What I or anyone else thinks.
Ask her, if she says she is fine, it must be because she is.
I am not surprised by Tyra, eeehhh she represents a particular kind of woman. Pious yet "fierce". The beautiful kick-@$$ Barbarella sans the sex.
Good porn is lovely, I imagine some actors and models get exploited, some don't. Some become stars.
In my professional life, I have been exploited (by choice many times) gone though internships that work you to death and don't pay you. Sometimes we do things because they work for us in ways other than monetary.
I applaud Sasha Grey, I'll support her by getting her movies.

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Expressions of sexuality have to be tightly controlled, like political thought and economic creativity.

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...why now? Two years ago this was topical with the Tyra appearance. Why now? The author just got around to it or something?

Don't have any issue with the question being asked or topic or anything, but puzzled by the timing.

I mean, wasn't the pointless article on orgies enough to satisfy one days worth of sexual obssesion for HP? Don't you guys want to pace yourselves so we have something vacuous yet titilating to talk about tomorrow?

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It's a huge relief to me that Tyra Banks is on the lookout for exploitation in America. Keep checking under those sofas and deep in those closets, honey.

But don't be concerned about anything in America's main entrance foyer. If something is there, it couldn't possibly be exploitive.

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How on earth did this young woman come to the conclusion that physical violence, degradation, and humiliation equals healthy sexuality? Listening to her speak, she really sounds like she's been manipulated by people into thinking she's doing something that's OK. She's gravely mistaken. She acts like her taste for sex and her sexuality gives her power, but I see a very vulnerable young woman behind the display she's putting on.

If she's being genuine, God bless her. But I really can't imagine how soulless one must feel doing the sex acts that she's asked to perform.

It hurts me to see women (and men) in porn believe this to be healthy and normal. Porn exploits the worst tendencies in humans, and producers cloak it in the idea that it's liberating for those who perform and it's a healthy means of acting out for consumers. That is such a twisted logic.

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I don't at all believe that everyone that works in the porn industry is being exploited. I am, however, suspicious of a young, up and coming, actress who claims that porn allows her to explore her sexuality.
Like many actresses she has to portray an image that will gain publicity and thus make her attractive to movie studios. It's possible that her words are part of an image that she wishes to portray - a star and role model who appears exploited and abused just won't sell. Scarlett Johansen and Angelina Jolie both made provocative statements about sex and sexual behavious that enhanced their reputations as 'sex-bombs'.
So, the question then becomes, why does society find girls that enjoys participating porn and so-called deviant sex so alluring? Is it because they are having all the fun we wish we were having?

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Porn is too broad a category to be labelled "good" or "bad". There is some good porn and some bad. In my view, Sasha is clearly intelligent, but this doesn't mean that all the porn she's engaged in is good. It also doesn't mean all the porn she's engaged in is bad. I know that she at times likes to be in porn that's a bit rough, which is not exactly my style. But it's hers and I feel that I have to respect her for it.

The fact that she still feels that there is some good in porn after 2 years is to me testament that her views of porn weren't of the fleeting nature.

On the other side, I remember her saying that porn actors need to be better treated, so it's not like she's just singing the gospels of porn. Essentially, I think she walks a very

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or children... Tyra should shut the fuck up until she can look in the damn mirror. She's done more for teen female self-hatred than a hundred thousand porn flicks..

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Ok first up whoever suggested Tyra Banks was a feminist?

Tyra Banks asked Grey about her background and stuff while the two were talking. And Grey acquitted herself well. To determine that one or other side of that argument was "feminism" seems weird to me.

As a feminist I am horrified at the way that performing in porn seems to be the best way to break into Hollywood these days, but I don't blame Grey for doing it. And if, as Banks suggests, many pornographic actresses come from backgrounds of child sexual abuse we shouldn't be criticising them for that we should be asking difficult questions of an industry that actively recruits vulnerable children.

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Why is it that people think porn can be judged as good or bad by whether or not the participants were abused as children?

Does being a victim of child molestation make someone's sexuality automatically bad because it's different?

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...but with the violence in some of it. Images of women being choked or suffocating, beaten and "forced" into acts (even if it is just acting) can't possibly be healthy sexual exploration for anyone.

So where does it end? Self-mutilation? Cutting? Real live suicide porn? Oooh, baby, I love it when you stab me in the gut! Don't stop! (It's probably already gone there, but, full disclosure, not being a regular consumer of porn I wouldn't know.)

By all means, commentators, weigh in on the issue of violence in porn and how it pertains to self-liberation sexually. I'm all for being sex-positive but I admittedly find myself struggling with the issues of pornography and its place in the sexual liberation (or degradation?) of women.

Anyone?

