woman has escaped the industry but is unable to get her web site removed from the Internet (even though her contract has ended), is she consenting to the illegal use and distribution of her photographs and videos? If a woman is brutalized during the taping of an adult film, is this different from rape simply because she showed up on set? If a woman poses for a web site while under the influence of drugs, alcohol and/or emotional/mental abuse, is she acting out of free will? These are the battered and abused women who comprise the multi-billion-dollar-a-year adult entertainment industry. These are the women who look out at you with sultry "I want you" eyes and come-hither gestures - all the while dying inside, silently screaming - begging for someone to rescue them. They are actresses fueled only by self-loathing and shame and fear; fame and glamour growing dimmer and dimmer on the horizon as the blackness takes over. Puppets with deadened souls, longing to be loved and valued but finding only violence and degradation. Mere possessions; cast aside like rags once their bodies are broken and can no longer perform. Beat into submission . . . coerced and manipulated into scenes that cut away at the very core of their being. Riddled with disease. And long after their escape from the industry (or untimely deaths), their naked photographs and films will continue to circulate video stores and the Internet, as millions of men, women and teens masturbate to their images daily - subjecting these broken, abused, unloved women to sexual assault time and time again. But, you may say, not every woman in the sex industry is an abused women. They'll even brag about how much they love it. No one forced them to audition for a strip club or to build a web site. They're racking in the dough and living a glamorous lifestyle. Even if that is true in some cases, my point is that the end users have no way of knowing if the women they're relieving themselves to are sex slaves, rape victims, alcoholics, drug addicts, or willing participants. Porn sites do not have disclaimers that read, "Warning: This woman can only perform under intoxication; Warning: This woman didn't agree to the scene but we forced her to do it anyway; Warning: This woman is desperate for money and vomits between every scene; or Warning: These videos and photos were uploaded by an ex-boyfriend without consent." Certainly many young women enter the adult film industry with stars in their eyes and it may indeed be some time before they're disillusioned enough to quit the industry. It may take many years of physical and emotional abuse before she gains the desire, strength and means to escape. Or she may remain trapped for a lifetime. Those who believe that women (and men) enjoying performing porn ought to read stats on how many porn stars die untimely deaths from disease, overdose and suicide. Consider: If a woman didn't realize someone was stealing money from her bank account every month, year after year, would that make the theft okay? The woman who grows up to become a stripper after a childhood of sexual molestation is no different than the woman being robbed blind; and the woman who eagerly signs a contract but finds herself facing unwanted, traumatizing scenes - and eventually abusing substances to cope - is no different either. An untold number of teen prostitutes and porn stars are captive women who are preyed upon, exploited, battered, and assaulted by a cruel industry which is fueled and funded by the end user. By you. Because without you, there would be no one to sell the product to. By using pornography, you have become a participant and an accomplice in their ongoing abuse and trauma; even their deaths. The use of porn is not just lust: It is rape by proxy.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES: The Truth Behind the Fantasy of Porn Pornography and Sex Addiction Recovery
(c) 2010 - Bekah Ferguson Permissions: By all means, you are welcome to reproduce and distribute my articles in excerpts or complete format as long as you don't change any of the wording. If you do reproduce any part of my articles, please include the following information: by Bekah Ferguson, Ontario, Canada. www.bekahferguson.com Licensed under Creative Commons. To stay current on new blog posts, please follow me on Facebook or Twitter .
