Porn as a Sociological Tool for Connection

How do we cultivate belonging in a culture that is massively sorted and heavily divided? The answer to this is incredibly simple, yet far more complex than it seems it should be: we seek out meaningful reasons for connection instead of continuing to feed into the sorting that society is currently heavily influenced by. I’m sure this title shocks you. A sample of the population may sit back, read this, and think “WTF?! porn as a tool for connection? NO!” Well, believe it or not, I’m not here to dispute that with you if that’s what comes to mind. Of course, if you’re interested, I implore you to read on. In fact, I encourage it for anyone. Here’s the deal, we live in a scary world; really scary. Today I read about bullet-proof inserts that have been made for school-aged children’s backpacks. BULLET-PROOF INSERTS FOR SCHOOL BACKPACKS. If that doesn’t make you at least a little horrified, maybe nothing will. We live in this really heavy culture where not only are bullet-proof backpacks inserts a thing where we have to live in so much fear that there could be a shooting at any time, but we are also disgustingly divided by politics, religions, hate groups of all kinds, the music we individually enjoy . . .  hmmm . . . PORN. Yet, simultaneously, what do these events have in common? Collective effervescence and inextricable connection; however, they seem to also draw the most attention towards hate. Riddle me THAT. It’s time that we start to find ways to build inter-linked communities, unified as one across groups, cultivating new culture, new morals, new ethics; realistically just new standards for WHAT “we” will tolerate and how we will tolerate it.

Collective effervescence is the key here, but what the heck does that mean? According to early research by Emile Durkheim (n.d.), collective effervescence is when a societal group comes together to perform a ritual. This was originally intended for the purpose of a religious group, but has continued to evolve to a larger standard of generalized society. Essentially, this is about a better understanding of behavior in a societal context; what binds, connects, includes, and causes celebration and understanding (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d.). What impact does this mean that social psychology has on the “ingredients” for connection within humanity, and more importantly here, what impact does this mean porn has in a societal context regarding connection? Well, human behavior is influenced by other people and the social context in which it occurs. To sum up social psychology really quickly, it deals with it is the aim for a better understanding of what leads any individual to behave in a certain way when others are watching and scrutinizes the conditions of the behavior (McLeod, 2007). Porn is, believe it or not, a tool for this connection. Porn has a negative reputation, but actually has a lot of positivity associated with the sociological aspects of it.

Ok, I’m sure you’re asking how is it that porn is a tool for sociological connection and collective effervescence? Firstly, and most importantly, we are at a point in society where expression of sexuality is evolving as a concept. Things that once were taboo are now open for normal, daily discussion. The LGBTQ community is on the ride, taking a stand, and become a staple of society. Believe it or not, porn has actually helped this culture evolve and helped cultivate more understanding in the underlying culture of these communities. Trends show that the United States consume copiously more porn than any other nation, and the most searched term? – “lesbian”. Patrons of online porn, according to Pornhub, in the United States, spend the third most time of any country patronizing any one porn site at a time. According to statistics “lesbian scissoring” came in for a close second to just “lesbian” for the female porn patronizing population, where it was “milf” porn for males (Lifehacker, 2017).

But wait . . . some porn is NOT “normal” you say? You may be phased to know that a world of fetishists and kinksters is lurking around every corner. All of them. Every. Last. Corner. Trust me. Due to my interest in the community, I have taken an interlude from career moves and decided to work in an adult boutique, or as some may call it . . . a porn store. Talk about eye opening! The people who come in that look like they “know what’s up” ask the most questions, are the most confused, and would surprise you with their lack of knowledge or insight. In turn, we get patrons who look like your parents buying the most harsh floggers and restraints they can find and never blinking an eye. In a future article I intend to dive further into the psychology of fetishism, but for now, just know that you never know who has what, or does what, at home. Trust me here. To me, this just screams that the culture of sexuality is on its rise, but not at its peak, I hope. Sexuality is continuing to flourish. If you login to Fetlife.com (not a favorite site of the professional community, to be honest) you will find that there are far more kinksters creating an entire underground social network in your area than you realized. This social community includes but is by no means limited to fetish/kink meet-ups, bondage gatherings, foot parties, fire breathing – people seeking people. Better yet even, sites such as the aforementioned are people seeking inextricable connection within their community- collective effervescence my friends. Porn has aided in the ride of this culture, adding normalcy to things that were once shamed in our culture.

