The photo above features Kate Capshaw with two of her daughters, Destry Allyn Spielberg (on the left) and Mikaela George Spielberg on the right. I had to look this up: between Kate and Steven Spielberg, there are seven children in the mix, with different backstories and adoptions, etc. Mikaela and Destry are the two youngest Spielberg kids, and both were born in 1996. Mikaela will turn 24 years old in less than two weeks. Also know this: if this story was just idle gossip, I wouldn’t write about it. But Mikaela has issued her own statement about it, so here we go. Mikaela has decided to pursue a career in pornography. Well…
Mikaela Spielberg, 23, the daughter of legendary film director Steven Spielberg, 73, and his actress wife, Kate Capshaw, 66, revealed Wednesday that she is starring in her own solo porn videos. The Nashville, Tenn., resident also announced to the US Sun that she hopes to score an exotic dancing gig as soon as she hustles up her state stripper’s license, which is reportedly quite difficult to obtain.
The “E.T.” director’s child says she told her parents about her close encounters of the X-rated kind over the weekend — via FaceTime. Mikaela admits she suffered with anxiety during childhood, and going to boarding school in her teens led to eating disorders and depression — but she doesn’t blame her famous folks.
“It’s not my parents’ fault,” says Mikaela, who was adopted by Steven and Kate as a baby. “They couldn’t have known.” The self-proclaimed “sexual creature” told the outlet, as she grew more confident in adulthood, she “got really tired of not being able to capitalize on my body and, frankly, I got really tired of being told to hate my body… And I also just got tired of working day to day in a way that wasn’t satisfying my soul. I feel like doing this kind of work, I’m able to ‘satisfy’ other people, but that feels good because it’s not in a way that makes me feel violated.”
Mikaela tells the outlet that she no longer wanted to be dependent on her parents — or the state, for that matter. “This isn’t like an ‘end of the road’ or ‘I’ve hit bottom’ choice,” she says. “This is a positive, empowering choice. I realized there is no shame in having a fascination with this industry and wanting to do something that is safe, sane, consensual.”
Still, the fledgling adult entertainer vows she won’t have sex on camera with anyone else, though, out of respect for her fiancé, Chuck Pankow, 47.
I have mixed feelings in general. As a feminist, I feel like a grown woman making an informed choice to make money off her body is A) none of my business and B) her business alone. Mikaela is an educated woman and she’s making a series of choices and that’s her call. Do I lament the fact that she’s made this particular choice? Sure. But it is what it is. A few years ago, I read an interesting article about the shifting revenue streams in porn sites and how do-it-yourselfers with a good camera can truly make a lot of money if they keep it simple and keep up with the paperwork (and the demand). Honestly though… does anyone else think it might be a bigger red flag that her fiance is 47?
Photos courtesy of Instagram, Getty.
Huge red flag that the fiancé is 47.
Yep!!
YES.
Yes.
Yeah… that’s what’s disturbing here…
And probably pushing her in that direction.
Porn is such a misogynistic industry, from stories I remember in the news like the one dude who slapped and hit and put actresses down. I’m sure he’s not a one off.
Skeevy. I hope she is okay.
That was my thinking too. That *fiance* is pushing her into this….do you think Stephen is now riddled with question just when and what role should he had handed to her to avoid this?
I read her statement, she indicated that the fiancé was dubious about the porn but I side-eye that HARD. BTW her 47 year old fiancé is a professional DART player. Lord help the children
Why not be a nepotism model? She is just as attractive as the others and, bonus, no weird plastic surgery.
For every ONE porn star, there are millions sold into rape, never to be seen or heard from again. An industry that objectifies a body purely for sexual gratification is violence. There is such an increase in child sexual abuse cases on the radar of the FBI, that law enforcement can only handle the cases of imminence- infants and toddlers. Yes. Infants and toddlers. Millions. I am not sorry to be the crack the “feminist charm” of “porn choice”, but it’s an evil vocation- beyond evil. She may be on the “celebrated star”, but behind many locked doors is the aftermath of this “choice”.
