remember the duke university student that was paying her tuition by doing porn? and then a friend outed her publicly and the death threats began? this is her story.
this was interesting and surprisingly honest.
from alternet:
Miriam Weeks, known professionally as her porn star name Belle Knox, is the focus of a new five-part documentary, Becoming Belle Knox, produced by Condé Nast. The mini-series chronicles Weeks’ journey from broke college student to one of the top new adult film stars, providing a stark look into the realities of the porn industry along the way.
At the beginning of the series, Weeks explains that she initially made the decision to get into porn to pay off her astronomical college tuition bills after seeing her parents struggle with student debts. She googled how to be a porn star and the next day was paid $1,200 to do a “facial abuse” scene after responding to an online advertisement.
While initially she wanted to keep this new part of her life a secret, she was soon outed by a fellow student who stumbled across her porn scenes online. Weeks became subject to death threats, slut-shaming, online abuse and was shunned by her family and friends.
“A lot of sh*t in my life has been ruined because of sex. A lot of my family doesn’t even f*cking talk to me anymore. I lost my best friends because I joined the sex industry and decided to be a porn star,” she says.
Yet, Weeks was able to rise above the criticism and become an outspoken advocate for the porn industry. She has since spent much of her time defending her decision to work in porn to the media. She claims that her experiences in porn have given her back a sense of self and attributes the assertive, passionate person she has become to porn. However, she adds that it "gets kind of annoying...always having cum in your hair.”
In the second episode she says, “I know who I am, I know my identity. I know what I need and I know what I want — sometimes. And, with porn, everything is on my terms. I can say no whenever I want to. I can do what I want to, I can do what I don't want to. I'm in control.”
Yet, as the series progresses, we see it becomes increasingly harder for Weeks to keep her "alter-ego," Belle Knox, separate. She seems insecure and unsure of herself, and eventually concedes that she was naive to think she could keep Belle and Miriam separate. She struggles with balancing her two lives: “I don’t know, this is so weird. I think I am Miriam right now?”
She reveals that she has endured vaginal tears and that she felt disgusted after a scene in which she had to have sex with an older man. She said she felt like crying during the entire scene.
“If you work too much or you have sex with guys with big dicks all the time, then you get tears in your vagina. It’s not just like a normal 20-minute [session] and then you’re done. You’re having sex for hours on end. Like, this time I had a tear, the entire time I kept like just waiting for it to be over…like, okay, c’mon, hurry up, you know?”
Weeks also provides a glimpse into the seamier side of the porn industry as we follow her to get STD-tested, which she explains porn stars must do every two weeks.
She details the financial hardships of the industry and how she cannot be a successful porn star without a strong online and social media persona, which takes a lot of time and effort and makes it hard for her to survive financially and remain Miriam.
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articianI'm aware of her films, though she didn't fit my specific fetishes (nothing 'creepy', just taste-wise she didn't tickle my fancy).
Still though, this is a great little video, and what I feel is the best way to deal with modern bullying and criticism. She's quite brave to produce this and I only wish there was some way to show support that, coming from a male at least, didn't appear to have strings attached or give the impression of such.
Regardless, I feel extremely bad for her experience but I hope she makes it through her personal trials, graduates, retires from such a rough industry, and goes on to have a very happy and wonderful life in another field of her choosing. Women in that profession don't make nearly enough in exchange for what they give away, let alone relative to the net profit by those that hire them. Most women in this industry deserve to retire as millionaires as far as I'm concerned.
MilkmanDansays...Something that struck me while watching:
There are arguably a lot of parallels between her putting herself through school by doing porn, and other young men/women putting themselves through school by joining the military. Both institutions will target or recruit the young and naive. Either could play out as either A) a largely positive experience, B) a fairly neutral means to an end (pay for college), or C) a soul crushing hell that chews you up and spits you out as an utterly broken shell of a human being.
Maybe the military has a lower rate of option C than porn. Maybe. But on the other hand, the porn industry is much less likely to brainwash you into going to some country you know nothing about and ordering you to kill people that you don't have any personal conflict with. Interesting which choice gets widespread support and respect from the general population, as compared to those that make the other choice being ostracized, shamed, and shunned by former friends and family alike...
ChaosEngineNever thought of it like that.
Isn't the world a fucked up place where someone who agrees to kill* for money is lauded, but someone who agrees to have sex for money is condemned?
* yeah, I know soldiers do more than just kill, but be honest, that is the core part of the job.
Something that struck me while watching:
There are arguably a lot of parallels between her putting herself through school by doing porn, and other young men/women putting themselves through school by joining the military. Both institutions will target or recruit the young and naive. Either could play out as either A) a largely positive experience, B) a fairly neutral means to an end (pay for college), or C) a soul crushing hell that chews you up and spits you out as an utterly broken shell of a human being.
Maybe the military has a lower rate of option C than porn. Maybe. But on the other hand, the porn industry is much less likely to brainwash you into going to some country you know nothing about and ordering you to kill people that you don't have any personal conflict with. Interesting which choice gets widespread support and respect from the general population, as compared to those that make the other choice being ostracized, shamed, and shunned by former friends and family alike...
draak13This was absolutely incredible! Many late bloomers have an incredibly important 'coming out of their shell' experience, and it's often when they role play as a person with higher confidence. It's a transforming experience that imbues high self-confidence and esteem onto the individual, when these were typically dwindling traits beforehand. I've known several (self included) who experienced this by either internet games or old fashioned role playing games. It's very interesting that she found this role play experience by creating an alter ego as a porn star. She even found solace for her previous sexual baggage. I learned a hell of a lot from this, and won't be viewing the porn industry the same way again. Despite many of the evils in the industry that she hinted at in this series, this is an incredibly great thing that she pulled from it, and is obviously even more valuable than the ostracizing she's experiencing because of it.
I also hope that she knows a bachelor's in sociology qualifies her for no skilled labor jobs. She better either go to grad school, or get some real skills...otherwise, porn really is her career, and it only lasts as long as her looks. It's good that she's not going into debt for that degree.
VoodooVI did see a couple of her videos and was instantly turned off. it was one of those videos where the guy totally degrades her....light strangulation, spitting, etc.
just...not cool.
I get that they were consenting adults, and whatever floats your boat in the privacy of your own home.
just..not mine.
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