Pornography as a form of sex work is not discussed nearly enough in popular culture, yet when the topic arises, the language directed at porn stars and their work is brutal. Regardless of whether the man or woman is engaging in consensual sex work, they are often subjected to harsh names, inhumane insults and harassment, or disapproving silence and a downcast gaze. Critics are eager to disparage the work of porn actors online, but once confronted with the topic as an aspect of legitimate economic and social discussion, they resort to ignorant silence and blatant refusal to listen. Exploited or not, all sex workers deserve a voice, and the shameful name-calling that occurs toward these men and women have the exact opposite affect.
“Slut” and “whore” are common examples of names used casually when speaking about female porn actresses. These labels carry negative connotations and dehumanize the woman by eliminating her name or stage name from the context of her work in pornography. The woman’s occupation is no longer legitimate – her personhood, no longer relevant. In a first person account of the verbal brutality aimed toward women in the sex industry, a student from Duke University and a current porn actress states that not only is she referred to with these demeaning terms, she is seen as “a little girl who does not understand her actions,” despite the fact that she chooses to create pornography to fund her college education. Critics of pornography demand on deeming women either victims of their own assumed ignorance or “sluts” who are overly zealous about sex. So regularly are these connotations attached to sex workers that they have become synonymous with the term “prostitute.” No longer can a woman consensually engage in sex work without becoming a “prostitute” and subsequently a “whore.” The contemporary label of “sex worker” is more inclusive of the versatility of careers within the sex industry and does not carry such an air of victimization and what many see as negative promiscuity.
As discussed in the previous post, “The Decline of Big Business Porn and the Rise of Choices,” more options are becoming available to both men and women for the distribution and sale of consensual, safe pornography through the use of apps. However, many of the companies who manage some of these social networking apps are receiving violent backlash from users appalled by the possibility of porn becoming available on these websites. Because of this, Twitter revised their terms and conditions regarding explicit material for both their widely visited apps Twitter and Vine. Their new exclusion of explicit material is defined as “depictions of sex acts, nudity that is sexually provocative or in a sexual context, and graphic depictions of sexual arousal.” As a result of these restrictions that limit porn actors to displaying any content even merely “in a sexual context”, an entire spectrum of users engaging in pornography have become nearly extinct from these apps. Any “explicit” material on Twitter and Vine is now immediately investigated and removed from the website, while freezing the source’s account temporarily. This exclusion of sex workers on popular apps used for the sharing of words and photos encourages the stigma against sex workers and deems the product of their occupation unacceptable for public viewing. Not only does this encourage an already rampant stigma, it denies jobs within the sex industry the respect and legitimacy the career and its workers deserve.
Not surprisingly, Twitter and Vine seem much more eager to remove porn actor’s online accounts of their products than to address the harassment that occurs all too frequently on their apps. Eva Gantz, a strong advocate for recognition and acceptance of sex workers online, reports that Twitter denied her aid when one follower on the app told her that sex workers “deserve to be raped.” Despite Gantz’ complaints to Twitter, the app refused to take action or deem the abusive comments as harassment. Unfortunately, Twitter, along with many other popular apps address the elimination of explicit content more seriously than the harassment that is continually forcing sex workers into silence and submission. Restrictive terms and conditions on apps like Twitter and Vine are merely methods of robbing porn actors of the voice they have never been given while simultaneously encouraging the name-calling and harassment that occurs online and sends sex workers and their careers further into obscurity.
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