Some people will tell you that porn exudes hate. Some people will tell you that porn ruined their relationship or ruined them psychologically. Listen, here’s the thing about life: there is always something out there that could ruin any one of us at any given moment in time. Porn is in promotion of the “love is love is love” concept. Porn is giving people a safe place to live out their fantasies, fulfill a concept of what love is to them, or maybe even find the love they can’t find or have. There is no “with us or against us” mentality and there doesn’t need to be. But it is our jobs(s), and just like you should respect the server at a restaurant, you should respect sex workers. We’re not selling our bodies or dehumanizing ourselves. We’re selling the concept of open-sexuality and encouragement for those struggling with it. Sex workers are here to help. Not hurt. You also have free-will to watch, be involved in the community, use it as motivation for expression of your own sexuality, or to completely ignore it.

I like to end with something profound and light, full of vengeance for hate and promotion of tolerance. A long-time, anonymous friend posted the following on social media and I asked permission to share her perfect verbiage:

            This world is full of horrors and heroes, terrors and triumph, vengeance and victory, hardness and happiness. It’s up to you what you perpetuate or elevate. Give what you can, donate dollars or kindness, but keep your pessimism or hatred to yourself. Be grateful for what you have and be giving to those who have less. This world can be a much better place if we begin with considering others – put yourself aside from time to time and see things differently. We are all humans with hearts; it would do us well to not forget that until tragedy strikes then suddenly remember that we are all on a team called the human race together. We always were and always will be, so let’s start acting like it. Pay attention to your fellow humans and help them. Ask for help when you need it, too. – Anonymous smart person writing about the promotion of collective effervescence unknowingly.

Don’t seek hate; seek connection, positivity, and value. Porn can be a part of sociological connection by increasing openness in sexuality, making sexuality overall less taboo, and continuing to allow people a safe outlet to explore their fetishes and “alternative” lifestyles. Sexuality, and openness, is important in our evolving culture. Porn really is helping. Don’t shame people who are coming out of the shadows. Love is love is love is love.

Love on.

References

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.). Émile Durkheim (1858—1917). Retrieved from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/durkheim/

Lifehacker. (2017, January 9). The Biggest (And Weirdest) Online Porn Trends Of 2016 [NSFW]. Retrieved from Lifehacker: https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/01/the-hottest-and-weirdest-online-porn-trends-of-2016-nsfw/

McLeod, S. (2007). Social Psychology. Retrieved from Simply Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.html

Reducing Sorting and Inter-Group Shaming in the Sex-Work Community

On a daily basis sex workers spend a portion of their time fielding bias, judgment and ridicule from the general public. Negative verbal confrontation and “trolling” from the public flooding a sex workers social media timeline(s) and inboxes of all sorts (Twitter, Instagram, email, Facebook, etc.) is often a difficult obstacle for many to overcome. In fact, this can become so difficult of an obstacle that it will sometimes cause sex workers with real talent and a positive following otherwise, to leave the industry. Along with mental and emotional hardships caused by individuals who are outliers of the industry, sex workers face another problematic issue as well: sorting amongst sex workers and inter-group shaming. The bottom line is that there are many, many issues that sex workers face that are not inter-group problems. Although the issue of inter-group shaming and sorting is not quite as rampant as dehumanization by the masses in the public, it does remain a prominent and very real issue. Let’s dig in.

