Myth-BUSTING Common Porn Misconceptions

Mythbusters, unite! The general public tends to think that people who create adult content in any capacity are "highly sexual" or more likely to be promiscuous. If you're a sex worker that's used a dating app, I would bet money you've experienced this mindset in real-life interactions. So, is this true? Survey says... sometimes! Sex workers and adult content creators are regular people (crazy concept, I know) just like you (I can't say like you and I, because I'm a professional pussy popper, but that's the sentiment here.) On account of being regular people, their sexual interests and preferences vary, and while some adult content creators do use the passion they have for sex to display their sexual inclinations and preferences on camera... a lot of creators also have a regular "average Joe" sex drive, and some adult content creators are even asexual! 

A blanket statement like "all pornstars are super horny" is a really narrow-minded view of the adult industry as a whole and falsely assigns a performers career interests to their personality. Does someone who works at Burger King have to love and only eat burgers? Or... do you think when they clock out they're still upselling whoppers for the love of the game? 

Sex work is work and the work being done is consensual. Consent forms and identity documents are collected for any and every scene containing more than one person (or if the person featured in the content is not the uploader which occasionally happens with studio/producer style shoots), and for the uploader the websites keep the identity documents and consent forms on file to streamline their uploading. Is this myth true? Absolutely the fuck not. Sex workers are doing their work consensually and there are very strict compliance policies in place throughout the adult industry to prevent non-consensual content from being uploaded. 

Non-consensual and abusive media uploads happen most frequently on social media platforms and unregulated forums - not on adult industry endorsed porn sites. The best way to ensure you're ethically consuming consensually created pornography is to source it from independent creators and their preferred platforms that require ID verification because unfortunately, abuse does happen online in unregulated spaces, but that type of content is never going to be posted or exist on YourVids or other comparable adult platforms. YourVids has a sign-up process for their performers that includes identity verification and consent documents with a thorough acceptable use policy. All listings on the platform go through a manual review process done by a real person to verify that the performer shown in the content matches the information on file. 

Many people who don't know about the porn industry hold the belief that creating pornography for a livable income is "easy money." First thought is to say to these people, "If it's so easy, why aren't you doing it?" But with that question comes the discussion of morals, religious beliefs, self-respect and "holier than thou" ways of thinking and that's a lot to unpack because those belief systems and personal rules are all varied by who you're talking to. Putting aside the intense emotional labor, work/life balance, self confidence, and self assurance that is a requirement for doing porn in the first place (because that on its own is not easy, and if you're not prioritizing those things then you're probably going to struggle really hard) is doing porn "easy money?" Nope. 

I've worked at quite a few jobs and not a single one matched the difficulty of being a sex worker online. I'm not complaining and I'm beyond grateful for my career in the independent adult industry despite how difficult it is but to call what I'm doing (and what a majority of my peers/community are doing) on a regular basis "easy" is actually incredibly disrespectful. People assume it's easy because you aren't required to show up and clock in somewhere but realistically it's the same level of difficulty if not more difficult than a "vanilla job." 

I hope you brought your popcorn because instead of yelling "it's hard work! I swear!" I'm going to list why it's hard... and this is just MY list. Ready, set, go. 

The "porn is empowering" idea started from sex workers themselves as a defense for critics claiming that creating pornography is degrading. While creating pornography can definitely be empowering and it's amazing when a creator can find empowerment and fulfillment within their adult career, being empowered by porn isn't guaranteed and it's very subjective. Is porn empowering? It can be. But it can also be akin to clocking in at work, getting the job done, then clocking out. It doesn't have to be empowering to be a valid career choice and it doesn't have to provide workers anything more than money to be deemed a "good career." Nobody questions the empowerment potential of any other line of work and porn shouldn't be any different. You don't have to get something more than money to feel justified in selling porn but if you want to that is your choice. 

This is such a vague and unspecific statement but usually when I see it, it seems to try to correlate porn consumption to sex crimes which scientific data disproves. There have also been many scientific studies done that have proven people who watch porn do not have more misogynistic views towards women due to their porn consumption when compared to those not watching porn. Some of that research even indicated that people who consume porn tend to view women more equal in value to men than those who don't watch porn. Does porn make "society bad?" I mean, if your view of a "bad society" is consenting adults jerking off in their free time... maybe it is? But I think equality and orgasms are cool, so I don't think this myth is true. 

I'm going to say one of my favorite responses to porn critics that I've ever come up with because it applies perfectly here. "Society doesn't have a porn problem, it has an accountability problem." This applies to so many situations but very adequately covers the "porn destroying families" myth because porn isn't what is causing relationships to end, trust issues, and divorces or separations. Do you know what is causing those problems? Lack of communication, keeping secrets, lying, and disrespecting partners. Blaming porn for relationship issues is the most blatant lack of accountability and as a partner, accepting "porn addiction" as a justification for lying and compulsive spending is what is tearing families apart. "Porn addiction" is not backed by science and while there are conditions that can make individuals more sensitive to pornography like Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder, it is more often referred to as an "addiction" by people who have strong religious beliefs that lead them to believe their porn consumption is a sin. 

Families wouldn't be destroyed if communication was clear and established from the beginning. If you believe watching porn is cheating, you need to tell your partner that. If you believe watching porn is okay but lying about it is cheating, you need to tell your partner that. Cheating, like many other relationship breaking actions, is subjective. That's why communication is vital to a healthy and successful relationship. If you and your partner disagree with where porn sits on the cheating scale that means you need to talk about it, not lie about it. Partners have to establish boundaries to protect themselves and their family and if someone continues to consume pornography against their wishes after those boundaries are established and they were clear that they are not okay with porn consumption... that's not porn destroying a family, that's a partner ignoring boundaries. Is porn destroying families? Nah. People blame porn to avoid personal accountability for lack of communication in what is usually an already unhealthy relationship setting. 

These are some of the most common porn myths or stigmas that society tends to place on sex workers - but there are many more to unpack. Leave a comment and let us know what stereotypes or myths you'd like to see mythBUSTED about the independent adult industry!