Adult actress Lana Jade criticises tendency to victim blame women working in the industry
'I can't tell you how many times I've heard the words ‘well you put yourself in that position,' says Jade
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Your support makes all the difference.An adult film actress has criticised oppressive attitudes towards female performers, claiming women in the adult industry often experience victim blaming because of their line of work.
Lana Jade, a porn actress living in Australia, gave a candid summary of what it is like to be a performer in the adult industry, explaining that a number of sex workers in Australia perform in adult films to supplement their income and will often shoot scenes for multiple films on one day. She claims a number of performers use it as a platform to build up their brand or profile.
The 25-year-old also said the stigma surrounding working in adult films means performers who are abused are afraid to come forward for fear of being blamed for their assaults because of the industry they work in.
Her comments come months after five adult actresses came forward with allegations of assault against the porn actor James Deen. He categorically denies all of the allegations against him.
“We get victim-blamed simply for being in the industry,' she told the Daily Mail.
“I can't tell you how many times I've heard the words ‘well you put yourself in that position’. Being in the sex industry doesn't give people the right to abuse us. For some reason society feels that because we use our body to make an income, it somehow allows others to abuse us.”
However, she was keen to stress that her work in porn is a personal choice and not something she is prevented from leaving.
“I don’t have to do sex work, I’m educated, I’m highly intelligent, it’s not a fallback career. We aren’t voiceless, we aren’t trapped. This is what I choose to do," she said.
“I don’t care what people think. If they want to judge me on something that makes me happy and that puts me well ahead of where I would have been if I working 50 hours a week working for someone else, that’s their problem not mine.”
A number of actresses have spoken out about their experiences in recent weeks, including the veteran former actress Lisa Ann and Jessica Drake, who continues to work in the industry.
Jade’s comments echoed those made by Drake, who condemned the stigma surrounding women who choose to appear in porn and urged performers to reject shaming. Drake told The Independent: “It is important for actors not to put themselves in a box. We are doing ourselves a tremendous disservice when we are shaming ourselves and when we think that we don’t have a place in other areas because of the stigma.
“I got to a point to a point where I stopped being apologetic for my job. I don’t apologise for what I do for a living. I’m not going to let the fact that I have sex on camera inhibit my drive to do other things in other places. I just won’t do it.“
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