Listen To Your Porn Stars

Take five minutes from your masturbation time. Porn stars have a mind, and it’s in danger.

You always knew it’s a tough job, if you thought about it. It has always been, but now some porn stars started talking about it. Mental health issues are real. The news is actually the fact that someone is speaking. Yes my friend, porn stars can speak, and with a flowery language sometimes. So please listen to your porn stars, they are saying that there is a serious problem. Remember: no porn performers, no porn at all. Can you please show some gratitude to them, working so hard for your daily 5 minutes taboo time?

On the stage of the last XBiz Awards Stormy Daniels – porn star, director, activist and official Trump spanker – warned about “vital issues” that the industry is facing, and calling for action: “From consent and personal agency, to social media etiquette to social media responsibility.”

That’s political emancipation. Yes, it’s started and someone will direct a movie about it in the future. But it’s a long way and unfortunately it requires also your involvement. And not only because you are unfortunately free to write aggressive things on their social media pages (stop it). But also  because half of the problem is a general public stigma against sex workers. The issue is examined in depth in the last XBiz world magazine, in a massive reportage about mental health in the porn industry, which I encourage you to read. It has been retweeted by some industry stars like Valentina Nappi or Romi Rain. That’s where Stormy Daniel’s words are reported, and where other our beloved porn stars like Lianne Young, Lena Paul, Lotus Lain, Alana Evans, Riley Reyes, Leya Tanit, Jacky St. James tell what’s the problem.

Social stigma

As said, one problem is outside the industry: it is social stigma, and we are responsible. Yes we are. It’s hard to maintain normal relationships, family, friends. They’re finding hard to find a house or a bank, as Jessica Drake told XBiz World. While Ela Darling, interviewed by Vice,  said: “People will watch our porn all day long and actually shame and stigmatise us”. She is finding hard to date people, because everybody wants to fuck, but nobody wants to date. We are all here admiring porn stars bodies twisting while we’re ejaculating in front of a computer, but no one wants to date them. Come on guys.

Ela Darling and Jessica Drake

Ok, you may not be the main responsible of porn stars mental problems, but please be aware of their existence and start respecting them. Do you want to keep masturbating in front of real people videos? then you need mental healthy porn stars. They live in our world, accept them as workers with all the rights a worker need. And give them social credit. It’s a cultural thing, and it’s not easy. But take your responsibility of porn lover.

Tough industry

The other half of the problem is inside the industry. The pressure on the set is huge, and often directors don’t even know that mental health problems are actually problems. There is a general lack of sensitivity. Mistress Mila Von Mayhem summed it up to XBiz World: “Shitty boyfriends and mangers, shady agents and mentors” as well as “anyone else who tells you their way is the only way to be successful, that there’s something inherently wrong with you or that you shouldn’t talk to anyone but them about your job. If these kinds of people were obvious, no one would fall for it: the one that try to break your self-esteem down. These people seek out inexperienced performers.”

Production companies and agencies have to assume their responsibilities and take care of their workers. But from the base it’s hard to freely express the problem: it’s very easy for the actors to be blacklisted and never see the set again, if they confess to have mental problems. That requires a big change, not only in the porn industry, but everywhere.

There are groups that industry workers can ask, they’re active and helpful, like the Adult Performers Actors Guild (APAG), the Adult Performers Advocacy Committee (APAC), the Cupcake Girls and Pinapple Support. And I will enlighten you about their contribution in the future.

All we can do here is using words, and they’re not enough. But they asked to be listened, and so we are.

Listen to your porn stars.