A lot of people are going to disagree with me on this one, especially the conservatives, but I don’t see why participation in porn should automatically bar someone from politics. We’re all people and porn is a legal occupation, a completely legitimate form of work that provides taxes to the US government. There is clearly a demand for porn, so why can’t any willing and able person benefit from the production of such adult content. I think that having done porn should be viewed by employers the same way sexual orientation is; you can’t be overlooked for a raise or fired based on that information alone. Yes, it will always be a part of that person’s history, but that doesn’t me that the experience has damaged him/her for life or made them any less productive in their current occupation.
Pornstars can go on to be Broadway actors, accountants, barbers, teachers, parents, and even policemen (eg. Michael Verdugo) because society has no reason to defer them as valuable members of the community. If you allow porn to be purchased, then you need actors to perform in them, and why would you punish them for providing that service. Worldwide, porn generates 97 billion dollar industry (see source).
Also, we seem to forget all the people who have “slipped-up” doing porn when they were younger and still went on to do great things… no presidents yet, but the list does include big name actors like Colin Ferrell, Sylvester Stallone, Jackie Chan, and Cameron Diaz… and not to mention, California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (see source). Where do we draw the line? Now female ex-pornstar, Stormy Daniels is running for Senator of Louisiana. Obviously, her views and integrity will be held to a higher standard because of her past, but all the power to her if she’s good enough. As long as the candidate is open and honest about their past, then they have nothing to fear and neither do people who vote for them. Sex happens between people all the time, so why should doing so in front of a camera mean you’re useless to any other sector of the economy. And if some can get away with it, then why shouldn't everyone? Maybe it's society's view on sexuality that's messed up and not the people who participate in materialization of that demand. Maybe.
I'm really glad that I stumbled upon this post today. Although I have thoughts and concerns that keep me from trying to get into porn, political aspirations are near the top of the list. I've always loved representing and advocating for others, so politics has always been of interest to me. Yet, I always worry about running for office down the line. The fact that I have a Manhunt account makes me paranoid from time to time to be honest. What scares me the most about a porn career are the perceived difficulties when pursuing a different career at some point. I'd love to explore something tame like nude/provocative modeling, but it seems as if it'd come at a high price. Perhaps if more porn stars got recognition for non-porn ventures the stigmas would decrease. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to risk it all though.
ReplyDeleteEither way, it would be pretty awesome to do porn and then be a president someday. Hmm, I'll have to ponder this some more haha.