Shelley Lubben

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Shelley Lubben

Birthdate:	May 18, 1968 (1968-05-18) (age 40)
Birth location:	Pasadena, California, U.S.
Birth name:	Shelley Lubben
Height:	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Eye color:	Green Roxey

Shelley Lubben (previously known as "Roxy"), born May 18, 1968 in Pasadena, California) is a former United States pornographic actress from the 1990s and a Born Again Christian, who is now an anti-pornography activist.

1 Biography
2 Critiques of the Pornography Industry
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Lubben, born in 1968, grew up in southern California and was kicked out of house by parents for teenage rebellion which led her to the streets where she became a prostitute for six years and then entered the porn industry in 1993 and 1994. She contracted genital herpes, an STD, and quietly left the porn industry.

Before beginning her career in adult film, she was an exotic dancer and prostitute in California.

In 1995, she entered recovery and now has a web site reaching out to actors in the sex industry and those addicted to porn.

[edit] Critiques of the Pornography Industry

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Lubben is an outspoken critic of the Pornography industry, using both her website and televised appearances to discuss the negative aspects of the situation as a whole. In general, she argues that like counterparts in the mainstream Hollywood industry, young men and women are drawn to participate in the Pornography industry because of its glamorized features. Sex appears fun and plentiful; fame appears easy to achieve in a short amount of time; actors (women in particular) can earn large sums of money relatively easily; and, at least in public appearances, porn stars say that they enjoy their trade.^[1]

In her direct testimony, Lubben argues that like Hollywood, there is a great deal that goes unsaid about the drawbacks of the industry due to the economic and social pressures involved.

[edit] The Glamor Fallacy

According to Lubben, the most prominent problem with the Pornography industry is the way all aspects are packaged with the appearance of glamor.^[1] Porn stars are performing sexual acts on camera, and by definition, must add fantasy to their situation. In the same way that an action star glamorizes a fight, the porn star glamorizes sex by making it appear fun, plentiful, easy, overwhelmingly gratifying, and completely without consequence. While this model for sex is appealing to the industry, it is "bad for relationships" in that it is devoid of the interpersonal intimacy and privacy necessary for really gratifying sex, which may take communication and work.

She further argues that the public appearances of porn stars are largely extensions of this philosophy. In the same way that major Hollywood actors could not openly critique their latest blockbuster, no matter how bad the quality of the film, porn actors are limited in the same way. The industry provides their livelihood and they cannot disparage it without serious consequences to their economic stability. Even so, Lubben argues that the situation is even worse for porn actors because the working conditions and potential consequences of porn acting are much more severe than in mainstream Hollywood, where actors are under medical and health contracts.

[edit] Health and Medical Issues

Lubben and associate Luke Ford, compiled a large number of first-hand accounts from members and former members of the porn industry. With the testimony, they argue that porn actors are more prone to the following consequences of their work:

Physical exhaustion from maintaining a frequent filming schedule.^[1]

Increased likelihood of contracting an STD.^[2]

Frequent substance abuse, due to the large quantities present at industry parties, filming, and backstage.^[2]

Bodily injury (sprains, muscle pulls, vaginal and other tissue tearing, and maltreatment by coworkers depending on the scene being filmed)^[2]

In addition, Lubben argues that there are a number of psychological problems that can emerge from working in the industry, several of which she testifies to struggling with herself:^[1]

Depression

Low self-esteem

Addiction to various behavior patterns as a result of trying to curb depression and low self-esteem

[edit] Denial & Industry Pressures

Pornography itself is a large industry, generating 12 Billion dollars per year in revenue. ^[1] At the individual level, there is constant pressure to keep up appearances. Lubben testifies that most porn stars are unhappy, and are most likely trying to protect their jobs. ^[3]

Contrary to public appearances, Lubben states that severe depression is a mainstay of the pornography industry, particularly affecting women. She says that women are very aware that the fantasy is for men, using women as a tool for male gratification, which means playing to the role on screen. The consequence of this is that female porn actors begin to blur the distinctions in real life, forcing them to question their personal worth off camera, feeling little to no job satisfaction. Similarly, there is an emotional cost for divorcing sex from intimacy, as the behavior pattern continues, sex begins to become less enjoyable altogether.

Lastly, she states that there is an industry-wide blanket of psychological denial to gloss over these issues. Instead of suffering for something that is loved, she argues that this is a reversal; the suffering must be explained, and so the individual self-justifies that the object causing suffering, namely the pornography industry, is really loved. Like an abused spouse who defends the abuser, this denial and justification permeates the porn industry.