UKC

Quite a sobering read, but a worthwhile one, given the ubiquity of porn in modern life. 

https://www.unilad.co.uk/featured/the-dark-reason-porn-stars-keep-dying/

Full of the joys of spring as ever Timmd.

Um, isn't Unilad the 'news/entertainment' website that had to shut down after running rape fantasy stories, or similar?

The thread title is self explanatory, and nobody forced you to click on it and comment.

Edit: There's a sense of irony floating around in you seeing the title isn't cheery, and deciding to be sarcastic about myself being cheery.  A certain, erm, that's it, a lack of cheeriness. Aha.

I didn't know about any content of that kind, and it's still running as far as I can tell. 

Anyway, the content of the link is worth a read, since porn has become a part of modern life.

It's not something we should be unaware of, the experiences of those involved. 

Good share. And good use of the word ubiquitous too!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNILAD#Criticism

Yep.

OK, firstly - to be clear - this isn't something I know a lot about, and I don't think I know anyone who is or has been involved in the industry - so my opinions on anything requiring such knowledge carry little weight.

I did read it. It appears to be focused on female performers in straight porn, which is just a subset of the industry, but there's a lot to be concerned about - although I'm also highly unsure of the quality of the journalism and the motives, in the case of this article.

In particular, "Developing PTSD because of the ongoing abuse to body and soul" (emphasis mine) makes me suspect there may be a particular agenda involved, and

"She explained that you have to speak to women who are out of the industry, because while they’re inside they’ll never tell you" - well, have to speak to them, yes, but that is a sample which is inevitably going to be biased towards those who had a reason to leave.

There's no doubt a lot of horrible stuff goes on in the porn industry. The less it's hidden, the more people can talk about it, the harder it will be for abusers to succeed. To that end, it seems to me that peoples' prudishness, their unwillingness to talk openly about sex, and the notion that porn performers are somehow dirty, or lesser, seem like some of the biggest problems to overcome.

Nope, but there it is.

My concern is, as ever, that you focus on finding negative news stories to share.

If porn stars genuinely keep dying and it's not just an unhappy coincidence that a few have gone at the same time one question to ask is is it that acting in porn makes you more prone to drug abuse and suicide or do the women who agree to do porn already have those traits to start with.

Also how many deaths per 1000 women are there compared to other forms of employment. 3 nurses could die suspiciously world wide but no one is tracking those numbers. 

Someone further up asked about knowing someone in the porn industry. That would be a no but I do know a prostitute quite well (not that well though). She is an educated lady from a good background who went in to it knowing exactly what she was doing who earns thousands of pounds a week for a few nights out and a couple of fumbles during the day (her words not mine) 

Same situation. I know, quite literally, dozens of prostitutes and ex-prostitutes. 

The attitude that they are all, or even the majority, are victims of their work is such a massive over simplification. To put it bluntly, without the option of prostitution I think the vast majority would right now be worse off.  I imagine the porn industry, which is essentially filmed prostitution, is little different.

The harms resulting from these industries are not improved by one-sided salacious reporting.

The difference between the friends of yours and David’s (post below yours) and actresses is that your friends can work for themselves (indeed pimping I think is illegal in the UK) but actresses must almost always work for others, which shifts the balance with regards potential for independence/exploitation.

It’s an industry as big as Hollywood but it doesn’t receive the same public scrutiny, and it turns out mainstream film stars and directors at the top of the heap were getting away with close to murder for decades.  I don’t think this bodes well for anyone, but I also think the OP’s linked article was an execrable excuse for journalism.  But few mainstream journalists are interested in touching it, which is a shame as that furthers the potential for problems.