@TiredTreaded: But an adult woman going naked and masturbating on camera is in no way the same as raping an infant or child, is not the cause of a child (or anyone else) being raped, and her or others abstaining from that behavior won’t prevent anyone from being raped. Sex is one of the few areas where we (as a society) make such logic-defying leaps, whether the conversation is about porn or about men being turned on by physical appearance choices. It’s important to think about who that serves.
I agree. SO disturbing.
Also – google him. It isn’t just his age that is disturbing!!……..egad.
Came here to say the same. I was all good until I saw that.
Wikipedia puts him at 50, born in 1969.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Pankow
They have “walk on” music for DARTS?!
Yep!
He is extraordinarily creepy looking and seems to have a serious case of arrested development. She is really cute and has her whole life ahead of her. I wish she understood she could do so much better than Dart Bro!
She said that she was groomed and abused by a person(s) “outside her family and their circle of friends”. That is too specific not to be a red flag. Who was it, the mailman? Grooming requires access. It could be a teacher…I myself say look inside the family and their circle of friends. The rumors about a certain person have been deafening for years.
Most sex workers were groomed & abused, so the aspect of “choice” just doesn’t ring soulfully accurate.
Extremely deafening rumours about a very close family member for years . Poor drew
It’s easier to buy an AR-15 in Tennessee than to get a license to be an exotic dancer.
@Aimee, THAT is a comment on the times we live in.
Wow
I live in Tennessee, and I hate the easy accessibility to guns that we have here, but I have never heard of having to get a license to be an exotic dancer. Can you elaborate?
Sad acknowledgement of a correct statement.
This, plus the 47 year old fiance definitely make me raise my eyebrows. I hope she is of sound mind. Her doing porn is her choice (and one I’d never make), but I’m not particularly jazzed when others choose this route.
Hard to believe she is choosing a Porn career, yikes. I think she will change later on and eventually grow away from that. Right now, this seems empowering to her for some reason. About Chuck, yikes again–let’s hope they don’t actually get married !!
Yes, the mic drop at the end was the double-her-age fiancé reference. My oldest is 21 … I just can’t imagine how I would feel about both the porn and the father figure fiancé.
Is anyone else curious about her face timing her parents to tell them and then almost immediately releasing her public statement? I hope she’s not trying to get out in front of someone holding this over her head.
The 47 yr old fiancee also brought me up short.
47 year old fiancé and she’s going into porn? Her parents must be so proud
Her parents have nothing to be proud about themselves
I was actually somewhat ok with her statement (her body, her choice) till her fiancé was mentioned. Huge red flag.
lol this
Love and hot sex with me
SAME.
I got curious and did some googling. The only Chuck Pankow I could find in Tennessee is a professional dart player and exotic animal handler. Looked at his photo and this guy is no prize (trying to be polite, but….). Wikipedia says he is 50.
Thank you for saving me the trouble of doing exactly what you just did. LOL! Also, if that’s him…ew.
Dear lord… He is a good “picture him in top of you” candidate…
You owe me a coffee and a dry cleaning bill from spitting all over from laughing. 😻
I am pretty generous with relative attractiveness, but being under him would literally force my soul from my body!
Yikes!
You sex with ME hot and lovely
I googled her with fiance and yikes – he has enabler douche written all over him.
Yikes, from the pictures that guy’s not good news… Just proves that you can have all the privilege (economic not racial before ya’ll come for me) in the world and make some questionable choices.
It’s not mentioned in this article, but in another article I read , Mikaela mentions that she was sexually abused as a child and suffers from borderline personality disorder. So while I agree that women should be able to make their own choices, including the decision to work in the porn industry, I can’t help but worry that this is not an empowered decision, but rather a byproduct of her trauma.
But then again, maybe making these videos is her way of reclaiming her power and sexuality. What do I know?
