How August Ames' Suicide Is Changing the Porn Industry (Rolling Stone)

Read the full article by Tina Horn at RollingStone.com

It's been over three months since the suicide of porn performer August Ames, and her husband, porn producer and director Kevin Moore, is bothered by what he feels is a lack of support from his colleagues. The tragedy of Ames' death has been compounded by a tangled controversy involving online shaming, HIV stigma and mental health resources, and Moore worries that his wife is going to be forgotten.

"The business side doesn't want to acknowledge it because it's not sexy," Moore tells Rolling Stone. "The industry wants to stick its head in the sand and just hope it all goes away."

Back in December, Ames had tweeted that she would not have sex on camera with a male performer who had previously worked in gay porn, known in the industry as a "crossover performer." Her statement incited a heated debate over homophobia and HIV risk-based discrimination that spread from Twitter to mainstream media coverage. Two days later, Ventura County authorities announced that Ames hanged herself.

When news of Ames' suicide broke, the scisms grew deeper. Moore believes that cyberbullying pushed her into despair. Some argued for the right of performers to decide who they have sex with, while others believed that prejudice could be criticized without compromising the right to body autonomy.