This Was Not Me. It Would Never Be Me. I Am Not Ashamed.
July 25, 2020 12:34 PM Subscribe
Many expected my rise in the adult world, including many in the adult world itself, to be a flash in the pan. It was a stunt. I wasn’t serious. No one from mainstream ever is—like mainstream is a place you go and can never look back. But that’s what makes this story different: my genuine love for adult performance and for colorful cinema. My story is a journey rather than a cautionary tale. And I was ready to prove the naysayers wrong. How Porn Saved Me From Hollywood by Maitland Ward [Article is SFW, but it's about the porn industry]
It’s always interested me as to how one comes to porn as a career.
Pick a reason to flag: fry-squint bait.
posted by mhoye at 1:30 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
Pick a reason to flag: fry-squint bait.
posted by mhoye at 1:30 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
That was refreshing. Thanks, OP!
posted by Bella Donna at 1:46 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 1:46 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
It’s always interested me as to how one [comes to porn] as a career.
It’s always interested me as to how one comes to [porn as a career].
hmmm...both good questions.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:17 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
It’s always interested me as to how one comes to [porn as a career].
hmmm...both good questions.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:17 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
I had no idea she was even doing porn, to be honest. I'm glad she made a confident choice and it worked for her. She describes her films as being sort of art house in inflection, so I'm betting they are actually pretty good films to watch. Some porn is just banging, but it is a wide landscape and I'm glad she found her place in it.
posted by hippybear at 3:35 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:35 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
Whatever you might think of the subject, the framing of that article and the way it pays off at the end is really neatly done.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:43 PM on July 25, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 4:43 PM on July 25, 2020 [8 favorites]
It’s always interested me as to how one comes to porn as a career.
posted by Thorzdad
For me it was the money. My first wife and I did live sex shows. I was 18. We made $1000 each, per week, in the late 70s. We had a corner apartment in a ritzy apartment. The other tenants couldn't figure us out. Two hippies that could afford that. Good times.
posted by Splunge at 4:48 PM on July 25, 2020 [49 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad
For me it was the money. My first wife and I did live sex shows. I was 18. We made $1000 each, per week, in the late 70s. We had a corner apartment in a ritzy apartment. The other tenants couldn't figure us out. Two hippies that could afford that. Good times.
posted by Splunge at 4:48 PM on July 25, 2020 [49 favorites]
It's a fun article but not really any deep introspection.
Honestly, having known well both people who were child actor/actresses and one person who dabbled on the fringes of the erotic industry... I can easily imagine committing to erotica being the healthier choice for many people. But Ward only talks a little bit about the freedom to be herself. I do wish we had more women like her in the industry, who were coming at if from a place of security and seemingly genuine interest.
Either way, thanks for sharing!
posted by sharkbot1957 at 4:58 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Honestly, having known well both people who were child actor/actresses and one person who dabbled on the fringes of the erotic industry... I can easily imagine committing to erotica being the healthier choice for many people. But Ward only talks a little bit about the freedom to be herself. I do wish we had more women like her in the industry, who were coming at if from a place of security and seemingly genuine interest.
Either way, thanks for sharing!
posted by sharkbot1957 at 4:58 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'm curious... what makes you think that there aren't more women like her in the industry, coming at it from a place of security and genuine interest?
posted by ChrisR at 5:13 PM on July 25, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by ChrisR at 5:13 PM on July 25, 2020 [6 favorites]
A typical comment is, “Wow, you’re so normal”—as if porn, or the desire to perform sexually, is not.
