‘The Daily Show’ on adult film stars and slut-shaming

It’s apparently Comedy Central Day around here, so to complement my last post, here’s a report by The Daily Show’s Jessica Williams brilliantly exposing some of the mindlessly judgmental attitudes faced by sex workers:

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Transcript: (click the [+/-] to open/close →)

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JON STEWART: It’s prom time again, a time to create wonderful memories, at least for those who have dates. For those who don’t … you can always go into comedy. (Sorry.) Then, there’s the people who had dates, only to lose them. Jessica Williams has more.

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JESSICA WILLIAMS (v.o.): Prom: A magical evening every student looks forward to, and Minnesota’s Mike stone and his date Megan Piper were no exception.

MIKE STONE: I invited twelve girls to prom and they all said ‘no’. Then I asked Megan, and she said ‘yes’, and I was very excited.

WILLIAMS (v.o.): But then, Mike’s school, Tartan High, discovered the truth about Megan.

STONE: The school found out about it, and they said that they’re not gonna allow it to happen.

WILLIAMS: Is it because she got bad grades?

MEGAN PIPER: I’m an adult film actress.

WILLIAMS: Wait, what?

PIPER: I perform pornography.

WILLIAMS: What?

WILLIAMS (v.o.): And concerned Minnesota mothers like Marjorie Holsten applaud the school’s action.

MARJORIE HOLSTEN: I agree with the school’s decision that she should not be allowed at prom. Her profession is pornography. Every young man there is going to be mentally undressing her, and maybe that’s the type of attention she likes, I don’t know.

WILLIAMS: Thank God what Megan’s doing is considered a felony!

HOLSTEN: I don’t think it’s a felony.

WILLIAMS: So, maybe it’s a misdemeanor?

HOLSTEN: Sadly, I believe that what Megan does is legal.

WILLIAMS: So, Megan Piper is an adult who is having consensual sex with another adult in a whole other state, in full accordance of^[sic] the law, and he wants to take her to prom?

HOLSTEN: Yeah – I mean, Megan Piper said, ‘No, I’m not gonna take off my clothes and go buck-naked,’ but – it’s like, that’s what you do in your profession.

PIPER: Why do you think I’m gonna do that?

WILLIAMS: Because you’re an adult film star. It’s what you do.

PIPER: So, what you’re saying is all I do is have sex with people? I don’t do anything else?

WILLIAMS: You’re probably having sex right now!

PIPER: No – I’m just gonna go there and be his prom date an do all the normal prom stuff.

WILLIAMS (v.o.): Okay, but what does “normal prom stuff” mean to a porn star?

HOLSTEN: Probably, he would have a flower for her.

WILLIAMS: Where would he put that flower?

HOLSTEN: There’d be nothing to pin it to, so he better get a wrist one.

Cut to: Piper is seen affixing the flower to the hem of her perfectly decent prom dress.

WILLIAMS: Then what happens?

HOLSTEN: Suddenly, they’re in this limo without adult supervision.

Cut to: Stone and Piper sitting apart in the limo, looking normal.

WILLIAMS: They’re alone?

HOLSTEN: Yeah! I hope that she wouldn’t seduce him, but then again, that’s what she does for a living.

WILLIAMS (v.o.): And we all know that if you do something for a living, that’s all you ever do. Like how pro football tackle everyone they see, and therefore would never be allowed at prom.

NEWS ANCHOR: Joyce Grendel, an independent high school student, tweeted [Joe] Haden and asked the football star to be her prom date tonight. Haden said yes.

WILLIAMS (v.o.): Okay, well – Megan is different. She’s uncontrollable.

PIPER: I don’t plan on doing anything sexual with Mike or any of his friends.

WILLIAMS: Mike, does that bum you out a little bit?

STONE: No.

HOLSTEN: My expectation is it would probably be kind of a boring evening.

WILLIAMS: So … why do we care again?

HOLSTEN: It’s the concept that she is a lady who, as a profession, takes off her clothes and does things.

WILLIAMS (v.o.): So, while we can forgive some things in our society, like manslaughter convictions and political corruption, there is one profession that is completely unacceptable. Thankfully, concerned parents like Marjorie will protect our children forever.

HOLSTEN: Teenagers have hormones going and – it’s not appropriate that they see these websites.

WILLIAMS: That’s right; teenagers shouldn’t be watching people have sex on the Internet. They should learn the way I did: by watching animals do it on the street.

HOLSTEN: Actually, that was how I taught my children. We started with a boy guinea pig –

WILLIAMS: What? You taught your kids sex ed with guinea pigs?

HOLSTEN: Well, we had a boy and a girl guinea pig who clearly liked each other …

WILLIAMS: Aren’t you afraid that these kids are gonna treat these guinea pigs like role models?

HOLSTEN: Uh … well, you really couldn’t see anything, ’cause they’re big, furry little fuzzball things. I mean, that’s why there isn’t guinea pig porn movies.

WILLIAMS (v.o.): For now. But let’s hope the porn industry doesn’t catch on.

You just gotta pity that poor mom. (And her kids, even moreso.)

But as easy a target as she may be, her nonsense is only representative of the general atmosphere of distrust and even disgust that surrounds the very notion of sex work in this society, a climate wherein performs (especially women) who work in that industry are reduced to their basest sexual characteristics and activities. People are allowed to be virtually anything other without having their chosen livelihood extended to represent the whole of who they are and what they do outside of the workplace, but when they engage in sex for money, that suddenly taints their entire persons? Even male porn stars don’t get it this bad (though prejudice against them is very real, too, especially for LGBT performers).

In the end, there’s just no way to win if you’re in the sex business. But as always, it’s even harder for women.

Tags: sex workers • pornography • porn stars • adult films • Jessica Williams • Megan Piper • Mike Stone • Tartan Senior High School • adult film actors • Marjorie Holsten