Posted without permission from her blog, hopefully shes not mad..lol
This subject could be a book all its own. I thought I knew some things about the adult industry, and then I started my online journey, and it’s different. Working on sets was much easier than trying to navigate this industry through online reading, writing and communication. Being involved in the online part of the business nearly sent me the other way in my thinking regarding the industry. There are some very slimy people online, but I have to remember that I don’t do this for them, I do it for the people who–like me as a performer–wake up and go to work and try to juggle a life and family. It is possible to do, but people from within and without do everything they can to make it difficult.
I went back and forth in tweets with Nica Noelle today. I’ll find a way to write about it, but it is because I have questions about hers and January Seraph’s new organization, Adult Performers Association. Today illustrated what a mine field navigating communication in the adult industry can be.
I’m not unaware of the defensiveness one might adopt when approached by someone they feel is attacking them. I, myself, have had a tendency to be aggressive in my views, but I come from a sincere place when I ask questions. I see the world simply, and maybe it is too simple for some, but all views are valid, and it is simplicity that keeps me on track.
January Seraph relayed to me that she was working on a blog post that would explain her affiliation with Stuart Lawley and his .XXX sTLD. I am not the only person curious about January and Nica Noelle because there seems an air of secretiveness even though press releases have been released and questions have already been asked. It is naïve to assume there would be no concern surrounding a talent organization when so many people are constantly positioning themselves to protect or control industry performers. A talent-based organization has to be ready to field all questions because it is the talent who are the gems of this industry. If you control the talent, you control the business. Flippant responses, tricky evasions and elitist/snobbish behavior will not do. And let’s be clear, these women aren’t just talent. They produce content. Many delicate things must be considered, and a practical approach to answering concerned questions must be evaluated and practiced, the way any other organization does these things. Bringing ones performer persona into the arena of talent representation is detrimental to communication. I wrote my post asking the questions I ask because January Seraph–in her tweets about .XXX and in the way she decided to drop her blog post and tweet her sentiment about ‘not owing certain types of people an answer’–basically, has a snob demeanor when she should take the time for deeper consideration. If you are going to coordinate and speak for talent as a whole, your demeanor and your personal and organizational affiliations factor in. I’m not a willing submissive playing a certain role with an aggressive female. I’m a person with nothing to gain by asking what is going on, and my concern is for talent because I was talent and I really do care, as I am sure they do, also.
Then my relationship with Michael Whiteacre was brought up because Michael “attacks” January and Nica. Saying he is my “partner” is something people who don’t like Michael use to judge me, and it’s happened a few times–in public and in private. Michael did not call me and say, ‘Hey, January Seraph is tweeting a biased perspective on the .XXX debate.’ I’ve been following things and it all led me to her tweets. Anyone paying attention can see she is in favor of .XXX, and that is where it started for me. It raises questions, naturally.
I don’t like saying Michael is not my partner. I would partner with him on anything, but my husband does not like me being too personally involved in the industry, and he is my literal partner. In other words, he doesn’t like me fighting with industry people and anti-industry people, because there are so many negative people out there.
I was in the downloadable list on PornWikiLeaks that matched real names with stage names and revealed the sensitive government information of hundreds–if not thousands–of people! I have friends who are still mortified about what happened, who come up very fast in the search engine when their name is Googled. If you know what that feels like, then you know why I had to get away from everything. It’s a kind of terrorism to treat people that way. Why? Because I’m a woman and I have autonomy over my vagina? And you don’t like that? Why? Because I’m not racist and allowed a black man to have sex with me? Yes. Because I’m a nice person who wanted to marry a hippie mentality with taking care of my husband and my child. I didn’t bring it into my home. I went to work and then became a wife and mother afterwards, and someone decided to call me a whore and give the world my personal information and open me up to identity theft and harassment. The online industry is a filthy place, and I am personally grateful to everyone who put that site down. The embarrassment of Adult Industry Medical’s (AIM’s) database mistakes and the subsequent leak of personal information is, hopefully, behind us. I have family and parents who love me, as do anyone else. No one deserved that kind of treatment. It is despicable to do that to anyone, in any form whatsoever! I strongly recommend anyone terrorizing other human beings by using their personal information over the internet to just stop and walk away, no matter how justified they feel. It is not healthy. Not healthy at all…
I have to keep perspective in all of this. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) attacked the flaws at AIM, and Free Speech Coalition (FSC) stepped in to make sure AHF didn’t deliver a death blow to the industry altogether. As it should! That’s what they get paid to do. If you don’t think your money has been invested wisely in supporting them over the years, their ability to step in and coordinate a fix for all of this is proof it isn’t for nothing! Who else has done this? For all of the anti-FSC sentiment, who has stepped in to plug the gaps? No one. FSC’s Adult Production Health and Safety Services is an answer to centralizing talent testing so that everyone is informed when someone tests positive for something no one wants when performing sex for their job. If you don’t like seeing the monopoly on testing, that’s a valid reason, but remember that the industry is not only relatively small, lots of people are attacking it while it is vulnerable right now. No one wants to see the amateur mistakes made again that AIM demonstrated. FSC has always been at the forefront of free speech issues, and from what I can see, they have risen honorably to the challenge of catering to the industry’s needs.
Michael Whiteacre is a man of integrity and honorable intention. I see friendships flip-flip constantly, and even when I have questioned certain things, there has always been a good reason for why he does what he does. He may seem like an attacker, but he defends the industry, period. He, like I, have nothing to gain by pointing things out. We don’t make a nickel off porn production–referrals or otherwise. We see something that doesn’t make sense and we chase it like white blood cells fighting an infection. If you can’t answer the tough questions, then you are hiding something. And honetsly, if you filter out the aggression from Michael’s rhetoric, he points out information. He says nothing without a reason. If he has reason to be wary of someone, he doesn’t hesitate to point it out. He, alone, is a miracle of free speech.
I know that everything happens for a reason. I am the kind of person who would listen to good reasons in support of .XXX, but everyone guards their positions and affiliations. It doesn’t serve the industry well to do this. There must be some financial gain, or there’s no reason to support it. That’s fine. Financial gain is a good–albeit personal–reason to support something, especially in this downtrodden economy. That, I believe, is why some of us are here. To politely and gently point out the inherent flaws in thinking about things in the moment. Maybe you don’t see the problems something will cause, but if it puts a clamp on free speech, and subsequently, free will, it is a problem. Everyone now can see the harm in bank deregulation. Open up and talk and let people in and allow people to disagree with you, or you will find yourself without any supporters at all.
Her Blog and link to original piece
http://www.juliemeadows.com/blog/2011/09/27/navigating-the-online-adult-industry/
Thank you for sharing this. 🙂