Trigger warning:
Many people contact Fight the New Drug to share their personal stories about how porn has affected their life or the life of a loved one. We consider these personal accounts very valuable because, while the science and research is powerful within its own right, personal accounts from real people seem to really hit home about the damage that pornography does to real lives.
“You’re gonna be a star.”
That’s what he told me as he handed me several Xanax and a muscle relaxer.
“You’re gonna need those, trust me.”
Can any of you tell me if you’ve ever shown up at work on an empty stomach and told to take drugs? Something isn’t right here.
My co-star walked in. Tall, bronze, and beautiful. He kissed my hand and told me I was the kind of woman who should have his children. He was very sexy and boyish in his charm. We left the room to go our separate ways and do makeup. My hair wasn’t platinum blonde as they wanted… So it took several hours to make me over.
When I returned to the film set, groggy from the pills, the room was filled with people. Sound, lights, cameras, makeup people, yes, even a “fluff girl.” All in all, over 20 people stood behind an imaginary line, all focus was on the couch in the middle of the room.
I can’t do this, I objected. I said that I wanted to back out. But the cheerleaders came in strong: “Yes you can, you look great! You’re gonna be a star! Just forget we’re here!”
I found myself sitting down on the couch, in front of everyone.
And the rest I recall with the memory of a rape victim.
He immediately straddled my shoulders. He slapped my face hard several times, I was so shocked, this nice guy I had just met, he was hitting me! And no one did anything! Quickly, he started gagging me as he ripped my clothes off. The crew around me didn’t stop it as I began to fight him off, literally swinging fists and telling him no.
As he tore off my clothes, assaulting me and calling me profane names, I was raging and crying. When I looked over to make eye contact with the producer and beg him to stop… I was sickened to see his pleasure as he watched my abuse.
Maybe it was five minutes. Maybe more. My mind refuses to remember. But the bruises and the violation of my body continues today with the memory of my filmed rape.
My filmed violation was uploaded to the internet for the enjoyment of the masses on the world’s most popular porn site.
Thanks for making me a “star.”
– true story by T., a Fighter
This Happens More Than You Think
There are too many people in society who think that porn is just harmless entertainment, and that porn performers truly are the insatiable sex-craving people they are marketed to be.
Regardless of all the overwhelming research and countless personal accounts exposing the dark reality of the porn industry, many still buy into the fantasy that the porn industry works hard to build. A lot of people have a similar mindset as this guy who messaged us on Facebook:
“Porn hurts nobody.” “They do it because they like to do it.”
These are popular perceptions that many people in our society have when it comes to pornography. However, perception is not always reality.
The fact of the matter is that the porn industry is filled with coercion and forced performances in addition to drug use and sexual abuse. And while active porn performers rarely, if ever, speak out due to fear of not getting work or being discriminated against, the majority of those very same performers inevitably end up speaking out on their real experiences once they leave the industry.
And for those who do speak out, many of them are hunted and blackmailed into hiding, like this former performer who wanted us to conceal all traces of her identity for safety purposes.
The Truth About “Consent” In Porn
In porn, the question of consent can be tricky (and the growing phenomenon of amateur porn makes it even trickier).
For example, if one of the participants doesn’t know there’s a camera running, then the porn is not consensual, even if the sex is. Right?
What if a person consented to be filmed, but not to have the film shown to anyone else? What if someone manipulated their partner into being filmed in the first place, like making him or her worry that they’d blackmail them if they didn’t cooperate? Or what if she agreed to have sex, but in the middle he suddenly started doing something she didn’t expect? Did she still give consent?
The point is, when you watch porn, there’s no way to know what kind of “consent” the actors have given. You can’t assume, just because someone appears in a porn video, that they knew beforehand exactly what would happen or that they had a real choice or the ability to stop what was being done.
“I’ve never received a beating like that before in my life,” said Alexandra Read, a porn performer, after being whipped and caned for 35 minutes. “I have permanent scars up and down the backs of my thighs. It was all things that I had consented to, but I didn’t know quite the brutality of what was about to happen to me until I was in it.”
Did you catch what Alexandra said there? “It was all things that I had consented to.” That’s the problem with treating consent like it’s “all-or-nothing.” She consented to do X. She didn’t consent to do X, Y, and Z².
Related: Why Do Some People Fight Against Sex Trafficking But Unconditionally Support Porn?
We’re not claiming that all porn is nonconsensual. We’re just pointing out that some of it is and some of it isn’t, and when you watch it there’s no way to know which is which.
So, would you buy from a company if you knew that some, but not all, of their products were made with child labor? Would you support a store that abused some, but not all, of their employees?
How can it be ethical to say that “porn is okay because participants give their consent,” when we know for a fact that some—probably much more than you think—do not?
Support this resource
Thanks for reading our article! Fight the New Drug is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which means the educational resources we create are made possible through donations from people like you. Join Fighter Club for as little as $10/month and help us educate on the harms of porn!
JOIN FIGHTER CLUB