Working In the Adult Industry

I always wanted to have an interview with a Porn Star. Since there are no legitimate (hard core) porn stars in this country, I took the liberty of making someone up.

We’ll call her Kim. Our conversation ran as follows:

Watashi: Let’s get straight to the point: Of all things, why did you become a porn star?

Kim: That’s unfair, you know. That’s a loaded question.

Watashi: What do you mean?

Kim: Well, you asked it like I’m guilty of something. Like, I’m a bad person.

Watashi: Well, you’re not Sister Teresa, I’ll tell you that.

Kim: Sure, but I’m not the Queen Bitch of the Universe either. God, you sound like there has to be something wrong with me for taking this job.

Watashi: Isn’t there? Nobody really says at age six: “I want to be a porn star.” Nor would you put that on your high school career counseling form.

Kim: I’ll give you that. But you seem to know a lot about me if you think that my life is all messed up just because I work in the adult industry. It’s not like I’m a good for nothing bum who’s drunk and drugged the whole day long.

Watashi: Alright. So you want to be treated like ‘decent’ folk. That would be difficult since you earn by being ‘indecent.’ It’s a contradiction of terms right there.

Kim: Well, if they were ‘indecent’ enough to watch and enjoy my work, then I don’t see why I can’t be as ‘decent’ as them.

Watashi: But watching and doing are two different things. Just because people enjoy watching porn doesn’t mean they’ll go ahead and become porn stars.

Kim: Sure, but as long as they keep watching, we’ll keep on filming. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. They want it, we provide it.

Watashi: You sound like an arms dealer selling automatic machine guns to children.

Kim: Sure, only we work with adults. It’s the ‘adult’ industry, remember?

Watashi: So, you blame the porn-buying public for your situation?

Kim: Well, the adult industry will not survive this long if people weren’t so fixated over sex, I’ll tell you that.

Watashi: So you mean to say that you’re just a victim of the public’s lust for lust? That’s an escapist’s way of saying it. Just like Pilate, eh?

Kim: Well, I’m not saying that. What I want to say is that the adult industry is here because the people want it. The same way people want their Starbucks or their McDonalds. Like I said, it fills up a demand. And since it’s a legitimate industry, I see nothing wrong in working in it.

Watashi: So, you’re proud to be a porn star? Like, you can go to a room full of kids with your child in it and say that you’re proud to be a porn star?

Kim: I wouldn’t go as far as saying that. It’s not the best job in the world, but it pays well and it pays the bills.

Watashi: But there are lots of other ways to pay the bills…

Kim: Exactly. So what’s wrong with paying it this way?

Watashi: Well, if you can’t be proud of it, then…

Kim: I can’t say it out loud in front of the kids but I won’t mind saying it in front of everyone else.

Watashi: Well, should there be a difference?

Kim: With kids it will be harder to explain, especially as they don't understand or appreciate what is involved in my line of work.

Watashi: Like sex?

Kim: Yes.

Watashi: So you can’ t tell your kid that you have sex in front of a camera for a living?

Kim: Yes. It would have been easier for the kids if society doesn’t look at our line of work with much prejudice. If we gain the status of like that of a clerk or even a janitor, everything would have been fine. But to the public, we are nothing but sluts and gigolos. People think that who we are in front of the camera and behind it is the same. We get lots of raised eyebrows.

Watashi: But you couldn’t really blame them, could you? I mean, if you're in this line of work, then you also have to be ready for the disrespect that comes with it right?

Kim: I know that already. But what I don’t get is that people can look at movie actors and be able to differentiate between the role and the actor, but not do the same with porn stars. It seems like all we live for is sex and that we don’t do anything else but have sex. That we are all fast, loose and ‘easy’ women.

Watashi: Is that really not true?

Kim: Of course not. We are just acting out in front of the camera. There may be some among us like that, but not all. It’s the same for all lines of work.

Watashi: That’s funny. You act out by doing the real thing. That doesn’t sound like acting at all.

Kim: Well, you don’t have a kissing scene where people don’t actually kiss.

Watashi: But somehow your case is different. A kiss is a kiss, but boning is a different matter.

Kim: The problem is how we see a sexual act. Look, we’re not looking to win the Oscars with the work that we do. But doing the actual thing is what makes porn, porn.

Watashi: But I have to ask, where is the self-respect? You allow yourself to be debased and become an object whose purpose is to induce lust. Is there any form of contentment in that? It seems like you exist just to pander to people’s sexual desires.

Kim: We are all panderers, one way or another. We all sell ourselves to get something in return. The difference between porn stars and, say a teacher, is one of degree, not in kind. The teacher sells education, we sell sex. Both are needed and both have a demand.

Watashi: I can see your point. But you haven’t answered whether you respect yourself being in this line of work.

Kim: It depends on what you call respectable. If you mean being able to earn your keep without hurting anyone or doing something illegal, then I find my profession respectable. Being treated like an object is something for others to do, not for me to do to myself. I’ve never considered myself as an object. It’s just that there are a lot of people that makes you feel that way. And sometimes they succeed. They make me feel like shit sometimes. I do sometimes think that I’m better off doing another job, something more “respectable”, but it’s them that’s only saying that. I don’t really mind doing this job. It’s just that people think I need to be doing something else. And when I don’t listen, I get burned at the stakes.

Watashi: But I still can’t believe that someone in the right state of mind will go naked and have sex in front of the camera for all to see. The idea seems insane. Like something went wrong somewhere.

Kim: Honestly, I think whatever reason anyone has for doing something is none of anyone's business. Questions like that are just meant to judge and find fault. It’s so that people can look down on others and what they do. Just because you can’t find any good reason doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Just because you can’t find it acceptable does not mean it’s not acceptable. If we say we like what we do and that we chose to do this, then better give us some credit.

Watashi: So, you mean that there are people who actually like being porn stars?

Kim: Of course. The fact that porn existed and has continued to thrive shows that some people like what they do, and people like watching these people. And don’t you think that there are people who enjoy being in front of the camera having sex? Whether it was forced on them or not, whether they didn’t like it at first or liked it immediately does not change the fact that they like it. You can’t be a better judge of what they like than them. If you are, then you’ve got to be some form of god. Now that is something more insane.

Watashi: But what about your fellow women? Don’t you think you’re pushing the idea that women are just sexual objects? That you make men put in their head to treat their women like porn stars?

Kim: That is not really our fault. If men think of women as objects, it’s not through our influence. Society treats women as objects, porn or no porn. Do we help the idea along? Maybe. But not overtly. What we do is just a reflection of what society is. We just provide what the public needs and wants. So if you see something like the objectification of women, its not because porn made it that way. It’s because that is what there is. The problem is not porn. The problem is with the people’s minds.

Also, think about how women made great improvements in getting recognized and getting equal rights. But that didn’t make porn go away. So long as people have sexual needs and urges, porn will stay. So long as men are not all made eunuchs, priests or castrated, porn will stay. Woman question or not.

Watashi: But you don’t exactly help the women’s cause either.

Kim: That is true. We don’t really help, because we are not made to help them. We do a different thing. We cater to needs and demands. We’re not running a propaganda campaign.

Watashi: And you’re fine saying that? Isn’t that a bit too convenient?

Kim: You can hate porn, but that won’t do much good. Don’t kill the messenger. We just show what is there. We don’t make it up. If people have perverted thoughts and tendencies, we just enact it for them to see. If you have sexual fantasies, we bring them to life. We’re not here to campaign for anybody’s ideals.

Watashi: So, you’re just saying that the people are just misguided with their view of porn?

Kim: That’s for them to decide, not for me to say.

Well, this ends the imaginary conversation with Kim the Porn Star.