Adult entertainment has seen a boom in the last few years.
And it's real work for many.
Who is anyone to judge?
Yes, it's still a taboo topic for many.
But if that is where your success lies, than who is to judge?
Redditor Isuckathis22 wondered what everyone would say if they discovered someone close was a sex worker, so they asked:
"What would your reaction be if your friend was a porn star?"
I actually have friends in the business. Doesn't change a thing for me.
Family Matters
Season 18 Omg GIF by America's Got TalentGiphy"We found out our cousin was a porn star, my mom and aunt (both 70 at the time) asked me to google her name to see if it was true... Um, safe to day I don't google family members anymore."
andurilmat
Earnings
"Not necessarily a pornstar but I do know a couple of people that successfully out-earn me to varying degrees on OnlyFans. None of our friends really care, but we are a little jealous of the money and not having to answer to a boss."
Cadenh16
"They actually re-use old videos and pictures. I know someone who did it for a while and is now retired but they have a huge vault of videos and photos that they pay a management company to post and chat with subscribers. They just sit back and collect checks now at least $150k a year after management fees."
secretreddname
My EYES!!!
"Depends on the friend either a bleach bath for my eyes or a night of studying."
CommanderAze
"I've watched professionally produced videos of 3 girls I know IRL."
"One posted a NSFW picture on FB with a more known actress which got me wondering since she was a dancer and I knew her stage name. One was through the rumor mill and the last I just stumbled on by accident. Thankfully no eye bleach was required but the dancer made me realize some things are best left to the imagination."
liquid_acid-OG
The Day Player
"I wouldn’t care."
"Source: my college best friend was never a star, but she did a few scenes, including with a famous pornstar."
"This happened nearly a decade ago. She used the money to fund her drug addiction. She is married now and is no longer involved in sex work (not that there would be anything wrong with it if she was). So no, I will not be giving more information, sorry lol."
infinite_five
Past Due
Living My Life Lol GIF by The MickGiphy"I just asked her a lot of questions. (She was retired by the time I met her)."
suhkuhtuh
The topic itself fascinating.
Who wouldn't have questions?
Good for You!
heath ledger joker GIFGiphy"As the Joker said, 'If you’re good at something, never do it for free.'"
"But in seriousness no big deal. As long as it’s consensual and they aren’t being coerced into stuff, sex work is work and shouldn’t be stigmatized."
cheesyoperator
NAH!!
"LMAO wouldn't necessarily call her a porn 'star' but somewhat encountered this situation. A girl I knew from when I was younger didn't really know what she wanted to do and tried becoming an influencer for a couple of years, but that didn't work. I followed her and always tried to be supportive of her doing influencing stuff because it was semi-related to the industry I'm in."
"Anyways that wasn't doing well so she decides to start an Onlyfans, she asked all her friends to subscribe and support her. It was like 5 bucks so I said alright f**k it lmao. For a while, I didn't want to even check it out because it felt weird but I did at some point sift through what she was posting but it felt so weird I was like... nah."
syntaxndsemantics
The Happy-Go-Lucky Guy
"I have a friend who’s done more than one professional porno. It’s been about 8 years since his last one. He received an offer from a producer shortly after we graduated high school. He claims he and the producer totally randomly connected over Snapchat. I suspect he researched the producer and reached out first."
"My friend is a good-looking guy and hasn’t been shy about his manhood. He made home videos with a girl, and I believe he passed those along. The girl in his home videos did amateur porn after. When he first told me I didn’t believe him. He’s shown me some of his work, and frankly, I’m pretty impressed that he put himself out there. The one 'film' he showed me featured him and an actress twice our age."
"I’m jealous that he had the opportunity. I’m not sure I’m secure enough to do it myself. He made enough money to put a decent down payment on a Dodge Ram, and he stopped after his parents found out, which is hilarious to me. He was also told that if he wanted to make real money he had to switch teams."