First of all, let’s clarify what is meant by both sorting and inter-group shaming. The term “sorting” refers to social sorting. Social sorting, as defined by Wikipedia (2017):

involves the key task of separating one group from the other. These groups can be based on income, education, race, ethnicity, profiling, gender, occupation, social status, derived power (social and political) and geographic residence. Depending on the goals of the manipulator raw data is collected and then further evolves into meaningful data in order to be exploited for a specific purpose.

Another way to view this, in simple terms, is the scaffolding of information infrastructures (Bowker & Star, 2000). In the sex-work industry, social sorting occurs when sex-workers attempt to personally create an infrastructure of sorted classes: i.e. – one group is inferior or superior to another because they do or do not do “a, b, or c, etc.” on camera. Alongside social sorting in sex work can also be found inter-group shaming. Inter-group shaming occurs when members within a cultural or social group attempt to condemn or shame other members for their personal standards, beliefs, or sense of diversity. As it was difficult to find an appropriate working definition of inter-group shaming, this is my personal take on the term. So, why are social sorting and inter-group shaming hurtful to the sex work industry? The answer is unfortunately simple: these are topics that can cause harm within the sex-work community because it shows the general public that sex-workers are not a united front, are capable of being divided and sorted by the public, and does not promote the overall continuation of well-being and desire to thrive from within the cultural- (and/or) social community and network itself. There is a current need and drive to increase connection within the sex work community and maintain positive language and a united front that promotes the concept.

The big question is “How can we ‘fix’ this, and continue to maintain an increased level of respect and decency for one another?” Well, the first two answers are very easy. As already mentioned, sorting amongst sex workers must come to an immediate stop or at least begin/continue to decline. When the general public sees this it is an automatic assumption that it is ok for them to also sort sex workers into classes as well as shame them. By not promoting inter-group shaming it will appear that this is never acceptable. It is the job of every sex worker to help shine a positive light on others within the group. This can be done with positive language, helping uplift one another on social media and with our day to day interactions, and building each other up instead of tearing each other down. The fact of the matter is that there is no sense in tearing each other down. If someone is doing work similar to yours, its fine, because there will always be someone doing work similar to yours. This does not immediately make them your competition or sworn enemy. Or if a sex-worker has chosen to do hardcore scenes or domination, for example, this is their choice and their framework for themselves. You aren’t required to fit inside their personal frame and they aren’t asking you to. If it’s the path they’ve chosen, at the end of the day that has nothing to do with you. However, it is your job to be supportive.

What does the future look like if we do not decrease the sorting of sex workers? The short answer: bleak and segregated. Some of the psychological aspects of social exclusion from a group are very drastic. The impacts of social group exclusion can include self-concept threat, lowered self-esteem, anger, frustration, emotional denial, and even cognitive impairment (Abrams, Marques, & Hogg, 2004). This means that each time an individual within the social group divides sex workers further into classes, the division continues to break down the concept of community and inter-group support. Essentially, unity is what is lost. Unity can be a tricky term here since sex workers are running tons and tons of very different and individual small business and may never physically interact with one another. However, unity can be sought and shown by the use of social media and other opportunities to interact, such as conventions, or referrals for/with clients.

There is valid proof that there is unity in community. Research states that there is more positive unity in diversity within a “work” group or community when more individuals within the group believe in the value of diversity (van Knippenberg, Haslam, & Platow, 2007). Sex work is one very diverse community, that’s for sure. Turns out that collectiveness can be shown within the community by actually celebrating the diversity instead of contributing to the negative views. For example, it would cause a wake of power within the community if no one within the group decided to blast someone for their body, the type of work they do, or the people with whom they are working. There is big power in exemplifying this sense of unity and working together, against the perils of internet ‘trolls’ and ‘shame-casters’, and proving that sex workers will not tolerate it.

