By now, many of us have heard of Belle Knox, a Duke University student who proudly and unapologetically self-identifies as a porn star. When she could no longer afford her education, Knox entered the porn industry to support herself financially.
Being a porn star was a position in which Knox found “unimaginable joy” until her alter ego was revealed to the public by a friend she trusted with her secret. The backlash against Knox has been horrifying: a myriad of slurs and threats of death and sexual assault from anonymous internet sources to classmates. With her secrecy compromised, Knox came out openly, announcing her name and her pride in her position in a post on the website, xoJane.
While I do support Knox in her endeavors and stand behind her 100 percent in the fight against the harassment she is currently facing, I am hesitant to blanket her positive experience as a member of the porn industry over the industry as a whole. One positive experience is not representative, and if anything, I would argue that the industry is inherently anti-feminist.
As a result of the post, Knox has received both support and more hate from people who believe she should not have taken to pornography. This is not what we should be angry about, as Knox has made it clear she feels empowered as a member of the porn industry and discusses it openly in her post. Some women feel empowered as porn stars, and I’m not going to tell someone how they should or should not feel. As Knox stated, the desire to control the female body (especially in terms of its sexuality) is a part of the patriarchy, the fact that our society is male-dominated and actively oppresses women.
The sexuality-based slurs thrown at Knox in an attempt to shame her for her involvement in the porn industry are ironic, considering if opponents of Knox’s involvement in the porn industry want to keep her body “pure” and save her from the supposed evils of porn, it makes little sense to threaten her with sexual violence.
With the exception of the few female-run pornography businesses, the majority of the porn industry is extremely misogynistic and employs practices such as unsafe sex and a lack of consent that run counter to the mission of the feminist movement.
Women have come out time and time again to discuss how their physical, psychological, and mental health has been damaged as a result of their involvement in the industry, and how many did not go into the industry willingly but were instead forced.
If we lived in a society where the dehumanization of women was not used as a means of sexual pleasure and excitement, would participating in pornography even be a booming business?
Knox deserves none of the hate she has received, but the porn industry cannot go unmarked – it is not flawless. The fact that Knox has had a positive experience does not mean that we should allow her voice to become the only voice, speaking on behalf of all of the women involved in the porn industry, silencing the many others who, as a result of their involvement in the porn industry, cry out for help.