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... her being cast as a young girl in a pink shirt on the Trya show? She's just trying to make it on the fast track to fame and being the PYT she is, she's already there!

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Let me get this straight, a runway model lectured a porn star about appropriate career choices for a woman and what likely led her to make the decision she did?

Give me a frickin' break.

FWIW, I've been watching Sasha Grey since she first entered the industry. I've watched the Levi Johnston/Tyra clip online. That was all it took to assure me that Grey was far more worth my time.

twitter.com/TheDarklady

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"The Girlfriend Experience" sucks.

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Is it possible to be a fashion model without being exploited?

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Keeping in mind that Sex casts such a spell on our collective psyche, I will say that perhaps we tend to allow discussions on the subject of pornography to be framed, all too often, by people with agendas, be it by the Religiously Zealous, or by Tyra Banks and her quest to become Oprah, or militant feminist entities who feel that women are always victims in sex, as long as a man receives pleasure. Is Porn principally made-up of females with bags over their heads, or being strangled and beaten? I am guessing that it isn't. Is porn primarily violent? Most likely not. Scatological? Nope. Chiefly involving animals? No.( I once heard a woman say: "I hate porn - my boyfriend showed me a porn film - I don't understand the appeal of having sex with a donkey..." ) Of course all these things exist - and of course there is a percentage of people who only watch Porn because some porn involves these characteristics, but for the most part, the bulk of porn (as defined by "why porn is so successful") involves man to woman, woman to man sex with available permutations -- the sort of stuff most people would secretly love to try, if only they had the power or the access to these experiences. Nowhere is porn more successful than in North America, which is precisely a nation writhing in angst over nudity and sex -- You might be tempted to assume that Porn, from an almost Anthropological point of view, serves a pedagogical function which most other institutions in America are utterly unable to fulfill. How do I come to this conclusion? Porn must have a subtle societal function, because as a hive, we expel and curtail just about anything which doesn't. We rightly forbid, for instance, porn depicting rape - or underage porn, and other expressions which are clearly non-constructive, and even destructive, to our procreative progress and social organization. Let's not forget that a Macy's Bridal Catalog is also Pornography, in the functional sense -(how does legalized zoophilia serve a function? As a Judeo-Christian cult, we are reassured by the humiliation of animals in as many ways as we can find.) Tyra Banks herself began her career as a teenager striking sexy modeling poses, barely clad in a string of fabric pretending to conceal her budding sexual organs - how perverse that she berates Sasha Grey on her motives... On some unconscious level, we all seem to know that allowing the fringe pious wings of morality to legislate our sexual experience will mean the death of what little joy we still manage to squeeze out of our inner experience of fantasy and dreaming...I propose that Porn's appeal is not at all the violence or oppression of women, and that these ideas which all too often go unchallenged are the fruit of political agendas who use preconceived notions to hitch a ride. The appeal of Porn, I suggest, is merely the expression ( albeit cheesy at times ) of a sexuality which is expelled into a ghetto by atrociously confused folks in many clans within our society, from conservatives to liberals ( which arguably are all united in their impulse to forbid and deny ) Finally, I would like to invite readers of this blog to question this pernicious idea, expressed frequently in these discussions, that when a man gets his rocks off, a woman is automatically violated or demeaned. The very troubling assumption in American, conservative or not, is that the Vagina ( With a capital V ) is a prized grail, a precious jewel, which must only be accessed by jumping through a complex network of negotiations, and that unconditional or "easy" access to such a grail automatically implies "theft" or transgression of one form or another, typically by a Male, whose phallus can only be seen as a tool of power and humiliation. It is ironic that this assumption is often perpetrated by the very folks who purport to want to liberate women from bondage. As I may have implied already - America could use a psychiatrist's couch when it comes to it's sexual organs...

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Nobody is talking about the exploitation of the male actors. How come that it’s always the man who “wants to get into the pants” of a woman. During my lifetime I have seen plenty of women flirting and quite aggressively initiating sexual activities with men. It seems to me that the feminist movement achieved a major success in convincing the world, that it’s always the women who are taken advantage of and they are always the victims of the men’s relentless sex drive. In real life I see every day hordes of young women as aggressive as can be approaching my young adult grandson, and to his credit, he takes it in stride, without complaining about being taken advantage of or being the victim.

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Is it possible to be a porn star without being exploited? Well, it's possible to be exploited without being a porn star, so I'd have to say yes.

How is that logical, you might ask. I don't really care, it's just my opinion.

Now, can we get single payor health care and legalize hemp already?

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Anything done for money or any other extrinsic reward is exploitive. One person becomes an instrument of someone else. So, why pick on prostitution or drugs. Gambling is far worse.

