Why Do Girls Get Into Porn

Why Do Girls Get Into Porn

Hit enter to search or ESC to close

Donate
Articles

Get The Facts
Recent Articles
FAQs

Videos

Documentary
Short Videos

Podcast
Shop
Donate

Like all websites, we use cookies. By continuing on this site, you agree to our use of cookies. More

The reality is, when it comes to the “decision” to enter the commercial sex industry, the issue of choice is not as simple as it might seem.
When it comes to those who work in porn, or any other area of the commercial sex industry for that matter, there is a common belief that they end up there and stay there solely by choice.
The mentality that every performer is simply a consenting adult who “knew what they were getting into” creates barriers that prevent people from seeing the complexities of the dynamics that lead people to porn or other areas of the sex industry. Through this lens, it is easier to withhold empathy—and even worse, it’s easier to judge. Some who hear of the atrocities a woman (or man) in porn experiences may hold the opinion that it was “her choice, and her fault.”
But is this an accurate way to look at things? The truth is, not everyone who is in porn is there by choice.
As a survivor of sexual exploitation, and someone who has spent the past two decades helping women exit and recover from the commercial sex industry, I have seen this with my own eyes. I have personally known women who entered porn as minors, which is an experience that is, by federal definition , sex trafficking. I have also known countless women who were forced and coerced into porn by pimps and traffickers.
But, for the sake of this conversation, we will set the issue of trafficking aside and focus on those who would say that they chose willingly and freely to work in porn. While this article focuses specifically on women who enter the sex industry, because women are disproportionately affected, note that men can also become vulnerable to some of the issues I’m going to talk about.
The reality is, when it comes to the “decision” to enter the commercial sex industry, the issue of choice is not as simple as it might seem.
Underneath that “choice,” we often see an interplay of individual vulnerability and environmental factors. Sometimes these are referred to as Push/Pull factors, respectively.
On one hand, you have the characteristics of an individual that may make them more susceptible to choosing to work in the commercial sex industry. It is well-documented that women in the commercial sex industry, including those in porn, have higher rates of poverty, substance abuse issues, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and are more likely to have been in the foster care system than the general population. Bracey, D. H. (1982). The juvenile prostitute: Victim and offender Victimology, 8(3-4), 151-160. COPY Grudzen CR1, Meeker D, Torres JM, Du Q, Morrison RS, Andersen RM, Gelberg L. Comparison of the mental health of female adult film performers and other young women in California. Psychiatr Serv. 2011 Jun;62(6):639-45. doi: 10.1176/ps.62.6.pss6206_0639. COPY