I was coming to say the same thing re: the sexual abuse. She still has agency over her body, but it’s clear how sexual abuse leads to early sexualization, and that leads to trauma and pain. I hope she is getting help for herself. I don’t judge her career choice; it just sounds like she is reliving trauma and could use a professional to talk to about it.
Exactly. This woman throws up so many red flags. A history of abuse, mental illness, she is also open about being an alcoholic, the partner twice her age…
The adult business is hard. If you are going to get involved in it, I think you need a VERY strong head on your shoulders and a really strong constitution to deal with it. I just do not see this ending well. At all.
Came in here to say the same thing. Note – I am a survivor of child sex abuse and I’m a sufferer of borderline personality disorder as well as an eating disorder (and yes I was involved with an older man before), so I understand… how these can somehow lead to oversexualization. I’ve been there. Although I was not pursuing sex work, I have been for a time period oversexualized and I did think of myself empowered… although in restrospect some of it was a byproduct of my trauma and I actually wonder if if I had a healthier relationship with my body, would I have been this oversexualized? Who knows.
But the red flag for me was this
‘I feel like doing this kind of work, I’m able to ‘satisfy’ other people, but that feels good because it’s not in a way that makes me feel violated.”’
It honestly concernes me that she sees feeling good hinges on satisfying other people. I want to hear why she does this for herself.
And the fact that her fiance is 47 is a HUGE red flag. Girl, I’ve been there and yes it turned out he was a creep after all. I can’t feel that he is preying on her.
@whitecat, spot on. This is a very young person who may feel differently in years to come. I hope she truly is (and remains) at peace with her decisions.
I support a woman’s right to choose and so whatever she wants to do. I just can’t help but worry for her given her age and past experiences. I hope I’m worrying unnecessarily.
Thank you WhiteCat for your insightful comments. I’m sorry for your pain, but sounds like you are in a better space now and that is great. I do not think this is going to end well for this young woman. I think by doing this she is not empowering herself, I think she is self-harming and deluding herself that she is not. I truly worry for her.
Well said, whitecat. I appreciate you sharing your perspective on this.
@whitecat, thanks for sharing your experiences with us. That took a lot of courage.
Well said, whitecat! Thank you for your perspective.
Yup. The last thing I thought of while reading this is, wow what an empowered feminist. The simple fact that she issued her own statement is… interesting. I wish this young lady the best.
Well, I hope the story has a happy ending.
it does, she inherits loads of cash and benefits from nepotism. this would be a non-starter if she weren’t connected and her fifty year old bf knows it.
I see what you did there.
Lol
I think there is a lot to be sad about here. In a different article I read, she also stated that she was abused as a child, not by a family member or family friend. Something is very off with this entire story.
I’m laughing my ass off at the image in my head of Mr. Spielberg’s face hearing this news. He has spent his entire life pursuing and producing excellence within the film industry. Heh heh.
How in any way is this funny?
1. Compartmentalize
2. Focus on Spielberg and recall his body of work (pun intended).
3. Imaging the Spelberg legacy racing through his mind learning his daughter wants to make porn videos.
4. Renaming his movies with porn titles.
5. Knowing I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried.
6. Having a sense of humor.
After Drew Barrymore posed for playboy he sent her a blanket with a note to “cover up”. This can’t be sitting well with him on an emotional or superficial level.
Yes Ma’am. I remember that. His carefully curated life just got a fastball. It will be interesting to see how he handles it, and what comments, if any, he’ll offer.
What do I know. Maybe he’ll chuckle when ‘Batteries Not Included’ takes on new meaning.
My niece suffered from body and self esteem issues but all that changed when she took up burlesque – she really is much happier in her own skin now.
It concerns me when she says she’s not going to have sex on camera out of respect for her fiance – firstly his age is problematic and secondly she needs to watch Hot Girls Wanted, as once you put that on camera it will haunt you for the rest of your life. But ultimately it’s her choice, I just hope she’s making these choices for the right reasons and not a response to trauma or pressure from other people.