Readers have left 12 comments.  1. Respectfully disagreeJason Tab, Unregistered First, this is a very well written take on this issue. I for one don't agree with much of what you said though. End user addiction is a traumatic psychological problem, and many of these performers suffer from their own set of problems. I don't blame an industry for that no matter exploitative the industry is. And make no mistake the porn industry is exploitative but these women are paid, and in many cases paid well for that which they choose to do. Choice can't be dismissed here. They choose to exploit themselves for the pleasure, enjoyment, whatever of others. These are not sex slaves, there is no trafficking or pedophilia involved for the most part and those that so engage in those onerous acts are I believe, I hope a minority, a atrophied branch of the adult entertainment business and one that is rightfully pursued by law enforcement. "Rape by proxy" is both a thought provoking title and an extreme exaggeration of the end user/performer "relationship" and I suppose one you felt was merited. Again, I respect that but I do disagree and I'm left asking one question, what do you feel should be done about this situation? Posted 2010-11-24 13:19:24 2. re. Respectfully DisagreeBekah Ferguson, Unregistered Hi Jason. Thanks for your comments/thoughts. :) You said: "Choice can't be dismissed here. They choose to exploit themselves for the pleasure, enjoyment, whatever of others. These are not sex slaves, there is no trafficking or pedophilia involved for the most part and those that so engage in those onerous acts are I believe, I hope a minority, a atrophied branch of the adult entertainment business and one that is rightfully pursued by law enforcement." What about those who began as underage prostitutes and eventually got into the adult film and website industry - are they not sex slaves? Shackles can be psychological/emotional, not just physical. Or those who were sexually abused throughout childhood and have such little self-worth that they believe the only thing they're good for now is sex? Again, sexual slavery. Or those who are substance-addicted, in abusive relationships, and give-in to the coercion of boyfriends/husbands who want them to make money in porn? More sexual slavery. Or how about those so desperate for money that they swallow what little dignity they have to make a dirty buck? This is like dropping a $20 bill in a hobo's tin cup while stealing his winter coat while his head is turned. You may not view men masturbating to the images of these women as outright rape by proxy, but it is most surely taking advantage of broken, degraded women; it is the theft of the dignity and worth as human beings. Would these same men be willing to allow other men to use their own girlfriends, wives, sisters, and daughters in the same way - or can they only justify it if the woman is a stranger? Posted 2010-11-24 13:46:17 3. re. Respectfully DisagreeBekah Ferguson, Unregistered You mention choice, but "free" choice is really quite subjective. The woman, for example, who stays in an abusive relationship chooses to stay only because her self-worth is so shot she couldn't even begin to have the strength to walk away - that's how needy she is. We can call it a choice, and because her husband is slapping her in the face, we might as well join in, too. After all, she's choosing to stay... :/ You mention pay, and granted, this is indeed the dazzle of the adult film industry for so many unsuspecting and vulnerable young women, but if you take the time to read the testimonies of ex-porn-stars, it's clear that what begins as a so-called choice very soon becomes an outright prison. A minority? Perhaps, but consider my analogy of the woman who doesn't know her bank acct. is being robbed each month, year after year - she is a victim of thievery, even if she doesn't yet know it. Posted 2010-11-24 13:52:26 4. re. Respectfully DisagreeBekah Ferguson, Unregistered You asked, "what do you feel should be done about this situation?" I simply want men to be aware that the use of porn is so much more than indulging in lust - it's taking advantage of women by ignoring their worth and dignity as human beings. In a nutshell: if it's wrong to have sex with a woman who is too drunk to give lawful consent, then it's also wrong to masturbate to her photos which were taken under the same circumstances. Posted 2010-11-24 13:58:30 5. UntitledJason Tab, Unregistered Well your comment system frankly sucks, my entire reply was just deleted so I'll try to bullet point it and its deleted again this lack of response will serve as my response regrettably :) Posted 2010-11-24 14:50:59 6. UntitledJason Tab, Unregistered There is a sharp difference between someone who is drunk and forced to engage in sex acts and someone who is a compensated willing participant. Same as their is a difference between a human trafficker, pedophile, and rapist and the purveyors and makers of porn. Reaching for an analogy while disregarding history, definition, and context are unfortunate, like those who call a politician a Nazi because they disagree with their politics. I get that such theatrics garners attention but it ultimately hurts more then it helps your point. As for these women and the choice they make, I am sensitive to the tough road they may have walked, I have empathy. But the general assumption that these women are all broken, that the audience is entirely male, are false. Many women go into porn because they like sex, they like money, or they're delusional about the process and its ultimate end. That delusion, and other struggles, and hardships they have encountered are exceptionally sad. But the road we take and the place we sit aren't always the same. More precisely how many times can one make a mistake before the blame falls to them? Posted 2010-11-24 15:41:52 |
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