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Are we supposed to imagine that living under Capitalism only porn stars and people involved in some kind of sex work are exploited? It's that old Puritan "all sex is bad" thing that has been with us so long that most Americans think it is "normal"... we have completely forgotten that we are primates at our base, every bit as promiscuous as Chimpanzees but vainly trying to live up to the moral dictates handed down from ages past whose purpose has always been for control... if you can get people to believe something is wrong, they'll police themselves in the name of gawd or something... frees up the promiscuous elite to just busy themselves with owning the planet.

If this woman (she is, after all 20 years old, for Pete's sake... she only LOOKS young, idiots!) has chosen this path, it's her business... I'm sure that just like all of you reading this, she won't still be doing what she was doing when she was 18, 10 years from now. Get a life!
We are losing the only planet we have to short sightedness and greed and you're worried that some woman likes to take it up the bum with multiple partners. It's pathetic that this even matters.

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Hard copy US mainstream "news" will not depict a healthy nude body. But mutilate this same body in, say, a motorcycle accident and it will be routinely depicted.

Meanwhile, in the online world nude and "extreme" sex are everywhere apparent. And allegedly some or perhaps most of that sex is bankrolled by sanitized corporations like Disney.

How schizoid is schizoid?

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My nephew is in the Marines and got his buddies brains blown all over his fatigues the other day. That's filthy, but it ain't sexy so who the hell cares....certainly not the Christians or the Republicans.

Veteran '66-68

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C'mon, Alternet - give us real news stories.

I am so tired of pro-vegan nonsense and all of these pointless "sex sells" columns.

Is the movie no one wants to see about to come out on DVD or something? Is that what makes this topical - it's an advert?

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Obviously some people do not like "porn" (just how one defines porn I challenge--oops, "I know it when I see it"), but HAVE you ever seen any of Sasha Grey's "porn" pics or videos? She is HOT! I love watching her. I challenge any straight man not to get turned on watching her have sex. And, yes of course, I am a sick, depraved, sad, lonely, troglodyte who likes to watch beautiful and alluring women have sex!

BTW, in reference to the critique of her character in artman Soderbergh's film, her "porn" stuff is NOT cold...

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"I find may find it unappealing and unsexy, but it's none of my damn business if people want to watch sex acts. As long as it's consensual, they should be free do what they want. That said, I wonder how we might encourage people to choose to only have sex with people they know and love without resorting to shaming those who feel or behave differently or creating other unethical barriers to their behavior, like legislation. I find that taking steps to restrict the power that lust has over your life can lead to more fulfilling relationships with other people and more self-actualization in all aspects of your life."

See, you CAN represent yourself without necessarily degrading the sexual values of others! It's important to note that in talking about sex, there is NO such thing as 'normal'. Doesn't exist except as a social construct, and as such, it probably shouldn't be mandatory or overly emphasized. Every single person is different. They have different sexual tastes, sometimes even ones that you may find distasteful or even repulsive and immoral; sexual tastes that would seem to be emblematic of existing and important social problems in this culture. But regardless of the extremity of the behavior, as long as it's consensual, it's important to respect the personal values of others. Values aren't facts-- it's not a matter of debate, and there is no right or wrong value. You can make assumptions about the effects of exposure to different stimuli, but they're just assumptions, at best reflecting broad trends among social groups. They don't speak to or respect the unique individual who they may or may not adequately reflect.

So when you talk about how porn desensitizes men to violence against women, it is seriously fucking insulting. When you talk about how women who engage in "risky" behavior with multiple partners on or off screen are usually victims of sexual abuse, it is seriously fucking insulting. When you say that it is right and good that prostitution should be illegal and those who participate are seriously and necessarily fucked up, it is seriously fucking insulting. It is inappropriate behavior that fails to respect individual rights. It is discrimination; bigotry; prejudice. It demonstrates a lack of understanding and narrow-minded field of view that precludes meaningful conversation.

So please, don't be jerk.

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denier seriously when they are known to take money from the oil industry?

I agree with the person upthread that said that this and the vegan propaganda are the worst aspects of alternet.

There has always been an part of hollywood that produces bigoted depictions of minorities, using minority actors. Look at stepnfetchit!

I wouldn't censor a stepnfetchit movie, but I ain't going to pretend its producers aren't reactionary or panderers to those who are reactionary.

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Sasha came across as a young, very attractive, eager, highly sexually charged and interesting porn star. Tyra came across as a manipulative arrogant whore. First she dresses Sasha as a high school-er and then is flabbergasted..."you look like someone in high school." Not accepting Sasha's assurance about no incest or molestations, Tyra persists. Tyra must be right...Sasha was abused! Please Tyra, tell us who, her mom? her uncle Frank? Both? Dear God, Together!?!?!?! The only abuse here is Tyra abusing her viewers.