At the end of every day sex workers should help to reduce the amount of sorting and inter-group shaming within the community since this is already be cast onto the group from the general public more often than not. If the group desires support and loyalty from fans, it is important to provide proof that the support begins from within the group. So, how can this be done? Continue to use social media as a tool for positive affect within the groups. Continue to promote one another’s work, work together so people can observe the unity, and provide positive feedback about one another. It is important that the general public sees a standard of body positivity for every shape, size, and form within the community. The empowering language used in a community will help reduce negative social sorting and provide evidence that it’s important it come from outside of the group as well. Most importantly, just remember, be kind, treat others as you would wish to be treated, and uphold the same ethical standards linguistically that you would hope anyone else would uphold. Remember, rehumanization of sex workers starts with the industry.

Xoxo-

Velma

“Be kind, don’t judge, and have respect for others. If we can all do this, the world would be a better place. The point is to teach this to the next generation.” – Jasmine Guinnes

References

Abrams, D., Marques, J. M., & Hogg, M. A. (2004). Social psychology of inclusion and exclusion. New York: Psychology Press.

Bowker, G. C., & Star, S. L. (2000). Sorting things out: Classification and it’s consequences. Cambridge: MIT Press.

van Knippenberg, D., Haslam, A. S., & Platow, M. J. (2007). Unity through diversity: Value-in-diversity beliefs, work group diversity, and group identification. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, Vol 11(3), 207-222.

Wikipedia. (2017, August 14). Social Sorting. Retrieved from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_sorting

Humanity isn’t earned; it just IS: Ending dehumanization of the sex-work industry

First thing’s first; let’s define some of the main terms for clarity:

*Sex-worker: Is a person who is employed in the sex-work industry (Wikipedia, 2017).

*Professional Pornography (actor) and Fetish Model: Erotic nude model and pornographic actor (Wikipedia, 2017).  A fetish model is a model who models fetish clothing or devices. Many fetish models display what are termed fetish fashions, such clothing range from exotic stylized bathing suits to extreme costuming including body armor and sci-fi fantasy suits.

Fetish modeling may involve bondage, body modification, fetish photography and exotic glamour photography as well as sexual fantasy costuming (i.e. maid’s outfits, nurses, etc.). Fetish models may model for photography, and appear at BDSM fairs and parties (Wikipedia, 2017).

Sex-workers are NOT (to be portrayed here as): Prostitutes, pimps, rapists, void of love, unloved by their families, or outliers of society.

What sex-workers do NOT support: Human trafficking, rape, or unethical behavior from outside or inside of the industry.

Now that some of the basics are out of the way:

Let’s start at the beginning: If you’re not a sex worker, even if you’re only an admirer of the sex worker community, I hope this article makes you uncomfortable. I promise that I mean that in the nicest way possible. In order for better public understanding of the vulnerability, courage, compassion, and love within the sex worker community, leaning into discomfort with an open mind and full heart are the first thing that the public could do. If you do not possess these characteristics, this article is not a platform for further criticism and hurt, so please doesn’t portray it as such. Although your input is valuable to our community and to each of us as individuals, please be reminded that words do both hold value as much as they can destroy. As a united community, we hope you are here to help evolve your understanding and help us evolve ours in a way that sex workers can maintain or, dare I say, regain their humanity, just as any other individual who works hard and pours in love would hope to do. Still with me? Excellent. Let’s get dirty.

As an open-minded supporter of the “to each their own as long as it does no harm” theory, it is disheartening to find articles such as Dehumanization through Objectification by Connor’s Conundrums (2013), a blog site. This particular article almost begins by further desecrating what they refer to as “porn stars”, whereas the title and background for the article seemed to imply that they were going to do the opposite. In fact, they spoke about immigrants and veterans being rehumanized, but I will quote here what was stated regarding “porn stars”:

            Imagine if instead of seeing a “porn star” we could see a single mother of two kids with a drug addiction who is on the edge of eviction, or a person who experienced sexual abuse as a young child. Perhaps we’d feel sorry for these people, rather than perpetuating the problem for personal pleasure.