I liked this, thank you for making the post. It isn't a long piece, but there is some good writing there:
People will ask me if I fear that the adult industry has ruined me for mainstream. It’s quite the opposite. Mainstream ruined me for mainstream. It became limiting and I was bored. This pigeonhole they put me in grew smaller and smaller. I was light. I was funny. That’s all I was allowed to be. When I hit my thirties, I was told I couldn’t be sexy. A publicist said to me, in a way that seemed polite to him, that if they wanted sexy they’d get someone who was 25. I’m glad I didn’t listen.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:27 PM on July 25, 2020 [9 favorites]
I liked this, thank you for making the post. It isn't a long piece, but there is some good writing there:
People will ask me if I fear that the adult industry has ruined me for mainstream. It’s quite the opposite. Mainstream ruined me for mainstream. It became limiting and I was bored. This pigeonhole they put me in grew smaller and smaller. I was light. I was funny. That’s all I was allowed to be. When I hit my thirties, I was told I couldn’t be sexy. A publicist said to me, in a way that seemed polite to him, that if they wanted sexy they’d get someone who was 25. I’m glad I didn’t listen.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:27 PM on July 25, 2020 [9 favorites]
Also, there is a link there to an article/interview with her that is also interesting to read.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:30 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 5:30 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
I was kind of hoping she’d talk more in detail about how/why she focused on going into porn. It’s always interested me as to how one comes to porn as a career.
Dip Flash's article has a good summary partway through:
In 2013, she gained notice cosplaying at comics’ conventions—including a female Robin getup at the Playboy Mansion that made headlines—and posting racy photos to her social media. “It was cool because on social media I could be my authentic self, and sometimes, in acting, they put you up to be who they want you to be,” she says. “So I could finally have fun, and be crazy, and be sexy, and be out there—to an extent.”
Her publicist at the time was, shall we say, less than thrilled with her foray into semi-nude modeling. “I had a publicist who was like, ‘Stop putting up sexy pictures. They will not hire you for anything if you do that. Once you get past 30, 35, they don’t hire you for doing sexy stuff. You should be auditioning to play Disney moms.’ He thought he was giving me good advice but it just wasn’t my thing,” she recalls. “I was typecast. I was seen as a wholesome comedy star, and I was trying to fight against that. I didn’t want to play a Disney mom.”
Ward maintains that porn happened somewhat “by accident.” Her dedicated army of online fans—she currently has over a million Instagram followers—asked her about selling various adult content, including nude photos, and begged her to set up a premium Snapchat account. She obliged, and later set up a Patreon. It blew up. After one day, she’d amassed 2,500 paying subscribers. “For 2018, I was the No. 1 adult-content creator for Patreon. And it put the power back in my hands. Studios wouldn’t give me that.”
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:18 PM on July 25, 2020 [18 favorites]
Dip Flash's article has a good summary partway through:
In 2013, she gained notice cosplaying at comics’ conventions—including a female Robin getup at the Playboy Mansion that made headlines—and posting racy photos to her social media. “It was cool because on social media I could be my authentic self, and sometimes, in acting, they put you up to be who they want you to be,” she says. “So I could finally have fun, and be crazy, and be sexy, and be out there—to an extent.”
Her publicist at the time was, shall we say, less than thrilled with her foray into semi-nude modeling. “I had a publicist who was like, ‘Stop putting up sexy pictures. They will not hire you for anything if you do that. Once you get past 30, 35, they don’t hire you for doing sexy stuff. You should be auditioning to play Disney moms.’ He thought he was giving me good advice but it just wasn’t my thing,” she recalls. “I was typecast. I was seen as a wholesome comedy star, and I was trying to fight against that. I didn’t want to play a Disney mom.”
Ward maintains that porn happened somewhat “by accident.” Her dedicated army of online fans—she currently has over a million Instagram followers—asked her about selling various adult content, including nude photos, and begged her to set up a premium Snapchat account. She obliged, and later set up a Patreon. It blew up. After one day, she’d amassed 2,500 paying subscribers. “For 2018, I was the No. 1 adult-content creator for Patreon. And it put the power back in my hands. Studios wouldn’t give me that.”
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:18 PM on July 25, 2020 [18 favorites]
When I hit my thirties, I was told I couldn’t be sexy.
Reminds me of Amy Schumer's Last Fuckable Day skit. (I still laugh at Julia Louis-Dreyfuss in the rowboat at the end.)
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:00 PM on July 25, 2020 [12 favorites]
Reminds me of Amy Schumer's Last Fuckable Day skit. (I still laugh at Julia Louis-Dreyfuss in the rowboat at the end.)