I feel like burlesque is a different thing entirely tho? IDK. Pre coffee not sure I can explain my thought but burlesque is artistic performance that seems less exploitative than the porn industry/culture.
I’m going to agree with you. And I’ve only recently learned. Remember Ros in Game of Thrones? The actress is Esmé Bianco. I read her bio and took a dive down a rabbit hole called neo-burlesque.
The whole history is quite the education, and the artistic expression incorporates music hall, minstrel shows, striptease, comedy and cabaret styles. I’d like to see all the fancy, expensive costumes. I don’t think porn has a costume director.
It is very artistic and very different to the pron industry. I just feel that there are other healthier ways to reclaim your body etc.. than turning to pron.
I have friends who do burlesque and it could not be farther from the porn industry. It is absolutely about music, artistry and body positivity.
Hot Girls Wanted is one of the saddest and most disturbing documentaries I’ve ever watched. I couldn’t finish it. Some of these young women have NO idea what they’re getting into, they have such a glamorized idea of that industry.
I also remember a guy who “won” a visit to a porn set (think he was interviewed on Howard Stern), for a (don’t want to use the industry term here) multi-male/one female shoot. he was a HUGE fan of adult films, and after the visit he was like “it was so gross. I’m not sure I’ll ever want to watch it again now that I know the circumstances under which it’s made” or words to that effect. like any movie, the final product bears little resemblance to the set work. he said the whole thing was disturbing and uncomfortable.
Yes. Back in the day, my ex was working for a well-known porn company. I got to know the owner of the company and spent quite a bit of time there. It was actually very well run, but simple fact is that most of the “actresses” had significant trauma histories. It was not uncommon for them to break down on set and they would need to stop filming, etc. This concept that women can “reclaim” their body and sexuality by “choosing” to enter the porn industry is a little too basic and generalized. What is more common is that it re-traumatizes women, and the “choice” to enter this industry is greatly influenced by finances, trauma, mental health, etc.
@Digital, absolutely. I’ll never defend that industry. It’s very problematic for women. And, believe it or not, it’s very problematic for men. I won’t go into detail, but I’ve seen what it can do to young men and their sex lives. And I’m not convinced choosing to make that your profession says you’re in a good place. Statistics are stacked against health and happiness in that world.
She also gave an interview where she said she was groomed and sexually abused growing up by a non-family member who wasn’t famous. This might be a way of her dealing with whatever it was happened to her as a child. So yeah, a lot of red flags.
Kate and Steven – get your daughter away from a 47 year old! Jesus.
Hope she has addressed her mental health issues before doing this. It doesn’t seem like this type of work would help body image/eating/depression issues.
Honestly, yes. 47 year old fiancé is a BIG red flag. Not that age gaps in relationships can’t ever work, but she’s only 23! So young. And her entire story… it sounds so complicated and messed up, and sad. I felt enormously sad for her reading it. The fiancé isn’t even the only thing that worries me about her story. I want to say her body, her choice, I support that, but… I do worry that to me, she sounds like a kid who THINKS she has it all figured out, but later down the track is going to realise that she really, really didn’t. I don’t know. Hopefully she’s in a better place than I think she is, and it will all work out for her. Hopefully she really does have it as figured out as she thinks she does. But I do worry, and I agree with @other Renee above- something just seems so off here.
So is this soft-core type of stuff? Masturbating? Just being naked on camera? She says she’s not going to have sex on camera, which is what I think of when I hear “p0rn.” This sounds more like being a stripper or dancer who also does cam shows.
I found her statement about being able to satisfy other people interesting. She’ll be able ”to satisfy other people but that feels good because it’s not in a way that makes me feel violated.” It almost sounds like she feels like she HAS to satisfy other people sexually or with her body and so she’s landed on this option because it’s a way to do that without feeling violated.
I was all understanding her story /choices, and then got to the 47 year old boyfriend, and my brain screeched to a halt! Huge 🚩 Girl…you are 23, that man is manipulating you!! Even if you don’t realize it yet!!😬
This poor girl. I read the story yesterday and it made me queasy and sad.
