Do You Guys Really Care???

[Bionca]

Hank,

I understand where your heart is. The sex industry has a tendency to chew girls up and spit them out. The fact that for many trans women sex work is all the work they can get is a problem. The fact that this places trans women in vulnerable positions particularly if they are doing it for survival.

HOWEVER - I know plenty of gals who would have been in serious shit had it not been for escort work. I also know a couple gals who actively choose to work in escorting and porn because the money is decent if you can manage it (it's like any freelance job the money is there or it isn't).

Are the people involved in the porn industry saints? Nope. Do they try to pay as little as they can to maximize profits? yup. Do they pay just enough to attract talent? yes. Do they perpetuate images of trans women that are unrealistic? hell yes.

Also, as far as I know, porn companies aren't exactly kidnapping women to work for them. They have women who are choosing to do this because they weighed the risks and the rewards. To say that a woman who has the presence of mind to transition is suddenly a poor dupe for the big bad porn industry seems a stretch.

You know I'm pretty luke warm about porn. However, my objections are with the guys who can only function with a trans woman as an exotic fetish. My problems are not with the models or the people who produce the content. My only issue there is that I think they play up the idea that Trans women "trick" men into sex - we know too well how that gets played in trials for our murdered sisters.

Again, porn has problems and there are valid reasons to criticize. But the industry itself and the people working in it are just folks trying to survive.

[Bionca]

Also, as a woman who has had her photos lifted and used to advertise escorts - yeah stealing peoples images and content is pretty messed up. Seriously, most porn production companies are not exactly rolling in cash and surely the models can't afford to lose money.

[GroobyKrissy]

Originally Posted by Bionca

Also, as far as I know, porn companies aren't exactly kidnapping women to work for them. They have women who are choosing to do this because they weighed the risks and the rewards. To say that a woman who has the presence of mind to transition is suddenly a poor dupe for the big bad porn industry seems a stretch.

Hi Bionca

Thanks for your thoughts. I read some posts from your blog and it looks like you tackle some pretty hefty issues there... kudos!

I totally agree with this... (and, BTW... I guess I'll just consider this thread hijacked since we're on the topic of exploitation now).

I would make a bold statement and say that if you're in the US and most European countries and are in the Porn Industry, you're either doing it for EXTRA money or to start or further a career. As such, you're making a choice and if you allow yourself to be taken advantage of, then it's on your head to expand your knowledge of business and represent yourself accordingly.

The TS Porn Industry is fairly small and word travels fast. If you keep up with happenings, the recent outcry against the proposed box cover for America's Next Top Tranny 4, featuring Olivia Love is a good example. TS Porn Producers know this and, on the whole, treat their models well or else they're not going to have any models to shoot!

I would go so far to say that generally speaking, exploitation in the TS Porn Industry, here in the US, is pretty few and far between in the true sense of the word. Of course, you'll always get the girl here and there who makes a big ruckus after she's been paid... but, I think you'll find that in a large percentage of those cases, she saw the dollars and never read the Model Release (typically a few pages).