AC Radio: Episode 8
28 Jun
This week we discuss the World Cup, the impossibility of knowing anything, journalism (both serious and pop) and Dr. Rob mispronounces zoology. Don’t miss it.
Oh, and I drop the f-bomb. A lot. Sorry mom, I know we talked about this. I’m trying.
AttentionCrash Radio: Episode 8
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My point about comparing porn to law was that I don’t really understand why paying someone to have sex with someone they don’t want to have sex with is necessarily more exploitative than paying someone to do research on a topic they have no interest in.
In fact, I don’t really think either is particularly exploitative. Unless the girls are being abducted and forced to make the films, they’re entering it knowing exactly what the job is, and can leave if they want. On the other hand, while lawyers also voluntarily take the jobs, if you have six figures of student loans, you can’t necessarily leave your job and you’re essentially an indentured servant.
I imagine doing porn has more potential than a lot of jobs to have some negative psychological consequences, but I don’t think that really weighs in much on the question of whether the job is exploitative.
“The small number of lawyers that I have worked with and know, however, does, in fact, speak to a sort of sub-clinical trauma as they moved through the field. [...] There’s this frozen moment of ‘What the fuck did I get myself into?’” – Dr. Rob
70% of lawyers will have an alcohol abuse problem during their careers (as opposed to ~13% of the general population), and they’re twice as likely to commit suicide. Honestly, I think the constant fear of being yelled at over a typo and slightly incomplete research is more traumatic than having sex with someone who isn’t really in to it. The latter is commonly referred to as “marriage.”
The problem is there is only a miniscule portion of the population that wants to be sucking dicks for their paycheck. Factor in that many of these girls are coked up or in some altered state and what you have is something that is on flimsly moral grounds. But despite this people have the right to make their own decisions, even if that decision is to fuck whoever they are told to for money.
That is not the point
I think the larger issue is how fucked up are these girls that they actually want to do this for money. What sort of issues do they have to be triple-teamed in front of a camera? I really have no idea, but it is kind of sad.
I found Tyler’s interview quite illuminating, but a little bit disturbing too. The almost flat affect he spoke with kind of bothered me.
The people who do the freakier stuff may be a ballgame of a whole other color. But, normal stuff? Why not? Despite what your girlfriend might tell you, some girls actually do like sucking dick.
Some of the better looking cam whores earn, per hour worked, more money than a junior associate at a big law firm. They’re making 2-3x the amount of the median starting attorney salary, and they’re just dancing, masturbating, and chatting with creepy guys.
No one ever asks what sort of issues someone must have to become a roofer (one of the shittiest jobs ever, especially in the summer), or a fireman, or an ice road trucker. Why assume porn stars have issues?
The difference is that sex for 99% of the world brings in new complications. Sure, I’d love to take some vicodin or drink to get myself through my day, but that is based on boredom, not because I am trying to get over some sort of trauma.
I think that would be very interesting to examine the ramifications–because I have no idea…this is speculation–of the porn industry on the psyche.
And again, that is because roofers and firefighters do not generally get an eight-roper shot in their face throughout the course of their day. Sex is complicated, I don’t understand it, but that is probably why it causes so many issues.
Selling Sex is one of the oldest professions known to man. I don’t see how its any more or less psychologically destructive now, than say, in the Greek orgy times. Its been cast as something bad, or evil, if its not with your married partner by several recent religions. Due to this, the general attitude towards it in American society is negative. There are other countries around the world that worship sex, or more accurately the phallic symbol. They have less stringent views of sex, and this probably leads to less issues like the one discussed above.
I’d liken the non-committal sex actor to a type-cast star that can’t find work in other genres due to previous films. They usually go with what they know. If they grew up like that, or rebelled when they were younger to start down that path, I think it’d be easier for them to just do it mindlessly, without qualms seeing as how they get a decent paycheck from it.
The drugs and such I suspect do play a part in the bigger scheme of things in this industry, but its very hard to attach a percentage to that, due to lack of information.