Each of these vulnerabilities contributes to the “choice” to enter porn:
One of the most striking vulnerabilities that a vast majority of women in the commercial sex industry share is a history of childhood sexual abuse. Bracey, D. H. (1982). The juvenile prostitute: Victim and offender Victimology, 8(3-4), 151-160. COPY Grudzen CR1, Meeker D, Torres JM, Du Q, Morrison RS, Andersen RM, Gelberg L. Comparison of the mental health of female adult film performers and other young women in California. Psychiatr Serv. 2011 Jun;62(6):639-45. doi: 10.1176/ps.62.6.pss6206_0639. COPY Harlan, S., Rogers, L. L. & Slattery, B. (1981). Male and female adolescent prostitution: Huckleberry house sexual minority youth services project. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. COPY Norton-Hawk, M. (2001). The counterproductivity of incarcerating female street prostitutes. Deviant Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 22, 403-417. COPY Silbert, M. H. (1980). Sexual assault of prostitutes: Phase one. Washington D.C.: National Center for the Prevention and Control of Rape, National Institute of Mental Health. COPY Weisberg, K. D. (1985). Children of the night: A study of adolescent prostitution. Lexington, MA & Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company. COPY This is not a coincidence. In some ways, for me, it felt like a history of sexual abuse and rape groomed me for the sex industry because being sexualized and objectified was normalized, and therefore familiar to me. In the sex industry, being a sexual object is a job requirement.
For those of us who know the sense of extreme helplessness and powerlessness that emerge as a result of sexual abuse and rape, the sex industry offers a false promise of empowerment—an opportunity that seems to take back control of our sexuality and use it to our advantage, right?
In my personal experience, it did not take long before that false sense of empowerment wore off and I was faced with the reality that the person with the money held the power—not me.
So, on one hand, you have these factors that contribute to an individual’s level of vulnerability, and on the other hand, you have the environmental factors that contribute to a person’s choice to enter porn.
When you place a vulnerable woman in the context of a culture that normalizes the objectification and sexualization of women, a culture in which there is a huge demand for her to work in porn, with porn sites receiving more regular traffic than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined, https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/united-states COPY it becomes easier to see how she becomes susceptible to “choosing” to work in porn.
According to research, the heartbreaking reality is that those in the commercial sex industry often want to leave, but don’t see any other viable options for survival. Baker, L. M., Dalla, R. L., Williamson, C. (2010) Exiting prostitution: An integrated model. Violence Against Women 16(5): 579–600. COPY
This begs the question, what is choice without options? Is “yes” still really a free choice if “no” isn’t a legitimate option?
This leaves 11% who might say “I am here by choice, and I want to stay.” Even for that small percentage, the fact that they want to work in porn does not protect them from the extremely common, precarious, and even threatening situations where they are coerced, and sometimes forced, into performing acts outside of their boundaries.
Even in mainstream porn, there is an incredible display of violence against women. In a content analysis of the 50 top-selling porn movies, 88% showed physical aggression toward women, primarily spanking, gagging, and slapping.
The demand for this type of content sets the stage for women—even those who are there by choice—to be coerced and exploited in order to meet the demand.
Here is what we often hear from the women we serve at my organization who have been a part of the porn industry. These scenarios of exploitation and coercion are so common in the porn industry , many performers may not know to be wary of them and recognize them as exploitation .
In many cases, women will accept a role in a pornographic film based on a fraudulent description of what she is signing up for. For example, she might be told that she is doing a soft-core, girl on girl scene. When she arrives on set, she discovers that she is not only expected to work with men, but that the scene will involve a sex act that is outside of her comfort zone or already established boundaries.
As I write this, I am doing my best not to share things that might be too triggering or explicit, so I am leaving out the details. But I will tell you that I have heard stories of things women I care about were required to do in porn that would cause any compassionate person to lose several nights of sleep.
In the scenario above, when a woman does not want to comply with what is being asked of her, she is often threatened with the loss of money or representation, or told that she will be sued for the time and money she is costing them by not doing what they want. (By the way, this is coercion, and by definition, is sex trafficking .)
Often, agents will resort to degradation as a means to coerce women into doing what they want. Here is what one woman shared with me:
“Many agents will stoop to degrading their clients as a means of manipulating them to get what they want. They will call them names and tell them they are worthless. The worse they can make these girls feel about themselves, the more these girls are likely to do to win back their attention. The agent/client relationship is really not that different from that of a pimp/prostitute. Everything is great as long as you’re making them money.”
Even in cases where women are “choosing” to work in porn, there are times when her will is thwarted and she finds herself coerced and threatened into performing degrading or violent acts that violate her personal boundaries (even in situations that are off of the set ). In these instances, a woman may go from being a willing participant in the porn industry to a victim of sexual exploitation.
Blaming a person for the exploitation they experience in the industry because it was “their choice” to enter is both unhelpful and uninformed. Consider the factors we discussed that make vulnerable people more susceptible to being pushed to work in porn, even under the guise of “choice.”
At the end of the day, whether a person chooses to work in porn or not, I strongly believe that every human on the planet deserves better than the objectification, violence, dehumanization, and degradation that the commercial sex industry is built upon.
My hope is that as a society, we will see beyond the fantasy and the façade and recognize the realities of porn and the inherent value and dignity of the people involved.
Harmony (Dust) Grillo, MSW, is a survivor of exploitation turned UCLA honor student. In 2003, Harmony founded Treasures to help women in the commercial sex industry find freedom. Her story has been featured on NPR, Buzzfeed, and in Glamour. Her memoir, Scars and Stilettos , gives an account of her story going from working in strip clubs under the control of a pimp, to leading an organization that reaches women on a global scale. She can be reached at @HarmonyGrillo @TreasuresLA on social media and at www.iamatreasure.com .
Listen to Harmony’s interview on Consider Before Consuming , a podcast by Fight the New Drug.
Are you with us? Join the movement!
©Fight the New Drug, Inc. 2022, All rights Reserved. Fight the New Drug, Inc. is a US 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 26-3550143.
The smart way to keep kids safer online.
Quit porn for good with science-based support.

Why Young Women are Now Being Drawn to Pornography

About CE
History
Careers
Scholarships
Contact us
COVID Response

Spread the Word
Affiliate Program

Resources
Email Challenges
Ebooks
Ministry Leader Resources
Parish and Diocesan Resources
Resources for Women

