Life After Porn

The majority of the world likes to believe that once you've entered the adult entertainment industry, you are completely unfit to work in any other field. It is a school of thought that I thoroughly detest, because some of the smartest people I have ever met have had some sort of involvement in the sex industry, but even I succumb to it every now and then. I mean, I still can't take Brent Corrigan seriously as "Sean Paul Lockhart."

But hey, I have a lot of respect for Sean and the career move he's making. He may not be my favorite porn star, but anyone who fights to overcome the pigeonholes that sex workers get shoved into has my support.

Recently I've been trying to keep myself up to date on happenings in the porn industry, mainly because it's fuckin' fascinating, but also in hopes it will provide with some stellar blog material and exciting conversation starters in the workplace. Late last week I came across a couple of pieces that gave me hope that society may be evolving slightly regarding the stigma of sex work.

First, New Yorkers may have already seen the news that Tom Judson, otherwise known as Gus Mattox, debuted a new cabaret act "Nature Boy: Songs of the Earth & Sky" this past Sunday at 54 Below. Gus retired in 2006 after seven years in adult film, and since then has been composing music for film and television. Impressive, no? And he isn't trying to hide anything. "I’m proud of having worked in porn; it’s not like it’s an embarrassment for me. I had a great time working in that business. I thought that going into porn and making myself more visible to more people could possibly lead to opportunities in other areas, and I also just thought it would be fun. I was right on both counts.”

And on a completely different end of the spectrum...

I don't know if y'all have heard, but we have a reform party candidate for this upcoming presidential election. And this candidate also has a history in gay porn. Although not a gay man himself, as far as I know, Reform Party candidate Andre Barnett was once a model for MuscleGallery.com, a softcore porn site for gay men where hunky fellas flex their muscles for the camera. Fun stuff, right? At least as far as gossip material goes. I would love to see a former porn star (or even a current porn star!) in the White House, but I am pretty damn certain Mr. Barnett is not the candidate for me.

This is all very exciting to me. Sure, it's only two examples, but I'd like to think it's a sign that people can overcome the stereotypes that come with a background of adult entertainment, and that maybe the world is loosening up a bit over the subject. What do you think? Could it happen?