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:00 PM on July 25, 2020 [12 favorites]
Yeah this particular article read like an ad and didn't delve too deep, but the additional links definitely explain some of the benefits of porn over TV.
posted by latkes at 7:40 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by latkes at 7:40 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
I was the last person to listen to ‘Butterfly Effect’, but they mentioned the effect of algorithms and search terms on porn casting and bankability - that it has an effect that is a divergence from Hollywood-style age discrimination where people don’t know what to do with a woman between 23 and early 30s because she has no niche type - she’s not a coed/teen and she’s not a MILF, she’s just hot. This age range is where starlets become stars in the mainstream movie industry, but in porn the women usually have to supplement their income with other kinds of work. It’s strange that there’s this divergence when the motivation of the age bias is supposed to be ideas of physical attractiveness in the same culture for both industries, although I wouldn’t be surprised if people who pay for porn skew older and result in increased demand for age peers.
posted by Selena777 at 8:30 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Selena777 at 8:30 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
Mod note: One dismissive comment deleted, and a reply.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 10:03 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 10:03 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
I wouldn’t be surprised if people who pay for porn skew older
That is my thinking too, and with demographics as they are it is only going to get better for middle-aged women in both industries. For a 50 or 60 or 70 year old, mid thirties is still young and hot no matter what the Hollywood execs think.
And good for this person - never heard of her until today, and glad she has found her niche and is happy.
posted by Meatbomb at 1:09 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
That is my thinking too, and with demographics as they are it is only going to get better for middle-aged women in both industries. For a 50 or 60 or 70 year old, mid thirties is still young and hot no matter what the Hollywood execs think.
And good for this person - never heard of her until today, and glad she has found her niche and is happy.
posted by Meatbomb at 1:09 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
I am happy that she found her jam. As far as I can tell, regardless of industry the happiest people are the people who have the most control over their labor. Why would actors be any different?
posted by Bella Donna at 2:00 AM on July 26, 2020 [17 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:00 AM on July 26, 2020 [17 favorites]
Labor, time, or both, I should have said.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:00 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:00 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
And funny enough Bella Donna, I was just reading to my 8 y.o. son about the Luddites and the alienation of labour... so much YES to your comment here, get the parasites off our back and let us own our labour (and time) again!
posted by Meatbomb at 2:19 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Meatbomb at 2:19 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
Funnily enough, I was just reading a different article about Mia Khalifa, who seems to have an entirely opposing view about the porn industry - perhaps it was Ward’s mainstream success that allowed her to start at the better end of the pornography industry, and her experiences in Hollywood that taught her what to avoid.
posted by The River Ivel at 5:52 AM on July 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by The River Ivel at 5:52 AM on July 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
I had a sublet tenant here, who was into XXX fetish things, and I originally was squeaked out by that, but then when I met these people they were really nice folks.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:41 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:41 AM on July 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
StickyCarpet: Eponysterical?
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:51 AM on July 26, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:51 AM on July 26, 2020 [7 favorites]
Is it strange that the first thing I thought of when I read this and found out she had switched out of mainstream acting was the prank war episode In “Boy Meets World” where her boudoir photo she sent to her boyfriend was used to shame and “prank her” in public?
I was a year old two behind the school year of the cast and this episode of disney-fied revenge porn stuck with me.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 1:17 PM on July 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
I was a year old two behind the school year of the cast and this episode of disney-fied revenge porn stuck with me.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 1:17 PM on July 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
When I hit my thirties, I was told I couldn’t be sexy.
hahahahahahahahahaha!
That's the funniest thing I have heard since "couldn't eat another bite" Monty Python.
Seriously, so many people are "sexy" well beyond 30.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:10 PM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
hahahahahahahahahaha!
That's the funniest thing I have heard since "couldn't eat another bite" Monty Python.
Seriously, so many people are "sexy" well beyond 30.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:10 PM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Well if you define "being sexy" as "mainstream directors will hire you to play sexy roles," then it's not so much "funny" as "a career-ruining fact for tens of thousands of actresses a year."
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:37 PM on July 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:37 PM on July 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
If that was directed at me, I should have said absurd instead of funny. I should have been more clear. I apologize.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:39 PM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:39 PM on July 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by Thorzdad at 1:25 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]