Ok unpopular comment alert. Is this maybe a way to get parents to step in? The comment about not wanting to live off her parents was one thing, but then the comment about “the state” was odd. Is she in a bad place or needs financial assistance?
I wish her well but a 47 yr old fiancé for a 24 is just bad news all around.
I once read a story I don’t remember if it was fiction or real, that a woman with a big sex drive decided that going into porn was a good way to channel her feelings. I side eye this a lot, since people could work out this in different more private ways without the pressure that has being on film, and given that porn is an industry that exploits so many trafficked women and children.
I do hope she feels that she has her family behind her and doesn’t strange them, in case things go wrong. I smell some power issues here.
As Amy said upthread, if she needs she has to “please” people, she might have not overcome what she suffered.
So sad about what she endured as a child, and being Spielberg’s daughter will probably protect her from a lot of wrongdoing in the industry.
I forgot to add that I’m curious as to why she was sent away to boarding school for high school. Clearly that wasn’t going well and caused her trauma, yet her parents continued to send her there?
I think she mentioned somewhere that she was problematic or something to that effect. I feel like her parents really didn’t have much time to devote to her given their careers and the fact that they had seven children to raise.
I’m laughing because in the end she’s following her parents’ footsteps in acting world. How could they possibly be disappointed?
How is her dating someone that is twice her age so hard to swallow when not many batted an eye at the woman’s age difference with Al Pacino? He is almost twice her age. What’s the difference? Is it because she is 23? I don’t get the double standard but I do think there are some concerns about her career choice AND the older boyfriend.
Well, yes, the power imbalance is quite different in Pacino’s relationship, which is maybe transactional but not damaging to anyone involved. This relationship sounds more unbalanced – the girl sounds very young and fairly naive, frankly – which is no bad thing, in and of itself, but which can definitely be exploited
@michelle, I think most huge age differences get the side eye around here but the age of the young person definitely has an impact.
I have heard that the brain isn’t fully developed until you are 25. This young lady is 23. Her partner is 47. That’s a lot of life difference.
Add in the fact she has a history of abuse and I think it’s fair to feel she may be vulnerable to exploitation or at the very least a power imbalance.
I agree, when the younger party is over 30/35, I side eye age differences less, but with someone that young…it’s concerning.
Al Pancio’s ex girlfriend is in her 40’s. Yes there is an age gap (and possibly power in balance) but a 40 year is going to be in a far better place than a 23 year old with an older partner.
Because Pacino’s girlfriend was 40 and already financially independent. She had a career of her own under her belt. The fact that Mikaela doesn’t yet makes a big difference. She might in a few years if all goes well, but if it doesn’t? What if her boyfriend decides to take control of her finances and takes off with the money, or manipulates her in some way? There are a lot of red flags in this situation.
I wasn’t too shocked by the story until I read that her fiancé is 47! I’ve seen this type of relationship play out in real life and it never works out, the older partner has so much emotional power over the younger one. In one case the older man made my 21-year-old friend keep her entirely relationship a secret for two years, citing that knowledge of it could harm his career, it caused her so much mental pain. I hope she stays healthy and Figures everything out.
I am completely okay with this, I just wish all sex workers will have the privilege afforded to her by nature of who she is.
Legalized sex work=safer sex work. For it to be the world’s “oldest profession,” society still gets its collective panties in a twist.
I think one of the commentators above has a valid point. See ” burden on the state”. Very significant. Her parents have obviously cut her off if she is talking of the possibility of depending on the “state” and I think that public statement was more about letting the parents know what she is reduced to having to do. And I am sure she was cut off for good reason. Ie. drug problems. This is probably a heart breaking situation for the parents :(. But this is a real read between the lines thing I think.
Exactly. There’s much more than she is letting on.
God, the red flags are blinding and the alarms are deafening with this story. It wasn’t mentioned in the story, but when I read in the comments that she had been abused as a child, I wasn’t a bit surprised. It makes sense. Porn isn’t a healthy choice for a young woman who has as many options as this young woman does.
