Sex Sells - the Emergence of Porn Stars in the Media

Former adult entertainment star Mary Carey lounges in a plastic chair surrounded by a neutral white room flanked by several other celebrities. The woman closest to her right side also shares a substance addiction as well as a troubled porn career after her failed popularity as a child star. Mary herself is addicted to sex, among other things, and she breezily announces this on national television. She goes on to explain her sexual exploits and how she has two personalities, one who allowed her to party, Mary Carey, and have sex on camera, and the real Mary, Mary Ellen. This admission doesn't shock the resident Dr. Drew, who explains that using an alter-ego is a coping method for repression of physiologically damaging behavior.

Dr. Drew analyzes her behaviors towards drug usage and asks her why she feels the need to dress in a provocative manner. Mary,--sometimes Carey, sometimes Ellen-- comes to sessions in revealing, low cut halter tops and sweat pants that showcase her well-worked and silicone infused body. The answer he is given to her wardrobe choices is both closed off and bubbly at the same time. He challenges her to wear more conservative clothes as a start to forming self esteem. She agrees to try, but no progress is made throughout the course of the show as she continues to show off her half naked body, her everyday fashion choices moderated by a shrink.

VH-1's "Celebreality" depends on the cornerstone values of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. True to form, a wall of privacy does not enter into this equation as viewers ogle people's personal struggles with addiction on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew". The show relies on the trials and tribulations of its D-list celebrity participants struggling with different forms of addictions and showcases their flaws for average Joe's in America. In this generation of worldwide media not even private matters are safe from scrutiny. Over-sexed celebrities and porn stars, through the voyeuristic and curious nature of America, are making their way to TV screens across the US as adult entertainment and News collide together becoming a part of main stream pop culture.

The cameras roam around the undisclosed treatment faculty most often stopping on one or two of the girl's misbehaviors, when they aren't topless by the pool, or discussing their sexual exploits and swapping business stories. They form cliques based on their sexual deviance and the horrors wrought on them in childhood, much like high school, as their drama escalates through treatment. These women fascinate to the point where cameras follow their every move in a private healing process integral to finding themselves and leaving addiction behind. One wonders if the cameras focused on them will cause attention addiction as a place holder for their normal fare.

Adding to the number of television viewers every week can make a lesser-known actress a break-out hit in homes all across America if only for a moment, but just long enough for her to collect on it. One of those women who essentially does nothing, but seems to keep collecting, is Paris Hilton. Though Paris Hilton has tried to make a name for herself in various venues from reality TV and box office busts, she is most infamously known now for her sex tape which her then-boyfriend sold to the media. She has become one of the most followed celebrities because of it and it's the highest grossing and most asked for sex tape since the Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson debut released by Vivid Entertainment.

"One Night in Paris" was the official tape that started all the porn star scandal in 2006 and kept its momentum going over the last two years. Since its official launch Paris has kept the media's eye on her by going to various adult video stores and berating owners for carrying copies of her tape out in broad daylight or sometimes hidden in various costume masks. People latch on to her destructive and comical behavior and jeer at it, but she's still selling videos and the only audience she's using to gain her fame is the American people. That someone so devoid of talent could make herself a household name over night through exploiting and demeaning herself through sexual acts is a testament to what we as a society are willing to digest in terms of privacy.

There has always been a personal gap of integrity between nude photos which could be passed off as art and videos. When Vanessa Williams was running for Miss America, the nude photos that were found of her made her competing impossible and her career was ruined. However, she was able to bounce back with numerous acting and singing spots for movies and daytime television. There is an emerging trend as of late that breaks that video vs. picture stigma. Porn is making its way into mainstream programming through the hearts and minds of these young vixens that see pornography as a way to mainstream legitimacy. It has been happening for years, one example being in 1994 when Jenny McCarthy launched her career as a notorious Playboy Bunny, only to next become the co-host of a lucrative dating show on MTV months later wearing skimpy tops, short miniskirts, and sucking a lollipop suggestively.