"I asked him his thoughts on the whole process, and he basically said it was easy money and a lot of fun. He’s a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. I was curious if he felt any pressure or nerves, and he said he didn’t. Nowadays, he’s in the trades, he’s single."
newadventures96
Bad World
"I ran into a high school friend about 6 years after graduating and learned that she was doing porn. It made all the sense in the world because was always highly sexual in school and she was open and not sorry about it at all. Was nominated for a VPN award too so she was doing quality stuff, I’ve been told. I just asked her question after question. It’s a pretty f**ked up world they live in. Wild and fun, but brainwashy and not good for the soul."
TennesseeStiffLegs
I got you!
in living color GIFGiphy"No judgment. Earn your snaps however you want. I'd only check out their content if they're comfortable with it. I'm loyal, we're going to be friends always, now let's have drinks."
Honest_Art_3266
How people make their money is their business.
As long as no one is hurting anyone, who cares.
Redditor Throwaway4561947373 wanted to discuss everyone's thoughts on dating options, so they asked:
"Would you ever date a pornstar? Why or why not?"
I did briefly date a porn star.
It was fun. But I'm way too jealous.
Schedule
Disgusted Season 6 GIF by Brooklyn Nine-NineGiphy"I dated a stripper. Her schedule was the real deal breaker. Well, that and her cocaine addiction, but that's beside the point."
C-C-C-Coolah
"The schedule thing was kind of nice at first because I value my alone time, but after a while the showing up at my house at 530am before I went to work was starting to make me feel really gross."
C-C-C-Coolah
No Mas
"I dated a stripper once. Craziest couple of months of my life. I still have no idea how old she is or what her actual life story is/was. The sex was shockingly tame, but she did have awesome ti*s. Not a chapter in my life I’d like to revisit tho haha."
Climate_Face
"I had a roommate who was dating a stripper and eventually dating her 'show partner' at the same time. It was a very wild 5 months where he got almost no sleep (schedule thing, not sex thing) and eventually said 'no mas.' Turned out there was too much of a good thing."
ksuwildkat
Wild
"I don’t think I personally could. Little too wild of a lifestyle/profession for me."
JessiePeteWhite
"Also, just imagining dealing with the fans that come from dating a regular celebrity makes me feel uneasy. The kind of people who'd seek out a pornstar in public would be a whole other level of cringe."
Poignant_Porpoise
"I wonder how you envisage their lifestyle. Plenty of them live normal lives and just go to work like anyone else. And especially with how many are independent these days the work is a lot more in their control and safer."
Athaelan
Patreon
"I dated a girl who sold nudes on Patreon back in the day. When we first started dating I knew she had nudes up on deviant art, bit didn't know about the Patreon. She never liked going out during the day except if we went to the movies. One day I got the tines for the different theaters mixed up."
"Got there, the next shoeing was in an hour, so we said f**k it and went to the cafeteria (the theater was attached to a mall) and ate some food. Some random chubby dude comes out excited and out of breath calling her by her handle saying he buys a bunch of her pictures and he couldn't believe he was meeting her."
"We were both frozen. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to scare the guy off or let her try to make another sale while she thought I was gonna be pi**ed that she didn't tell me about her Patreon. We laughed about it later."
AshyBoneVR4
About the $$$
Pay Me Kim Kardashian GIF by GQGiphy"Thought about dating a stripper but even outside the club when we just hang out as friends she’s very monetary about everything. If I have to pay a service fee to hang out with you then I’d rather just not."
Keyguin
Always follow the money.
That's where the truth is.
Work
Sexy Jessica Alba GIFGiphy"No, because I'd feel like I was asking them to work whenever I wanted to have sex. I never said it was a rational thought, people."
Froticlias
Do what you Gotta!
"I dated a porn star for a bit. he was straight but did mostly gay shoots because it's higher paid. when he would tell me he had a good day at work it usually would mean that everyone was being cooperative or something funny happened."
night-gloss
"I have a friend that’s a porn star, and she said sex on set is very different from sex with someone you love/care about."
