Occasionally, the porn industry unwittingly lifts the veil upon itself, and reveals the ugly truth behind the fantasy of glamour. Most of the time, this happens because of the candid desperation exhibited by many of its stars. Mainly, those that enter porn come from lives of financial desperation, abuse, feelings of inadequacy, childhood exposure to porn, or molestation. Just this past week, there was a perfect storm of sorts in terms of interviews done by those involved with the sex industry - which plainly proves that contention.
Porn actress Aaliyah Love was asked about why she first got into porn, she said: “I was a broke pre-school teacher, down on my luck, making hardly any money, and there was an ad in the paper advertising, ‘Models: Make Up To…’ some ridiculous amount of money, and I said, ‘That has to have something to do with nudity; I just know it.’” She added: “My life was very small until I got into porn…”
Another female porn star, Lea Lexis, when questioned about her early expiernces in porn, paints a less than glamorous picture, she stated: “I refused to have cum on my face or in my mouth. I ate quite a bit of shampoo at the beginning.” As a teenager, she remembered: “I watched a lot of gonzo scenes. Anything and everything I could find since I was 18-19. I don’t know if I would call myself a fan. I never really had any sort of a particular loyalty towards a company or a porn star, but I enjoyed watching scenes.”
Scott Thorson, who has been plagued by drug, health and legal problems since his split with gay-lover Liberace, was stuck in a Reno jail cell on burglary and ID-theft charges when he was “adopted” by Bunny Ranch brothel owner Dennis Hof. Hof put up the $15,000 to bail Thorson out, and then bankrolled a high-priced legal team to win his freedom. Thorson is now the official “mascot” of the Ranch. Feeling sorry for him, Hof said: “Scott was taken advantage of as a teenager by Liberace, and all of his problems can be traced back to that.”
Lastly, gay male porn model Seth Fornea recalled that: “[I] was totally nerdy in high school. I was awkward, sheltered, shy, introverted, and thought everyone was mean. LOL! They probably remember the quiet guy who sat by himself and studied a lot. LOL.”
Separately, each case represents a different segment of the sex worker population: the largest one, in the female ranks, are those, like Aaliyah, who solely got into porn for the money. Of the female stars that I knew, I would testify that this was the case with the vast majority. In fact, I never met a single girl who didn’t get into the business for the money. But, conversely, Lea perfectly reflects a new segment of the female sex worker populace: the woman who grew up looking at porn, was desensitized by it, and then got into the sex trade. Although this has always been the case with male actors, who get into porn because DVDs, video-tapes, or skin-mags were the most influential sexual influences on their adolescence, James Deen is a case in point, only now, as porn has become a bigger part of everyday culture, this phenomena is also affecting girls. Lastly, another major impetus for retry into porn, that is usually combined with a need for money, is a childhood touched by physical or sexual abuse, and or feelings of inadequacy. This strikes both women and men equally. Because of the woundedness that they took into adulthood, many of these people become victimized by the porn-pushers because they see the industry as an easy route to finding acceptance and love. What they actually discover is more abuse, desperation, and loneliness. For instance, I found the “LOL,” spelled out in large CAPS, from Seth, very telling; a way to mask how much it really hurt. But, for awhile, the bright lights and heady mix of fame and drugs dulls the pain, then, when you grow old and tired, you are left abandoned and alone…all over again.