Reality TV viewers feed off of all things porn and it has branched out from troubled child actresses making a name for themselves and has rooted itself in B and C-list celebrities such as Kim Kardashion. Best known for her reality television show on E! entertainment "Keeping up with the Kardashions", the youngest daughter of the family made a sex tape with her long time boyfriend, which just so happened to be leaked onto the Internet. She denied all allegations of its existence to Complex magazine saying: "There is no sex tape! Ray J's not the kind of guy who would do something for revenge. There is no amount of money that could ever convince me to release any tape, even if I had one. I don't need the money". Once denying allegations of the alleged tape didn't stop the media frenzy and only further fed the illegal download rate, Kardashion sold the tape to Vivid Entertainment in 2007. The video launched on its own website so the market could widen from just VHS and DVD.

Now millions of people for a small fee can have direct access to the tape without ever leaving their computers at its official site. An actress who had trouble getting cast and her only claim to fame thus far being her father, who was OJ Simpson's lawyer, Kim herself calmly rode her wave of success and for months she was the talked of name in C-list celebrities. Since the release of her tape, Kardahsion now has an ad campaign with Christopher Brian Apparel. The ad features Kardahsion topless and wearing nothing but a pair of skin tight blue jeans. Not only did she score the lucrative ad deal, she was able to net a nice profit from the Internet revenues in adult entertainment which exceeded over ten billion dollars last year.

It's not just actresses crossing over to the mainstream; it's also men trying to cross over away from adult entertainment. Take for instance famous adult entertainment actor Ron Jeremy whose had a thriving career on camera for decades. After his stint on the show which still revolved around him showcasing his better, lower half, Jeremy wrote an autobiography detailing his exploits and explaining how porn is just another job. It has reviews ranging from Booklist to The Kirkus Review and word got around about its publication. The book was showcased in Barnes and Nobles and Borders bookstores as Up and Coming New Fiction, the semi-subtle cover put on display. Though his book was very well written, intelligent, and illuminating, the public picked it up for the raunchy behind the scenes details of the sex industry which he did not disappoint by omitting.

In 2005 Jeremy decided to expand his empire and tried to become a serious actor after flashing millions of men and women his famous lower appendage. The medium he chose to launch his career was not the best one; in 2006 he appeared on VH-1 reality TV show The Surreal Life. The premise of the show had an MTV Real World feel, except instead of teenagers inhabiting the house, it was washed up television stars who took on ridiculous challenges. During the show, Jeremy became an unlikely friend of TV Evangelist Tammy Fay Baker who was his fellow cast mate. The show showcased not only their growing friendship, but the acceptance Baker had for the porn star as a person. Though the editors never let the viewers forget Jeremy was a porn star, (his renown was one of their biggest viewer draws along with the rapper Vanilla Ice), by allying Baker with him it made porn a more widely acceptable medium to more conservative audiences.

Ron Jeremy has always been a cultural icon both through the porn industry (he's done the most films ever for a male actor) and in his relationships with other celebrities. As a hobby when he isn't debating the laws of porn at a university or on his promo tour for stand up comedy, Ron Jeremy is infamous for having a celebrity photo collection. A small number of the photos are showcased in glossy high definition in between the pages of his book and though the man is well known in porn, he makes his way around the celebrity circuit. The amount of publicity he has amassed has a cult following to it. Some A -list celebrities seek him out at movie premieres and specifically ask for a picture with him. The straight world no longer shuns his openness towards sexuality; instead they look for ways to cash in on it.

Ron Jeremy is the epitome of a porn star trying to make it in the straight world. Despite being a porn star, Ron Jeremy has reached a higher level where he is congratulated in our society and not shunned by well known stars who don't want his promiscuous behavior to rub off on their squeaky clean image. His work ethic and that he truly excels in the industry makes it okay for celebrities and TV audiences alike to be infatuated, typecasting him thus removing all chances of a normal career.