Gogh619
"That makes sense, but I could still imagine feeling like you’ve been touched and simulated so much that doing it more seems overwhelming, even if emotionally you would want to do it. And if you’re a guy you might not have much left in the tank so to speak."
Leet_Noob
For Love
"It's easy to say I wouldn't judge but in all honesty pretty sure many people wouldn't be comfortable, some would be I guess but most wouldn't. I think it all falls down to when you are dating them if you are truly in love enough to allow this or well maybe you like they do that anyway, it's really hard to say in real life."
DemonCyborg27
Lack of Potential
"Definitely not. Whenever I've dated someone, I've been at least open to the possibility of it potentially turning into marriage and a family; I would not want my kids to have to deal with that. Can you imagine going through your teens, with people sending you clips of your mum doing whatever to and with whoever? Your teenage years can be a tough enough experience by their own merit; let alone adding in that crap."
J-in-the-UK
A Current Affair
"A former pornstar and I wouldn't have an issue, we all have a past after all. An active pornstar though would be a serious no from me. I know I wouldn't be able to handle my partner being intimate with another person while they are with me, it being their job wouldn't matter."
votemarvel
Well to each their own.
Just be nice about people's choices.
Redditor Miix_ wanted to see who was willing to fess up about their relationships with pornography, so they asked:
"People with a porn addiction, how did you realize you had it?"
Frequency
Oh My Reaction GIFGiphy"Watched them even when not horny."
thestarsinmysky
"I sometimes watch it while I'm eating like I'm watching a Netflix show."
KenKaniffLovesEminem
Sleep First
"I looked up addiction one time and it said stuff along the lines of 'Causes lack of sleep, worse performance at work/life due to thinking about said thing, and depression.' All those boxes were checked so now I know. I just don't know how to take care of it."
GodKing_Zan
Can't Stop
"When I wanted to stop watching it, but I kept going back to watching even though I wanted to stop."
Arrowkill
"Same, that and because I only know it was father's day because pornhub had a premium promotion."
Raskalnekov
"Yeah when you're at the point of 'I want to fight the urge, but it takes too much energy, so i'll just let it go on and figure it out later,' that's when you're addicted in my opinion (experienced it myself)."
PaleontologistDry118
Cold Turkey
"I went to Turkey 🇹🇷 and tried to access my favourites. They blocked virtually all porn. It ruined my vacation, I left early."
"I checked myself into therapy and just quit. I have had some relapses, but I now have a support system and a mentor. I will be back to two years porn-free April 17th."
Puzzleheaded_Ad928
"Turkish person here! Congratulations on getting your life back, and hope you revisit the country!"
volcanopenguins
Problems
"I couldn't get erect with my girlfriend and I preferred porn over sex."
louied862
"The s**t ain't worth it. I now use my imagination or just physical touch when I crack off. It's healthy sexuality. Porn is just escapism and isn't real."
louied862
Not being able to be with a loved one is a big red flag.
Rush
robot chicken boobies GIFGiphy"I thought about watching porn basically everytime, sexualized almost every women I saw and I used it as a dopamin rush every time I felt a down."
SirBurgonya
Crazy
"Actually, I heard this story from someone else (it happened to them): So this girl hooked up with a guy and in the middle of the hook up he takes out his phone and watches porn. Yeah, that’s how bad addictions could go, it’s horrible."
CakebitezCrisis
"I've read interviews with female pornstars talking about how the guys have to watch porn to stay hard while they're literally having sex with pornstars. Like they have to stop the scene and they have to get out their phone and watch porn for a little bit to continue. Crazy."
DannySorensen
Cycles
"I had no interest anymore in real life. it felt underwhelming."
thebeeleaveme
"I appreciate you posting this, because I feel like it’s exactly what my partner is going through. Of course, it’s a vicious cycle because he goes back to it when he’s feeling bad and then it just continues getting worse. I have no idea how to help him stop the cycle."
