Sexual Exploitation | Camden Civil Rights Project

Former adult actress says extreme scenes are harming amateur actresses

A retired adult film star has warned the growing appetite for ‘abuse’ porn is damaging amateur female performers, who are expected to take part in increasingly extreme scenes.

Lisa Ann left the industry in 2014 and now hosts a Fantasy Football show on Sirius XM radio. Unlike most performers whose careers within the industry often span just months or a few years, Ann appeared in adult films for two decades and has witnessed the industry’s trajectory towards more hardcore films.

Speaking to The Guardian, she claimed the difficulties some actresses face after leaving the adult industry often relate to the growing demand for extreme porn, and performers abusing drugs.

“There were times on set with people where I was like, ‘This is not a good situation. This is not safe. This girl is out of her mind and we’re not sure what she’s going to say when she leaves here,’” she said. “Everyone’s a ticking time bomb, and a lot of it is linked to the drugs. A lot of this new pain comes from these new girls who have to do these abusive scenes, because that does break you down as a woman.”

The demand for abuse scenes was addressed in the documentaryHot Girls Wanted, which included disturbing footage from a scene constructed to make a sex act appear forced on a female performer.

In an industry where pay rates have continuously declined, extreme acts also pay more, with the most radical commanding up to $2,500 per scene.

Rashida Jones, a producer on Hot Girls Wanted, described the cycle young women face when they start making amateur porn that she says encourages them to participate in more extreme scenes during an interview with Vice.

“Generally if you’re 18 and go to Miami, you’re done in a year, because there’s not enough amateur jobs for you. You can get some other jobs, but the niche stuff pays more, and the niche stuff is harder on your body,” she said.

“The pay can be $800, $1000 a shoot, but they still have to pay for hair and nails and make-up and travel and clothes – plus, they’re trying to live in a lavish way, so it ends up not being cost-effective. It’s not worth it.

“Then you have to make further negotiations with yourself, like, ‘Will I do torture porn? Will I do fetish porn? Will I do […] forced blowjobs?’ and things that you never expected to do.”

In 2010, a study conducted by Adult Video News reportedly found most of the scenes from 50 top-rented porn films involved the female performer appearing to be physically or verbally abused.

Rashida Jones: Young women not aware of ‘physical cost’ of porn

The actor produced the film Hot Girls Wanted and cautioned young women against joining the industry

by Helen Nianias

Rashida Jones has spoken out against the “pornification” of culture, arguing that young women are exploited by the industry as it makes them believe the work is glamorous.

Speaking to Vice, Jones explained: “I have no problem with porn – also, it doesn’t matter if I have any kind of problem with porn, because it’s here to stay.

“I personally have no problem with porn as adult entertainment. I think it’s great that we have the freedom to explore our sexual fantasies, and that there’s tools to do that. The problem with me is that there’s no regulation in the industry – the average age someone watches their first porn is 11.

“For someone to learn about sex from porn, I think is really dangerous, and I think it happens a lot.”

Jones has spoken out in the past against the pop culture climate for extreme sexualisation, and described it as: “Here is the bottom of my ass”.

She has previously spoken out against the industry, saying that “because [porn is] performative, women aren’t feeling joy.”

Her documentary Hot Girls Wanted examines how young women are lured into working in pornography with the promise of being famous, only to end up in cities such as Miami expected to make “amateur porn”.

Jones explains that this genre – which is still fully scripted and operated like a regular film – focuses on plots that are “sort of like catching young, innocent girls off guard”.

She explains: “Generally if you’re 18 and go to Miami, you’re done in a year, because there’s not enough amateur jobs for you. You can get some other jobs, but the niche stuff pays more, and the niche stuff is harder on your body. The pay can be $800, $1000 a shoot, but they still have to pay for hair and nails and make-up and travel and clothes – plus, they’re trying to live in a lavish way, so it ends up not being cost-effective. It’s not worth it.”

Jones argues that the struggle for cash means women end up doing more extreme stuff.

The Parks and Recreation actor adds that her experience while making the documentary shows that the women who make this type of porn have generally only just turned 18 and may not understand the impact of the work.

“[There’s the] psychological, emotional, physiological – the physical cost of having sex for a living. [You’re] thinking about the fame part of it, so you might not be the best candidate to make a decision for yourself.”

Liz Curran of anti-violence charity Women’s Support Project argues that pornography is inherently harmful and there’s no way women can gain respect from it.

She told The Independent: “In a society where we want young women to be equal – accepting porn undermines the equality and independence of these young women.

“Women who need any support after commercial sexual exploitation should get in touch with the Object campaign or UK Feminista and they will put you in touch with the right people.”

Curran argued that “healthy relationships based on respect and consent is such a contrast to pornography.”