It seems that every few months a new story comes out of a former porn performer being forced out of work in the education field, because of that past vocation. Usually, but not always, the person who has been fired is a woman, as is the case in this recent situation. There was even a story out of Quebec in the past couple years where a school support worker—not even a teacher—was fired because of her porn past.
Now, administrators say the dismissal was because of her lying when confronted with having done porn. Fair enough, but can you blame her? Another piece (that includes, in my opinion, a bit of slut-shaming) has officials stating that “Although her pornography career has concluded, the ongoing availability of her pornographic materials on the Internet will continue to impede her from being an effective teacher and respected colleague.”
What is it that compels people to believe that those who work in the sex industry are inherently untrustworthy—especially around children?
Are there numerous stories of porn performers defrauding investors for massive financial gain?
Are there numerous stories of porn performers being serial, institutionally-protected sexual abusers of children?
Are there numerous stories of porn performers going on shooting rampages?
Are there numerous stories of porn performers doing much of anything wrong—moreso than any other group in society?
Instead, porn performers are nothing more than people who make money through using there body. By doing natural acts. By doing what most people are doing, just with a camera filming for an appreciative audience.
Now, I ask, how is this any different that what a professional athlete does? People who make money via pro sports are also using their bodies and performing. And they are lauded as heroes!
Why don’t we take a different path here. Why don’t we consider what the experience of being a porn performer can teach:
- Initiative: porn is a highly-competitive field. You have to be very motivated to succeeed.
- Marketing and branding: You don’t do your research, assemble a strong identity and get the word out to your fans, you’ll never succeed in the business of porn.
- Adaptability: Again, the business is competitive, you need to find interesting and compelling factors to attract a market share.
- Co-operation: Porn is not as effective if you can’t play well with others—on and off set.
The thing is, many, many people, because of the internet, work or have worked in porn. I wish I had a stat on me, but I can’t look that up at the moment (I’ll come back to it). More than we’ll ever guess. Excluding these people, who are trying to earn a living just like anyone else, is folly.
