“In This Industry, You’re No Longer Human”: An Exploratory Study of Women’s Experiences in Pornography Production in Sweden
AUTHOR(S)
PUBLISHED
2021 in Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence
KEY FINDINGS
- In this qualitative study, researchers conducted and analyzed in-depth interviews with women in the porn industry, finding that sexual exploitation seems to be a common experience among performers in the industry.
ABSTRACT
Despite being a global, billion-dollar industry, very little is known about the conditions women face within the pornography industry. The aim of this study was to explore women’s experiences in pornography production, with a particular focus on structural antecedents to entrance, coercion, and violence within the industry, as well as current needs and any barriers to exiting the industry. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine women with experiences in pornography production in Sweden. Participants... READ FULL ABSTRACT
EXCERPTS
- "While financial insecurity propels women and girls into pornography and other forms of commercial sexualized exploitation, this factor alone is not usually sufficient and is almost always in combination with other adverse background factors. Commercial sexualized exploitation overwhelmingly affects women and girls with multiple, intersecting disadvantages, who have few to no other viable survival alternatives."
- "Surviving in the pornography industry today often requires spending hours on end interacting with porn buyers, many of whom harass the women with dickpics or degrading comments. Women must not only mask their disgust but pretend to actually enjoy the various forms of sexualized harassment and abuse they are systematically subject to.
