So Much For Anonymity! by Audrey Rose

 

From Audrey Rose’s Blog

I have been asking myself a lot this past week, “Why does privacy matter to me as an adult performer?” I am not ashamed of what I do. Actually, it is the opposite. I am proud of my adult entertainment work. I enjoy what I do and I love sharing what I do with the world. Why then did reading about the facial recognition technology being researched at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) produce an uneasy feeling within me? For anyone not familiar with the research, this technology can be used to take a random snapshot of any passerby then use that to find every photo of them available on the internet. The beneficial applications to our society abound yet I could not shake this unease from my core. Why?

This technology means anyone could snap a photo of me and pull up all of my past work, all of it. This guarantees that the safety net provided by my pseudonym is useless. I may as well be working under my real name!

There are many people in the world who think what I do in adult entertainment is wrong. Some of these people are in my circle of family, friends, and professional colleagues while others I have yet to encounter. I know I will be excommunicated by some. While I was fully aware of this fact before I began to work in adult entertainment, I it does not make it any easier.

Moreover, my career in adult entertainment has a shelf life. I did not expect to make porn a life-long career when I began (although I love this line of work and hope to do it as long as possible). Those that know me well are aware that mathematics education has been, and continues to be, a longtime passion of mine. Porn, while still a passion, does not fulfill me in the same way that say, helping an 8th grader take pride in his or her knowledge of algebra or a young college student understand the benefits of calculus does. Long after the next generation of sexy men and women replace me and other performers, I hope to be working towards making mathematics accessible to anyone willing to learn.

What scares me most about CMU’s facial recognition technology is the prospect that some day, when I am applying for my dream teaching job, I am going to be passed up for it. Someone will see my photos, make a judgement, and pass me up. (Anyone that thinks my fears are unfounded should do a quick Google search for Melissa Petro.) Porn does not change my love of math, nor does it nullify my degree in pure math from a top university, and it certainly does not erase the years of teaching experience under my belt. For some though, the fact that i have been involved in any form of sex work is enough of a reason to shun and exclude me.

So overall I do not fear that Audrey Rose will be associated with my real, legal name. That alone is actually a bit of a relief. I am no good at having a double life. The actions of others because of my work idoes scare me.

Audrey Rose Blog
http://theaudreyrose.blogspot.com/?zx=ac0c1d7fafd52e39

http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/society/2011/summer/facial-recognition.shtml