Cover image screenshot from report by ABC News Australia. 3 minute read.
It’s safe to assume that pretty much all of us have a social media presence of some kind. We scroll through our Facebook timeline, retweet our favorite tweets on Twitter, Snapchat a funny picture to our friends, and follow our favorite celebs on Instagram.
These platforms provide a great way to express and promote ourselves and connect with people around the world. Unfortunately, social media can have a dark side as well. The same pics that you post for friends to see can also easily be taken and turned into something much, much less innocent.
Warning: Video may contain imagery that some may find triggering
“Parasite Porn”
Recently, ABC News in Australia reported (link contains triggering content) the story of an Australian law student now in her 20’s, Noelle Martin. In her freshman year at college, Noelle was in her dorm room scrolling through her photos. She came across a selfie that she had taken when she was 17 years old and decided to drop it into Google Image Search to see what would come up.
What she found made her sick.
Noelle’s search brought up multiple porn sites with her picture posted. Absolutely disgusted, she was even more shocked when she found there were more photos of her face superimposed onto pornographic bodies. The photoshopped and manipulated images featured her face pasted onto naked and even sexually explicit photos of other women’s bodies.
The comments on the pictures were almost worse—vulgar, crude, and threatening to her, calling for her sexual violation and assault. All this had been done to her personal photos, and she had no idea.
Related: 14-Year-Old Girl Sues Facebook For Failing to Remove Revenge Porn
Noelle was a victim of “parasite porn,” a growing porn trend where someone will steal and alter regular photos to be explicit and pornographic. This is all done without the knowledge or consent of those pictured, and unfortunately, it can be nearly impossible to get such images removed once they are posted.
In Noelle’s case, one webmaster even threatened to send these images to her parents and the dean of her university if she did not allow them to remain on the site. Additionally, this same webmaster agreed to remove the images, but only if Noelle would send him sexually explicit photos of herself. She refused, and has since been working with the Australian government to take action against these porn sites.
Not What It Appears
How can you be sure that the explicit images or videos on porn sites are there with consent from those who appear? Consider the new reality of deepfakes porn, revenge porn, and now parasite porn.
The porn industry works hard to convince the public that those involved in their videos and images are there because they love sex and performing on camera. They claim that those involved wouldn’t have this career if they “didn’t enjoy what they are doing.” However, situations like this one as well as our article 10 Popular Ex-Porn Performers Open Up About Their Most Popular Scenes shed light on the truth of the matter—though not every performer is exploited in porn, too many are mistreated, abused, and manipulated into participating.
And in the case of Noelle Martin, even regular people who aren’t porn performers at all can become victims of this harmful industry. People are blackmailed and coerced, and in all of these cases, the porn industry is primarily concerned with getting clicks and making money.
Related: Italian Woman Commits Suicide One Year After Sex Tape Goes Viral
It’s clear that internet porn is dramatically more violent and abusive than ever before. Let us not forget that the most popular porn categories include sexual assault, gang rape, and incest. If you can believe it, content like this is the norm within mainstream genres of porn. And this kind of graphic sexual exploitation does not leave its consumers unaffected, and can inevitably lead to increasingly violent sexual tastes and fantasies.
Why This Matters
Beyond the effects that porn has on its consumers, it is important that we understand the harm it inflicts on those used to create it. Even, and especially, when they’re unwilling participants.
Recent disturbing trends like revenge porn, deepfakes porn, and parasite porn can completely destroy the reputation and livelihood of those depicted. Not only are these genres creepy, they are simply unacceptable. And it’s up to us to spread awareness, and stop the demand. Are you with us?