Though Jeremy is trying to break out of his persona, it's difficult and most people, including directors who continue to cast him in bit parts in blockbuster movies, stereotype him as just an adult entertainer. The latest foray into entertainment he has undertaken is stand up comedy around the US where he details his version of Sex Education as well as highlighting the porn industry in a laughable, not so satanic light. Through all his hard work his efforts are commendable, however the audience will always want to see him as a raunchy, forbidden sex symbol that they aspire to be, rather than the intellectual man his friends have come to know.

Lesser figures have also demonstrated crossover potential, from actress turned magnate Jenna Jameson to the various "Bunnies" featured in The Girls Next Door E! channel's docusoap following Hugh Hefner and his current girlfriends, Holly, Bridget, and Kendra. The show itself has been running for three season's and E! just announced a fourth on its way. The porn magazine mogul's girlfriends make such marketing fodder it prompted People Magazine to list "3 Reasons I Love E!'s The Girls Next Door" further spreading the porn love to housewives in the grocery checkout lane everywhere.

Flying on the coattails of The Girl's Next Door's Playboy cover girl antics and scandalous nudity, celebrity "It Girls" such as Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears have deemed it necessary to show off a little piece of themselves as well. Specifically speaking, every Tom, Dick and Harry paparazzi has had ample opportunity to glimpse one of these women without any panties and the pictures sell a frenzy of magazines. The women themselves are flashing far too often to be innocent of self promotion through switching to porn star genre techniques. It appears while porn stars are trying to cross the great divide to other media, celebrities are toeing the line of acceptable sexual behavior.

With as many venues of multimedia as there are today and the frequency of Internet use, blogs, etc, nothing is really private. Over 40 million adults worldwide in 2006 admitted to logging onto the Internet for porn and the consumer numbers keep on growing. Combine these statistics with a fast paced world where sex no longer carries a social stigma and anyone can have access to free porn, it becomes a curious non issue with constant generational gaps. Teenagers now grow up with the television and Internet which boosts teen girl acts almost breaking into the realm of porn such as the hoax Lonelygirl14 infamous for her web cam or Jennycam.com which was much the same idea. It is not unheard of to turn on the television at one in the morning and see on VH1 a show about celebrities sexual fantasies and favorite sex toys with emphasis on both the porn world actresses such as Jenna Jameson and Paris Hilton in one show.

Reality television has become more extreme and people will watch anything, becoming desensitized and more interested in what's taboo. This allows for the adult industry to make its leap to main stream stations across the nation. Sex is always used in sales, now people are no longer trying to lye about it through a false moral veil and they are letting it all hang out-so to speak. Actual television shows and Internet aren't the only ones turning up the raunch factor. Coming from a time where commercials for condoms and safe sex using Trojan Man was controversial, now lubricant KY Touch boasts a soft core nude scene in their ad no matter what time of the day. This is readily available for any audience consumption as they writhe around on screen in ambient lighting, but safe sex commercials used to be a no-no.

Advertising has a big say in what's alright for public consumption and what is not and adding to that is the ever popular YouTube. The public can download just about any free video YouTube houses at any given time, including its sister site, Pornotube. There is nothing else left to give the American public a little shock other then sex, because of the taboo it carries and the inherent interest. We as a people have become insanely voyeuristic in our everyday lives leading towards the reality era for years to come. MTV, music television, stopped playing music in favor of sex, drugs, and rock and roll reality and other channels are following suit. Soon it will be porn and torture for everyone on television, all day, all the time. Those are two taboos they haven't entirely forced into the public eye, but I'm sure it won't take long.

Bibliography:

http://vh1.comhttp://eonline.com
http://misstlc.blogspot.com/2007/02/ray-j-kim-kardashian-sex-tape.html
Jeremy, Ron.The Hardest (Working) Man In ShowBiz. New York, NY:Harper Collins Publishing, 2007.