Five young women in porn have died within a few months – it’s time for a change (The Conversation)
Read the full article by Rosie Hodsdon on theconversation.com
The pornography industry is no stranger to misconceptions. But the recent deaths of five young women in recent months – August Ames, Olivia Lua, Olivia Nova, Yuri Luv and Shyla Stylez – have served to reignite debates regarding working conditions and the treatment of performers.
At the recent AVN Awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the adult video industry, performer and husband to Ames, Kevin Moore, declared: “There can never be another AVN Awards show that has a memorial full of young women ever again.” Not all of the causes of death have been made public, though questions have been raised about some of the women’s mental health.
Given the narratives that surround the industry, it would be easy to fall into the trap of suggesting that these women suffered as a result of the cruel and degrading conditions working in porn involves, as suggested by some commentators, such as Julie Bindel. But to do so is to ignore the realities of the industry as told by the workers themselves and to talk about porn in a manner removed from wider discussions on workplace rights, gender and culture. This tendency also prevents us from engaging in a wider conversation about mental health, sex work and stigma. And this is key to understanding the circumstances surrounding each death.
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Having achieved her BA in Anthropology and Sociology, Rosie is now pursuing a fully-funded PhD in the field of Law and Sexuality. Her research project is examining the impact of legislation on the UK BDSM pornography industry, with special attention to the 2014 Audiovisual Media Services Regulations and the 2017 Digital Economy Act. Her wider interests surround community-based participatory methods and the sociological study of non-normative sexualities, including, but not limited to, LGBT+ identities, BDSM, polyamory and sex work.