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Tyra Banks, through her modeling career, has in all probability caused more girls (some probably as young as 10 years old) more suffering than Sasha Grey's porn videos ever will. A young girl does not choose to develop body dysmorphic disorder. It's the media's propagation of the idea that a woman of Banks' shape is normal, which really causes a societal dilemma. Young women commit suicide over this very issue. Heaven forbid that Sasha wants to make some cash by engaging in a completely consensual sexual act, which is most definitely taking place under controlled circumstances with a binding contract. Sexuality should be embraced, not regarded as anything to be ashamed of. There are no degrading acts if everyone is expressing full consent. The only degradation which truly takes place are the minds of those who take pornography as an expression of reality.

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Alternet's bringing up an old clip and I'm supposed to be impressed? Talk about a day late and a dollar short. While you're at it, why don't you call up a friend from middle school and remind her she still owes you $5? And why does it matter that Tyra Banks was the one to ask the questions the rest of us would ask when a person who can't legally drink makes huge life decisions which will be on display for all to see? We talk about sexting and how horrible it is. Then, when someone who is still considered a teenager has sex on camera, we're supposed to think it's okay? Really? How many of us would be jobless had phone cams been around when we were younger?

If this porn star is all she claims she is good for her, but that doesn't make her any less of an anomaly than Bill Gates---Gates officially only has a high school diploma, which doesn't mean jack to the rest of us. Why is she being held up? She's not even old enough for her 1st Botox injection, and besides having sex with strangers, I don't see her as having any marketable skills which will get her through her golden years---you know, past age 30. I'd hold off a bit on calling her a success. She might turn into that weird porn star I see on the Dr. 90210 commercials.

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Sasha Grey didn't at all address some of the concerns in the original youtube video that took the tyra clip with added info and commentary from the anti-porn group. All she talked about is her wardrobe and that montages were cut (hello! tell us what you had said). She's as vacuous as one would expect people from the sex industry to be. One of the points I wish she had addressed is that teenage porn encourages Ephebophilia (sex with teens by adults).
I find porn and the rest of sex industry disgusting but one must seperate those personal feelings from making the mistake that that means those in the sex industry are exploited. Some people love fast money and attention to the degree that they are willing to risk STD's and incurring vaginal wounds. And there are people willing to pay to have their fantasies entertained. Some people are indeed exploited but enough want to do this. Our attention should be on the human trafficked and coerced, and the affects on porn on society as a whole. If teen porn encourages abuse of minors and porn encourages violence of women than it should be stopped, if not then let it be. Either way Sasha is an adult and she can do what she wants with her body and if she doesn't respect it much, thats her perogative. Hey if it empowers her, good for her. I can't relate and I am glad I don't cause it must be horrible to be so empty that degrading your body and something thats intimate to men (mostly) and women who see you as an expendable commodity is the only way you feel like somebody.

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Her whole "I am empowering women by doing this" argument goes out the window with a quick look at her filmography titles:

"Fuck Slaves", "Sex Slaves", "Big Black Cocks In Tiny Teens", "Assault That Ass", "Blow Me Sandwich", "Break Em In Young 2", "Cum Fart Cocktails 5", "Filth Cums First 3", "Fuck For Dollars", "Gag Me Then Fuck Me", "My Daughter Is Fucking Blackzilla 9", "No Swallowing Allowed 13", "Prisoners Of Sodomy", "Slam It In A Young Whore", "Swallow My Children", "Eat Wet Food". Among others.

I don't think she's going to get any endorsements from NOW with those film titles. If she really wants to be who she says she is, she'd start her own production company and show positive sexuality where "whore" and "slut" aren't in film titles. Or whatever a "cum fart cocktail" is.

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The political economy of capitalism is based on the exploitation of one class ( workers) by another minority class of owners. That this women could call the shots over her employment situation, refuse to do aspects of the job she didn't like etc tells me she is luckier than most. So as long as we live in this economy I say more power to her. In the end however I would like to see society constructed along egalitarian, non exploitative lines. Until we get there who can really say what is what what compels or coerces us to do what we do. Even though we have the capacity to design our social structures to maximize human freedom we have about 200 years of catching up to do so that these capacities match our ideologies-we really are living in the past when it comes to political and social freedom, in practice these have receded over the last 50 years in spite of our best efforts we have more people behind bars caught up in the criminal justice gulag than any other nation on earth. Something wrong with this kind of freedom-seriously wrong and it is not a result of genetic predisposition either.
Cheers,
RR

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but I wouldn't go so far as to call what she does in her movies as healthy. If you get a chance you can watch a few of them for free at youporn.com

There is this one scene where she licks this black guys ass. To each his own but would you call it "healthy"?
Some people like eating poop, are we going to start calling those people "healthy" and "possible liberators of women"?

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