In Praise of the Dignity and Pride of the Porn Star

The other night the rising twink starlet Hayden Chandler (in the picture at left) was having a deep moment at Twitter. "Can people who do porn be role models??" he tweets. That is actually an important question. Especially for someone like Hayden - a young person in the process of growing up, turning into an adult, finding his own identity and place in the world. Everyone wants to be respected and to be able to be proud of what they do - and the general attitude regarding porn actors is not making it easy. This happens to be something I feel strongly about. So I will write more eloquently about what I told Hayden in the Twitter 140 character restricted conversation we had.

Pornography in some form has been around since the time of the cave paintings. Humans are social, spiritual and imaginative animals that have always tried to express their thoughts and feelings by creating art (is that Steffen Van in the picture at right, or a sculpture of a Greek god?). Art (or entertainment, if one wants to make such separations) has the capacity of transmitting and creating emotion, even changing the world. Sexuality is no different from other walks of life in this regard. Human sexuality is so much more than just putting plug A to slot B and breeding. There is absolutely nothing wrong with material that is created for the sole purpose of being used for jerking off – sexual well-being is an essential part of a person's mental and emotional balance.

So Hayden, and others who work the same trade: damn straight you can be role models. There is nothing shameful about your job. You create joy and sexual well-being for people.Just like professional athletes you use your bodies in your work, and may take certain health risks for your work. Yet athletes are celebrated nationwide, while porn actors are typecast as immoral, shallow, stupid or more charitably traumatized and self-destructive. You are shoved to the marginal of society even though in reality nearly everyone watches porn.

So, dear porn actor. Have a professional attitude. Treat your fellow porn actors and other people involved in the creation of the films well. Be nice to your fans. Respect other people and act assertively. Value what you do. Then you can be my role model any day. I see your job no different from being another entertainer: a dancer, musician or actor. There was a time when these were frowned upon, too. You guys deserve more respect than you get.

The similarities between porn stars and athletes don't end to what I wrote above. The nature of the work, especially in case of sudden success, puts certain temptations and pitfalls in your way. There are a lot of parties, booze and drugs available. There are people flattering you and lusting after you.There is no shortage of opportunities for sex, and you are at the horniest point of your life. Especially twink stars as well as athletes know that time of their career is very limited. Youth and beauty fade. That is a lot to handle for any 18 year old. People who oppose pornography often ask if I would be proud of my hypothetical child if he was a porn star, expecting to score a point. Well, now I have made the acquaintance of several twink stars, and can say that I would be damn proud to have many of them as my son. And to demonstrate what kind of beauty porn actors bring to our world, below I present Steffen at work with Cody Cachet.

So, dear, porn actors! Do your thing and be proud, just like Hayden says he is. You have every right and reason to do so.

PS. A tip of the day: if you ever feel the urge to veet your asshole – don't. Hayden found out the hard way :) There's something very endearing about a person who approaches anything by trying it out and seeing what happens.