In a recent interview, veteran porn star Lisa Ann (42) said this about growing old in the porn industry:
“You no longer get asked to be, like, your head in a toilet, smacked, spit on—something degrading that they might try to do to young girls because that’s what will sell. Poor things. You’ve got to earn your stripes…You’re in the trenches. You have to go through war so you can get to the other side and surrender.”
Tragic and true: Lisa Ann reveals how the porn industry is a trial to be endured, for those who dare to enter its dark passageways; greedily, it only rewards a handful with the stamina to survive. Luckily, for Lisa Ann, she has ridden the recent MILF wave in porn over the past few years; returning to the industry after a shorter stint as a porn newcomer in the 1990s; she left the business in 1997 for fear of AIDS. Now, she has replaced Nina Hartley as the unofficial grande-dame of porn: helping usher in new girls such as the astonishingly naive Belle Knox.
But, my experience, and history, has shown that a precious few, if any, really continue unscathed to reap the supposed rewards from the porn goldmine. For example, in 1999, just before I left San Francisco, I saw porn legend Marilyn Chambers perform at a downtown strip-club. During the show, I felt real empathy for her as half-cocked men loudly derided her sagging breasts and deflated bottom. Just before she died, Marilyn said “My advice to somebody who wants to go into adult films is: Absolutely not! It's heart-breaking. It leaves you kind of empty. So have a day job and don’t quit it.” More recently, former porn goddess Jenna Jameson has been plagued with a series of health and legal problems which have forever cast a shadow upon the glittery pinnacle she once seemingly stood upon; now, she is reduced to web-camming; once again revealing how shallow and transitory fame in porn truly is. When I was on the edges of the California porn scene, I met a former actress, then aged and strung-out, who was quickly descending into violent underground movies that bordered on snuff.
What’s left for many of these women is a sort of female vampirism, reminiscent of the virgin-blood-bathing Elizabeth Bathory, luring and grooming the new girls: Lisa Ann and Belle Knox, in their latest endeavor, were joined by the nearly embalmed Nina Hartley in a three-way sex scene. Again, Jenna Jameson, always honest in interviews to the point of reenacting her own self-confession, once said: “We all get paid kickbacks for finding gorgeous girls for films, so we’re always on the lookout for new talent…If I like a new discovery enough, I’ll even use her in one of my movies. Why give her away to someone else?”