Facebook
Twitter
Vimeo
YouTube
Instagram
Podcast

Luke Gilkerson has a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies and an MA in Religion. He is the author of Your Brain on Porn and The Talk: 7 Lessons to Introduce Your Child to Biblical Sexuality . Luke and his wife Trisha blog at IntoxicatedOnLife.com
Dr. William Struthers explains that the female brain, unlike the male brain, is wired to understand sexual arousal first as “contextual” and then as “sensory.” What this means is when a young woman looks at porn, their brain learns what it means to be wanted by a man. When women see porn, any attraction to it initially is to think, “This is what guys want, so this is what I should become.” For women, their initial curiosity about porn is usually to imagine themselves as the wanted party. Only after this do women become visually aroused by pornography images themselves.
Why is this? Dr. Struthers explains that when men or women watch porn, the portion of the brain called the amygdala is activated. The amygdala is the negative emotional center of the brain, the part of the brain that is activated when a person becomes aroused and excited, stressed out, or anxious. When men or women view porn, they experience a combination of stress and anxiety. For men, the natural way to interpret this anxiety is sexual tension that needs to be released. But for women, this is not their natural reaction to porn.
However, a shift is taking place today as more and more women are exposed to pornography at younger ages. Dr. Struthers says research indicates women over the age of 35 are much less likely to develop habitual, compulsive, impulsive, or addictive pornography viewing habits when compared to women under the age of 35. The reason is because the younger a woman is, her brain is more able to be trained and taught to interpret the anxiety she feels as sexual tension, and so women “are becoming increasingly more likely to view pornography and to develop maladaptive or compulsive patterns of viewing and sexually acting out as well,” Struthers says.
In a recent survey of the online community of Dirty Girls Ministries (an online support system for women who struggle with lustful behaviors), 95% of the girls surveyed said they started habitually and compulsively watching pornography or engaging in cybersex before the age of 30.
You started habitually and compulsively
watching pornography or engaging in cybersex when you were…
Even among the women who are 30+, 84% said their compulsion started before the age of 30.
Take action and begin preparing your daughters for encountering these sexual temptations. Understand that their first temptation, when it comes to pornography, will be to contextualize it: they will see it as sexual education about what turns a man on. For some, the reaction will be to want to become like what they see in their behavior towards boys. For some, the reaction will be to internalize pornography through fantasy.
What young girls need is strong parenting and guidance that reminds her of her worth apart from sexual prowess or looks. Learn more in our recent article, “ Girls Like Porn, Too .”
Connected: Raising Internet-Safe Kids
When it comes to protecting your children from porn, connection is essential.
Download Connected to strengthen your relationship with God, your spouse, and your children.
This is so powerful. Thank you for sharing in such a beautiful, honest way.
This may be scarier, and lead many young women into POLYGAMY!! (many guys today dont have ‘lifeskills’) We need to stop the onslaught now—-50 Shades of Gray is VERY POPULAR—we are setting up our young women since many dont have dads now
Excellent write-up. Women need to understand that, they too, are susceptible to the chains pornography can wrap around their minds!
Very interesting article – one that deserves to be discussed. Additionally, we need to consider all sources, that distort the image of woman (especially regarding relationships), as potential culprits/reasons for young girls to develop maladaptive behaviors. Again, interesting article, God bless.
Doubt tried to creep into my mind,but every time negative thought came to me i stopped, mentally if not physically challenged on time struggling free.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
I recently sat down with Cheryl Hoskins, a member of the Covenant…
I recently sat down with Cheryl Hoskins, a member of the Covenant Eyes development team, and her husband Paul. I asked them to talk about their experience using the Covenant Eyes software with their family.…
I grew up in a family that was disconnected emotionally and relationally.…
I grew up in a family that was disconnected emotionally and relationally. At an early age, I learned to hide what I was thinking and feeling from others. I felt that the challenges of each…
“Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full…
“Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush”. As a Midwesterner, this quote by Doug Larson has me smiling. So long as the snow is melting, the sun is…
What happens when you use technology without intention? Author, speaker, and Covenant…
What happens when you use technology without intention? Author, speaker, and Covenant Eyes software developer Doug Smith tackles that question in a recent episode of the Covenant Eyes podcast. As a software developer, Doug spent…
Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about the connections between…
Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about the connections between purity culture’s teachings and pornography use. As I mentioned there, one of the biggest issues with purity culture is that it allowed parents…
For many young people, “accountability” might sound like a code word for…
For many young people, “accountability” might sound like a code word for “my parents are spying on me.” But recently I heard from three students who expressed a very different perspective. Three of this year’s…
I recently sat down with Cheryl Hoskins, a member of the Covenant…
I recently sat down with Cheryl Hoskins, a member of the Covenant Eyes development team, and her husband Paul. I asked them to talk about their experience using the Covenant Eyes software with their family.…
I grew up in a family that was disconnected emotionally and relationally.…
I grew up in a family that was disconnected emotionally and relationally. At an early age, I learned to hide what I was thinking and feeling from others. I felt that the challenges of each…
“Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full…
“Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush”. As a Midwesterner, this quote by Doug Larson has me smiling. So long as the snow is melting, the sun is…
What happens when you use technology without intention? Author, speaker, and Covenant…
What happens when you use technology without intention? Author, speaker, and Covenant Eyes software developer Doug Smith tackles that question in a recent episode of the Covenant Eyes podcast. As a software developer, Doug spent…
Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about the connections between…
Not too long ago, I wrote a piece about the connections between purity culture’s teachings and pornography use. As I mentioned there, one of the biggest issues with purity culture is that it allowed parents…
For many young people, “accountability” might sound like a code word for…
For many young people, “accountability” might sound like a code word for “my parents are spying on me.” But recently I heard from three students who expressed a very different perspective. Three of this year’s…
I recently sat down with Cheryl
Horny Women Porn
Timea Bela
Feeling After Sex

Why Do Girls Get Into Porn

Report Page