J3llyDonut
Ladies Too
"Planning every daily event around when I could get back and watch porn. Reading smut while at the park with my kids. And finally getting caught by my Mother in law. This is from a ladies perspective because we can definitely have a porn addiction too."
Totallymommy
We applaud these folks for addressing they may have an issue and taking the steps the need to address it.
Redditorh00psz004wanted to hear about the times people learned the profession of a loved one or acquaintance and it a bit of a surprise.
They asked:
"Friends or family of porn stars what was your first reaction when you found out?"
I have known several porn stars. All good people and a load of fun. And no, I won't name names.
Her Niche
Olivia Wilde Reaction GIFGiphy"I had a roommate who did porn. She told us about it herself and was very open about it. She was popular in a very niche kink, but didn’t work enough to be able to support herself solely off of porn. Now she has a masters in education and works as an elementary school teacher."
bittyitty
Mommy Dearest
"My mother is a porn star. It kind of tore our relationship apart. We were never close in the first place because she was a terrible mother but that pushed me over the edge to not want to talk to her anymore. I was 13 when I found out by the way. I didn't just find out, I saw. Things change in your mind when you see your mom's anal fisting porn. (I wish that was a joke)."
undergroundpolarbear
In the Woods
"I found my flatmate on a porn site too 😬 The shoot took place out on a hike somewhere (I believe she told me about the sexual encounter over a drink one night but not the fact it was all over the internet). I absolutely shat myself when I realised it was her- I felt so yucky and guilty for seeing her like that. I immediately shut everything down and didn't look at porn for ages afterwards lol."
Devojka_Iz_Svemira
That Girl
"First thought: Oh wow, she has nice breasts."
"Second thought: Yea, that's not gonna look good for her mom."
"The woman in question was a student in the grade below me in high school. I knew her sister and their mom was a teacher at that school."
slick1260
Something is Familiar
See Season 16 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"Was browsing and came across one of my housemate titled 'Russian teen amateur.' First, she's Mexican. Second, she's like 28. Third, THAT'S MY F**ING BED!!"
voice_of_craisin
It must be daunting when you recognize the stars and your apartment. Like, you could've at least invited me.
Freaky & Brilliant
teacher GIFGiphy"My friend got into the porn industry because it’s much more lucrative than her degreed field (microbiology). I wasn’t surprised at all because she’s uninhibited and freaky anyway, and just assured her I had no issues or judgements about it."
xxplodingboy
Those We Lose
"Male porn actor here! My mom found out... and she was surprisingly way more chill than I thought she'd be. Of course she hates it and doesn't want me doing it, but she was essentially like 'the past is the past, now let's never talk about this again.'" I actually lost a group of friends over it."
"Not sure how they found out but apparently they started talking behind my back about it on Facebook. One of those guys reached out to me to let me know what was happening, and that he personally didn't care. I reached out to the group but they weren't interested in hearing what I had to say, and pretty much cut me off. I think they were worried that it might somehow affect them professionally in a negative way."
"I've had a few girlfriends/girls I was seeing find out. So far most have been fairly cool about it. One actually cried upon finding out, but at her insistence we watched a few of my vids together, and it was absurd enough that we could both laugh about it. My other friends (the true friends) were just like okay, cool."
pornishard
Family Matters
"Okay. So I woke up one day to a text sent from my cousin, M. Who sent me a pornhub link to another cousin, S. Apparently she has been doing it for awhile, and got another cousin involved in her sexual endeavors, T. So now I have family members who do porn and took Incest Porn a little too literally."
forskin_curtains
Mind your Business
"Recently in my friends group it came to light that one of our buddies wife's sister (F 23) started an OF page over the pandemic (she lost her job as a hair stylist, and where we live was in lockdown for quite a long time), and now has a page on PornHub, even a sub-reddit. She does mainly solo stuff, but pretty heavy with one particular kink."