To be crystal clear; did they mention rehumanizing sex workers? Yes, technically, yes. Did they ALSO do so by informing the public that sex workers should be humanized because they are all the struggling victims of drug addictions, single parenthood, and Freudian issues? Damn right they did. I see what they did here. They are making a call to the kind-hearted to feel bad for those who have been victimized and are now nothing more than a mere victim of their circumstances whom has become helpless to the forces of the degrading life of a “porn star”. Thank you, Connor’s Conundrum, for the attempt at rehumanizing “porn stars”, but we’ll take it from here.

In a publication by Dworkin (1994), the author begins by stating some of the absolute horrors against women in the porn industry. She reports that they paint their vagina lips purple to make them look more favorable and highlight their rectums. “They”; “they”, the women who are being victimized and turned into objects and the producers responsible, as the author goes on to inform the readers. The author says,

“I am describing a process of dehumanization, a concrete means of changing someone into something. We are not talking about violence yet; we are nowhere near violence. Dehumanization is real. It happens in real life; it happens to stigmatized people. It has happened to us, to women. We say that women are objectified. We hope that people will think that we are very smart when we use a long word. But being turned into an object is a real event; and the pornographic object is a particular kind of object. It is a target. You are turned into a target. And red or purple marks the spot where he’s supposed to get you. This object wants it. She is the only object with a will that says, hurt me. A car does not say, bang me up. But she, this nonhuman thing, says hurt me–and the more you hurt me, the more I will like it.”

In a long and detailed search on all of the platforms made available, most of the research obtained was in light of the dehumanization of porn/porn actors/fetish models. Of course there were the sights that advocate for the community, but research informed me that they were far less than one may initially believe. Sites on end were full of shaming people for being in the industry or showing support for the industry, lack-luster reports of the rise of porn harming the masses while they presented statistics (supposed to be in their defense) that spoke differently, guilt-trips, bad-mouthing, and what seemed to be overall . . . well, a down right, down trodden, negative . . . shit show. The aforementioned publication by Dworkin (Dworkin, 1994), although older, still portrays how a lot of the public views the pornography and fetish industry to this day; women turned into objects, targets, things, possessions . . . dehumanized; less than. The fact of the matter is that the truth is quite the opposite. People who are active within the community will tell you that they have actually found their humanity, joy, purpose, and belonging. Isn’t that exactly what we are all searching for in life, and in turn, would wish upon everyone else?

These articles all make a plea to inform the public on the victimization and degradation of individuals in the porn and fetish industry. Articles such as the above appear to work towards dehumanization. But what if we stopped dehumanizing? What if we all lean in with generosity and curiosity, consider our words, collect a list of reasonable questions, and veer towards understanding. It is possible that not every sex worker out there is a victim. It is possible that they are filled with joy and not hurt. It is equally possible, that since they are all individuals who also maybe, just maybe, they have come from a past of pain and hurt and misunderstanding, and now have found a home and normalcy; but not always. People in the industry are your former waitress/waiter, former “vanilla” models who found their niche, people who you went to school with, have possibly shared moments of inextricable joy with during a football team win (or the likes), your neighbors, the people you smile at when you walk by them in the grocery store. I could go on. But I want to point out the recurring word – “people”.

The humanization of sex workers is a necessary talk. Why? Sex workers are amongst the cultures in society that have publically been held to a lesser degree of humanity. It’s time to change that (and a lot of other things in the world, but I’ll start here). First of all, I am specifically not referring to the dehumanization of the sex worker industry using the term “stigma”. We all know there is a huge stigmatization to a lot of porn, so let’s move past that and consider the individual humanity of the persons employed within the industry. In Column: Our work shouldn’t dehumanize us (Zubizarreta, 2017) it was stated that a detachment from the emotional side of work can cause an individual to dehumanize themselves due to their work. However, if a group of sex workers were surveyed, I don’t think they would say this is the case. The author also reports that ethics can look different from profession to profession, and that research has shown that Congress-people have been shown to uphold ethical standards to a lesser degree than car sales-people. When these individuals do this, their mistakes, or lack of humanity effect many. Whereas sex workers are doing no harm, since their content and “agenda” is only available to those whom wish to seek it.

