In an open letter published on Twitter this week, former adult performer and icon Bree Olsen urged young women thinking of a career in porn to change their minds. What was interesting about Bree’s message was that it was not the result of bad experiences or problems encountered while working in adult entertainment – Bree maintains that she thinks the sex industry is basically fine – but rather the prejudices that result from the rest of society afterwards.
Olsen cited the sexist double standard that women faced, stating that those who embraced their own sexuality became vulnerable and were open to discrimination. The best way to avoid such a scenario, advised Olsen, was to stay away from sex work completely.
There is indeed a big problem facing those who have worked in the sex industry (and we have an interesting article here in BaDoink on making the transition from adult to mainstream professions), but we agree with Salon.com’s Jenny Kutner who states “avoidance has never been the key to eliminating any ubiquitous social problem.”
To all the young women that are interested in getting into porn: pic.twitter.com/sCsqU5VQhD
— Bree Olson (@BreeOlson) June 17, 2015
Avoiding the sex industry only adds to the social stigma, increasing its apparent unacceptability. Sex, however it is enjoyed, should never be a matter of shame, and this comes down to education. It is society that needs to change, the male-centric attitude to sex and slut-shaming especially. If a girl – or a guy – want to earn their living in the porn industry, that should be nobody’s business but theirs.
And for now, let’s forget the double standard that says while porn is bad, it’s perfectly acceptable to stimulate getting fucked, blown, spanked, objectified and everything else in the name of music videos, advertising and Game Of Thrones; the point is, we’re all supposed to be free to make our own choices in this life.
So, Bree, much as we love and respect you, we wouldn’t want to tell anyone to stay away from the sex industry; rather, we’d like to tell the rest of the world to pull their heads out of their backsides and accept the sex industry for what it is, just another part of the human experience.