"When we found out, most of use guys were not surprised as she always had a promiscuous attitude. I feel for my buddy though, him, his wife are born again Christian, and it has destroyed the relationship between the sisters, as well, it has also created a huge rift in his wife's family, were half want to shun her, and the half are accepting, (the parents are divorced, so there is lots of people in play)."
"It also doesn't help that one of our other buddies went on a massive hunt for all the links and videos and sent them to us all, and presumably many more people, absolutely pissing off our buddy, as I guess he feels obligated in trying to defend his wife's family, it has created a rift between them, and overall a very messy situation."
cynicalyak
Who Cares?
So What Idk GIF by Adam LambertGiphy"I overheard my parents fighting and heard my dad scream, “WHO GIVES A F**K IF I SMOKE POT AND YOU’RE A PORNSTAR?!?” As a slightly innocent 10 y.o. I was pretty shocked."
GoAndrevv
It figures...
"Meh. It wasn’t surprising. A girl in my class ended up doing porn after high school. She was only in a few videos and it really wasn’t anything special, kinda lazy actually. However, this girl was very attractive and dumb as a rock. I distinctly remember having her in my entrepreneurship class where we were shown a slideshow of Bill Gates, with no pictures, to which she said out loud 'Isn’t that the guy from National Treasure?/ As far as I know now she’s an insurance agent and has 3 kids."
HooptyBiggums
She Made It
"I was surprised and then went back to eating my bagel… My aunt made her first million in real estate during the 80s-90s when construction and development boomed in California. She then invested in an adult entertainment company that revolutionized the adult content and distribution model in the industry and was one of the first female owners of a production company in that business."
"The films she helped produce were the highest budget films in adult entertainment and earned many AVN awards. This was during the late 90s and early 2000s when DVDs were still the mainstream method of distributing films of all types. She is pretty amazing and I always enjoy listening to her stories. Definitely made many many many millions over her career."
Accomplished_Cup_922
"schoolteacher"
"Not a family member, but a friend of mine from high school, Pete. it was a really low budget effort. the woman playing the 'schoolteacher' undressed and tossed her skirt on the bed and then they started going at it. While they were doing it, an old guy with a white beard."
"(Pete's grandfather, maybe?) walked into the frame and took away the skirt. I guess he wanted to save on dry cleaning or something. anyway, the grandfather was a building superintendent on Central Park West, and Pete was truly hung. I'm sorry I passed on that, dude!"
Gina-Smith
Top 100?
Who Knows Yes GIF by BounceGiphy"A girl I used to date started doing porn, I was disappointed that my penis wasn’t in the top 10 penis’ by comparison, but it wasn’t in the bottom 650 either."
Odintodd
The Ex
"Ex girlfriend is now a pornstar. She always wanted to make videos with me. I obliged to the videos but refused to upload them anywhere. She’s insanely hot and instantly recognizable so anything with her face in it would be a dead giveaway that it was me on the other side. 2 months after we broke up, my friends pointed out that she’s all over the front page of pornhub. She immediately jumped into porn and I’m sure my friends probably masturbated it to her (which I absolutely hate the thought of)."
WhoDat_37
hacked...
"Not a pornstar, but a friend from high school made some cuckold/gangbang videos with her boyfriend. Her iCloud got hacked and the videos found their way onto some popular porn sites. Somehow, her name was connected to the videos and a bunch of 4chan cretins found her family (including grandmother) on social media and sent them screenshots. I found all this out a few years back when I googled her name looking to reconnect. All that popped up were the videos and the archived 4chan thread. I have no idea where she is now, but I hope she's okay."
el_goyo_rojo
Go for you...
"My best friend does cam shows. We talk about it from time to time, she seems to enjoy it and it makes my monthly wage in 3 nights so I can only be happy and supportive."
