During my first adult convention, chatting with fans and signing my name on glossy 8 x 10’s, it never occurred to me that I’d be groped. It was a public event, not a porn set. Yet more than a few eager fans tried to sneak their fingers down my pants as if I wouldn’t notice or care. Some girls just gave in to this rude behavior and let fans grope them, reveling in the excitement it created. Others saw it as crossing a line. That same fan attending Comic-Con would never try to pinch Scarlett Johansson’s ass, no matter how many times he fantasized about her as Black Widow. Just as actresses are not their characters, porn stars are not the human-sized sex toys they portray.
If a porn star is sexually harassed will anyone believe them? In an average work environment, it’s easier to differentiate between acceptable behavior and harassment, but for an adult performer on a porn set, this is murky territory.
“Sometimes on set, I could be with a performer and we shot the scene and it went really well but I’m in the shower and the performer’s not done. He wants to come in and still have his way with me, and that can be a grey area,” says renowned porn star Sunny Lane. “I’ve been in that situation a couple of times and if I say no they’ll get mad at me, and I don’t want that because I still want to have great scenes with them on camera. It’s tricky. You don’t want to piss people off and hurt your agenda.”
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When the scene ends so do the permissible sexual encounters. Or at least that’s how it should be. No one wants to be labeled a “bitch” or get a reputation for being “hard to work with.” For many performers being easy (to get along with) is the key to successful longevity. Finding the balance between enthusiastic flirt and self-respecting woman is just part of the business.
“People think that because we’re sex workers it’s okay for people to talk down to us, belittle us, or abuse us,” says Lane. “We are human beings, and nobody should treat anybody that way. Unless a porn star is doling out sex advice, few will take her seriously—especially when it comes to issues like sexual harassment or abuse.”
Outside of the adult industry, porn stars and/or semi-retired ones are rarely taken seriously when confronted with sexual harassment in a standard workplace—an issue Gauge has dealt with on more than one occasion. Attempting a life outside of porn is nearly impossible when the people you work with can’t see beyond it.
“I was working at a hospital when my boss hit on me,” says Gauge, who brought it to the attention of the complaints department. “The head of complaints told me it would be a sticky situation, it would have to go before a board and they already knew I’d done porn.” In order to bring validity to her claim, she was told recorded evidence was necessary. “In their eyes I was already labeled a pervert because I was in the industry, not him,” says Gauge. “I knew I couldn’t continue to do this, so I gave my notice.”
Public perception changes once a girl has been labeled a porn star. Suddenly she’s expected to be constantly sexual, a real-life embodiment of her on screen performances—always DTF and hardly a woman at all.
“It takes away all your credibility, but I don’t know why people think that porn takes away your credibility. It shouldn’t affect what you know or how well you do things but it does,” says Gauge. “It’s like I have less rights than anyone else.” And its not only that people refuse to see a porn star as a victim of sexual harassment, it’s also that they don’t care.
Last August, porn star Christy Mack suffered a brutal attack at the hands of her former boyfriend, ex-porn star and MMA fighter Jon Koppenhaver, also known as “War Machine.” Hospitalized with 18 broken bones, a broken nose, ruptured liver, multiple stab wounds, and broken teeth, Mack had been beaten within an inch of her life. “He has beaten me many times before, but never this badly,” she tweeted along with the photographic evidence as proof.
Despite the evidence and the severity of her situation, not all commentators agreed that she was a victim. A shocking number of people took to social media to publicly admonish Mack for her career, insinuating that because she was a porn star she deserved what happened. As if her willingness to earn a living having sex for the purpose of entertainment made her less of a person.
Too often, people let their preconceptions of an occupation cloud their judgment. Porn stars are carefully-crafted caricatures, and even if you’re sure you can tell the difference, you swear you know when it’s the real thing—but that’s part of the job. These women are acting.
“Do you see Johnny Depp walking around as Edward Scissorhands right now? No, because that was a character,” says Gauge. “Obviously sex is a more intimate thing and maybe that’s why it’s hard to understand.”