While we’re moving towards rehumanization of sex workers, let’s also discuss non-objectification. This is a reoccurring theme as one of the most popular fights against sex workers; that they are reducing themselves to becoming objects. Non-objectification begins with understanding how hurtful some of the theories on objectification of sex-workers actually are. One example that has had an impact is the theory of Kant where it is stated (Shrage, 2005):

“sexual desire inevitably leads to treating persons as things, because it is ‘the only case in which a human being is designed by nature as the Object of another’s enjoyment.”

Is this really true though? Is sex-work the ONLY case where an individual is held as the object for another’s enjoyment? Did we forget completely about Hollywood actors and actresses, comedians on a stage, or athletes? I feel I could probably go on and on. Ahhh, but I already hear you saying “but these people are maintaining their humanity because they are not showing off their naked body, being penetrated, or having intercourse on screen. Consider the amount of emotional turmoil it takes any one of those individuals to stand in front of an audience, be courageous, bare themselves to the masses. The fact of the matter is that we DO sexual all of these individuals as well. If Brad Pitt shows his butt on screen people go crazy and love it (I may be old . . . is he still cool . . .?). We vote for a sexiest man of the year. Crowds of people talk about athletes butts in their tight pants. We live in a culture that begs sexualization of individuals, entire classes of society, yet when sex-workers provide that, people hold them accountable for their own objectification. In addition, I will state that it does not help when we have people informing society its ok to “grab them by the pussy”, or this year when the fella from AVN told crowds on Reddit it was ok to “grope the models! It’s what you came here for!” (which was deleted off the entire internet as soon as people could find it there).

In an effort to expand the general understanding of the public, there are quite a few things that are important knowledge. Sex-workers shouldn’t be rehumanized as individuals just because I say so. So, here is some useful knowledge. Sex-workers love their jobs. They don’t despise waking up and going into an office that they hate. There is community in the sex-work industry and friendship. Sex-workers have kids. Surprise! They are not any more prone to single-parenthood than anyone else in today’s society. Oh, and all those drug addictions the public is so sure of in sex-work, that’s not a thing. The truth is that delving into the sex-work community has actually helped a lot of people kick their drug addictions, find stability, support, and positivity. In fact, there was an AA meeting at FetishCon this year, facilitated by a model and actor, not an outsider.

Some of these topics lead me directly into a discussion regarding ethics in the sex-work industry. There are both spoken and unspoken codes that all sex-workers must knowingly acknowledge in order to maintain respect within the community and seek work. Some of the unspoken codes are the same you would hope to find anywhere: be respectful of one another, polite, help to promote the general welfare of one another, show up on time for gigs, show up sober or be kicked off of set, do no harm to one another. There are also the “spoken” codes that are to be obliged as well: only operate under informed consent, always sign releases, do not give out any other model or producers information, ask for and be respectful of one another’s boundaries and limits, and lastly, a very important one – if you are performing scenes that require penetration of any kind or fluid exchange of any kind – get Talent Tested and do not have intercourse with anyone who is NOT tested. Although there are a lot of ethical dilemmas that could occur, these are just some of the basic ones.