Angry_Strawberries
Pay Per View
Glitch Tv Television GIF by Dr. Donna Thomas RodgersGiphy"They were a girl one year above me in high school. Obviously this was a few years after graduation. She had her own pay site so I never saw anything, but I did see that she also sold her underwear and thought was hilarious at the time."
Nerdfatha
It Just Is
"I stumbled on a movie that had someone I knew in it. I did have sex to it, then felt awkward about it. We chatted privately about it and he told me that though he retired from porn, he didn't feel ashamed of that chapter of his life. It stopped being awkward for me."
"Then I moved to SF, which has a giant porn industry. It was not unusual to cross paths with a porn star on a typical Thursday. Or to stumble upon a movie that a friend had filmed for Kink.com. The mystique of it wore off pretty quick."
j0m1n1n
Sex is fun. And if you can make cash doing it, more power to you.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
***WARNING - THIS CONVERSATION IS FOR 17 AND UP!!!***
Porn is fun. There is a dish on the menu for everyone and that's nice.
Bad Discovery
"Honestly I wish I hadn't discovered it."
Ralfslapins
"Same here, been watching it since I was 11 and having a hard time stopping now."
LavishnessLonely7890
Month to Month
"It is pretty hard to quit. I mean I can get away from watching it for like a month, but the temptation keeps kicking in after the month."
That-Possibility-952
"I've noticed that I get tempted in stages and it's 3 days, then 5-7 days, then after 2 weeks. I don't think I've made it to a month but Ramadhan is coming up and I'm currently doing pretty well and hoping I can use the month to launchpad into cold turkey since I've been cutting back slowly over the last 2 years."
kylomorales
Ruined
"I didn’t used to mind it until my ex became addicted to it. It ruined our relationship after that."
cynthia3749
"Addiction is real. So sorry for you. I’ve fallen into the trap myself. I’m working every day to get out. My wife is understanding, though hurt. She still loves me and wants to help me which is all the motivation I need."
KimJongDerp1992
Bad Ideas
"Having access to porn at a very young age damaged my view of women. I see absolutely no value in the porn industry (it is well known for sex trafficking and drug abuse). There is literally no upside other than instant gratification."
A**Egg
Nothing There
life show GIFGiphy"It is so empty."
bbyoda_unchained
"The people that want realistic meaningful porn generally aren't able to make their own. If they could, I doubt they'd be watching porn."
kykaiboi
So Artsy
"I don’t watch it but I read erotica more. I find it less fake and better."
7_queenarmy
Influences
"Can't be satisfied without specific triggers anymore. Ever seen someone on page 34 of Pornhub? That's me."
hailmorrigan
"This is honestly terrible to hear, good luck. Breaking addictions is hard but if you believe in yourself, you can do it."
NZnumber1AussiesBTFO
unrealistic standards...
"As a 26 year old male, I benefit a lot from not using it. I’m not one of those pro “no fapp” kinda people, but I do think not using porn is better for you. It sets unrealistic standards and it’s just a dopamine chase."
ForWhenImWeird
"I still watch occasionally, but honestly not using it is best. There are some forms I prefer to videos with real people, but not using is the best option. On top of that, learning how awful the industry is should make everyone want to quit. I'm glad to have lowered my consumption compared to where it used to be."
Jazz_Musician
Disturbing...
"And even though it’s fake it’s very impressionable on young boys. Imagine their first time having sex. Don’t tell me that porn doesn’t affect young boys in negative ways especially with how they view and treat women later in life."
kh7190
No thank you...
Saturday Night Live Ugh GIF by HULUGiphy"We're the first generation of men who grew up with widespread high definition porn. And no one publicly talks about it. I think its messed up our brains a lot. Kinda like we think back to when doctors used to prescribe cocaine or smoking for things, and only decades later did they discover how bad it is."
areopagitic
Well... a very interesting read indeed.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.