Why do you think women go into porn?

Our culture is now so porn-saturated that many of these women probably don’t see it as the freakish deviation it is. I imagine they‘ve had exposure to it since a young age and have thus normalized it. And OF is presented in a way that makes it seem like theyre participating in a racier, more lucrative (not really ofc) version of IG. I feel so sad for today’s young women, and I only see things getting worse with the proliferation of DIY porn and a world thats entrenched in degeneracy and patriarchy

I can only speak for myself (I was an escort on retainer for a little bit a few years ago, also talked to a lot of other women in that space.)

Part of it is validation. Not yet having learned that men wanting to fuck you (1) isn't healthy validation, but (2) isn't particularly difficult validation to get. The dating bar being on the floor also doesn't help - when a guy is willing to fuck you and you get money on top of that, and your standards for yourself are already low it feels like SO MUCH validation.

Part of it is thinking you are somehow immune to it affecting your mental/physical health and that it's just a cheat code for easy money. Because if you disregard the impacts on your mental/physical health (by thinking you're immune to them or can somehow outsmart the system) and consider the equation without that, it really would be incredibly easy money. I didn't do it because I needed money, was more validation, but if you need the money that's especially tempting. As far as how much money it actually is, I can't speak for OF, but for actual sex-having sex work it is a reasonable amount. It would easily be a life changing amount if your circumstances weren't great beforehand.

Part of it is the lie that it's empowering - though this reason was a lot less consistent than the other two across people.

Part of it is sexual trauma making you have terrible self esteem and boundaries to begin with - this was true of myself and every woman I met across the board. (Though more often than not sexual trauma as a teenager/young adult, not childhood/family-related sexual trauma.)

I don't think that many women just go straight into hardcore porn. It starts with sugar or OF or something like that, then either you come to your senses and get out, or you get sucked in further.

ETA: the "scotey boyfriend telling you it would be hot if you did OF/really thinking it will make him money" is a real thing. Encountered that a lot. I didn't do it because (1) at the time I really liked possessive men and that was the opposite and (2) I have a white collar job. But if neither of those things were true I would have, so I can understand why lots of women with all the factors described above would.

Money. Fast money.

I think most of them are unrealistic about how easy it is to make good money with only fans, etc. The "empowerment" fantasy.

We're sold a fantasy that we can make bank with just a few flashes of our boobs. This is what men want us to believe. Once a woman is in the industry, her boundaries get pushed further.

It's like Hollywood, only a few stars make millions, most actors struggle or get bit parts.

They believe in the onlyfans fantasy that selling nudes gives them heaps of money. Only women with a large following can get money from that.

They've been lead to believe porn is empowering. Only to then find themselves unable to ever leave their past behind.

I am going to share a bit of an alternative point of view here. Prior to FDS and back in my pick-me days, I had considered going into it (never did fortunately but came VERY close). My main reasoning was that it seemed that was the only way to be truly desirable to men. I realize just how pathetic that is, but hear me out.

Any man's girlfriend,. wife etc has to deal with the fact that she is basically second fiddle to the porn he's watching. She is there to keep him company and give him someone to actually sleep with, but at the end of the day we all know he is fantasizing about these women in porn. And men have already shown that they refuse to give it up for women they are in relationships with so we already know who they prefer in reality.

I basically saw it as a "if you can't beat em, join em" situation. Never again would I deal with dating a guy who is under my league and should be thankful for my company but has the audacity to throw that away for pornstars he will never meet or talk to.

Again, I realize how pathetic this reasoning is, this was years ago and I was a completely different person then. While I do still believe this is how men in relationships feel and treat us, I would never sacrifice my values now just to have their attention or approval.

And depending on hotness level, what you're willing to do etc the pay was about $1K per shoot on average for boy/girl scene in 2017, not sure if it's the same now. I still do agree it's shitty and not worth it but we at least need to be accurate in our declarations about the industry if we want people to take our concerns seriously.

I think a factor (among others already mentioned) is that has become easier and more accessible in the age of smartphones and the internet. If you think about how a "normal middle class woman" would have organised selling nudes of herself in the 70s, 80s or 90s, it's blatant how much easier it is to take a picture or make a video and put it up for sale online these days.

I've heard that joining the military is men's version of becoming a stripper.. It makes sense they're literally reading bodily autonomy for a paycheck

Poverty, destitution, and usually childhood sexual abuse. Women are used

It’s because of desensitisation and overexposure of this glorified abuse system. Women are constantly subjected to the porn narrative so they see it as a normal career for women to jump into. This is amplified by the constant exposure of pornstars’ “successes” and the “validation” men give them. It makes women think this path will make them happy/successful and admired.

Didn't get to have a prom because of the pandemic 🥴