Really it’s interesting that porn and sex-workers continue to be viewed as less than human and objectified. So, here’s some information that makes me find my prior statement intriguing and be prepared to be surprised: people love porn! Statistics don’t lie . . . and I have them! Clips4sale is widely known as one of the popular platforms for porn and fetish work alike. A visit to clips4sale.com.statout.com, where the statistics presented were updated in early 2017, will indicate the following statistics:

• Daily unique visitors: 532, 656
• Daily pageviews: 4,261,248

Wow, that’s a lot of views for a society that dehumanizes the performers they are seeking. Next, let’s look at Pornhub statistics. Pornhub is admittedly not a favored site by sex-workers, in case that wasn’t common knowledge, due to the nature of the site. It is a tube site where content that performer’s did not consent to appear there . . . often appears there. But nonetheless, it is a site that offers porn and has a high volume of traffic. The following came from fightthenewdrug.org (2017), where I feel like the facts were used to defeat THEIR purpose:

In 2016 alone, Pornhub got 23 BILLION visits. That’s 729 people a second, or 64 million a day—nearly equal to the population of the United Kingdom.

-Enough porn was watched in 2016 on this one website that all the data would fill 194,000,000 USB sticks. If you put the USB sticks end to end, they’d wrap all the way around the moon.

-Last year alone, 91,980,225,000 videos were watched on Pornhub. That’s 12.5 videos for every person on the planet.

-Also, 4,599,000,000 hours of porn were watched on the site in just one year. That’s equal to 5,246 centuries.

-The most popular search term in the whole site was “step mom” for the second year in a row. That’s right, incest-themed porn.

So, you see, we, the sex-workers, do not feel victimized and dehumanized. A large population of society continues to see sex-workers as such. I’d have to say that the search results and statistics speak volumes in this case. We’re not the ones waking up full of shame for ourselves or our friends, a sample of the population from society are carrying this torch, however; continuing to feel concerned and dehumanize sex-workers. If you are a fan, make sure to speak up and let your favorite model know they are respected and appreciated. Being a loyal and trustworthy fan helps to build loyalty and trustworthiness amongst models and producers in the field and extends further than one may think. Still have questions about how you should feel? That’s fine. May I suggest speaking to someone in the industry, leaning in with generosity and curiosity for better understanding instead of continuing to dehumanize? Listen, it’s seriously not that you’re with us or against us. There really is no “against us”. Porn is going to continue to be produced and the sex-work industry is going to continue to thrive no matter how many people choose to abstain from or create arguments or agendas against porn. But please know this: sex-workers don’t need saved from the wretches of the industry to be rehumanized. Sex-workers are already human.

Do you really want to help fight a bigger problem? Here are some useful links to help stop actual, legitimate human-trafficking:

https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/get-involved

http://hopeforjustice.org/

Xoxo-

Velma

 

“True belonging doesn’t require we change who we are; it requires we be who we are.” – Brene Brown

References

Connor’s Conundrums. (2013, September 6). Dehumanization Through Objectification. Retrieved from Connor’s Conundrums: Welcome to my brain; come have a seat: http://www.connorboyack.com/blog/dehumanization-through-objectification

Dworkin, A. (1994). Pornography happens to women. In Price We Pay: The Case Against Racist Speech, Hate Propaganda, and Pornography. NY: Hill and Wang.

fightthenewdrug.org. (2017). How many people are watching porn right now? (Hint: It’s a lot). Retrieved from fightthenewdrug: http://fightthenewdrug.org/by-the-numbers-see-how-many-people-are-watching-porn-today/

Shrage, L. (2005). Exposing the fallacies of anti-porn feminism. Feminist Theory, 6(1), DOI: 10.1177/1464700105050226.

Wikipedia. (2017, June). Fetish Model. Retrieved from Wikipedia; the free encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetish_model

Wikipedia. (2017, September). Sex worker. Retrieved from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_worker

Zubizarreta, I. (2017). Column: Our work shouldn’t dehumanize us. University Wire, ProQuest ID: 1873444953.

Adult Content Warning

Welcome!

This blog site contains sensitive, adult-oriented blog posts that are not deemed appropriate for those under the age of 18.

Although there are no photos or videos that are of pornographic nature, the written material is not intended for young audiences, as it is centered on advocacy for the porn and kink community.

Thank you for stopping by! If you’re over 18, feel free to give an article a read and leave a comment.

Xoxo-

Velma VonMassacre