I remember hearing that the Spielberg and Capshaw adopted a Black boy years ago and often wondered about him because I’ve never seen or heard about him. I didn’t know they had a Black daughter as well. I wonder what it must have been like growing up in that household as a child of colour.
I hope someone hears this young woman’s SCREAMS for help and is able to help her. And that she’s willing to accept that help.
I’m glad someone else mentioned that, it felt like the elephant in the room.
Transracial adoption can be problematic, and adopting two black children when you already have biological children (and would go on to give birth to more children) raises questions about the interpersonal relationships going on in that family. It’s telling that their biological children all have successful entertainment industry careers and have clearly had a massive leg-up via nepotism (their dad casting them in his films, widespread media coverage for small jobs, their 21-year-old daughter even landed a major article referring to her as a “philanthropist” because she “planned to create a non-profit so kids could learn about filmmaking”!!!). Meanwhile their black adopted child was sexually abused and is now a porn star dating a man twice her age.
Thank you @meganbot2020. The race issue is a huge issue.
I sometimes feel “empowerment” is a useful concept that got hijacked by some very sleek and sleazy industries to reframe grooming and preying on the vulnerable for profit in a somewhat socially acceptable way. I side eye it more often than not.
Owning your sexuality can be powerful, but collaborating with the established p0rn industry, with all its history of exploitation and abuse, is a bad idea. A women’s collective, an independent solution could work, but The Industry… And the 47 years old fiancee… Very very dodgy looking, all in all.
All these words– empowerment, feminism, and now misogyny are getting manipulated and twisted to suit someone’s needs for further exploitation.
Ok, confession time: I occasionally indulge in online pornography. I hated the most popular, ubiquitous sites because of the blatant misogyny and problematic categories. Somehow, I stumbled upon XConfessions and have been a happy subscriber for a little while. The films are female-directed, consensually filmed, diverse, body-positive and even artistic at times. The movies are glammed up, for sure, but not made for the (sexist) male gaze as priority. That said, I could see how people should have the right to participate in sex work if the conditions are respectful. However, this young woman seems to have a host of psychological issues, thus negating some of her sense of agency, particularly as her life partner is twice her age. She not in a good zone and I’m not sure what her parents could even do at this point, as she’s not a minor. Sad situation all around.
Thank you for your candid post.
I somehow (can’t remember how but I think it was a newspaper article or a documentary on Netflix) stumbled upon XConfessions – Erika Lust company and was curious to see what she was doing. It is incredibly sexy because it is contemporary and serves a lot of perspectives (female, male, gay, straight, S&M etc), but one of her films is with someone who had the fantasy of doing porn, which she ends up doing with this company and it is horrendous. You see that she is not comfortable and that she is in fact hindering the process (the time, the lighting, the capacity for the male counterpart to keep going etc…). Come to think of it this was perhaps in a documentary (?). I got really confused as to what the company was doing and still on the fence about porn. The whole thing came off as quite brutal and on a schedule, for something so delicate and intimate even if you are on the exhibitionist side and want to expose yourself. I think it’s always a bit strange at the end of the day when you place the onus on someone of your family. If one of my kids wanted to do this kind of work, even with Erika Lust, I don’t know what I’d say really as it is a sort of exposure that can be problematic on so many levels. So porn for me has been a no-no!
Thank you so much for the insight! Agree that XConfessions are often well made and diverse, sexy without the gross disrespect of the standard films. I had so idea about this documentary! Thank you for writing about it, I will definitely look into it.
I just hope this dosen’t feed into the “happy sex worker ” fantasy image some people have of this industry. Majority of the workers are/were traumatized and exploited in one way of another.
Personally I see a lot if red flags here and not so much as a feminist empowering choice.
Yeah, I’m not here for the whole “I’m a feminist because I CHOOSE to let men exploit my body and sexuality”.
Nope. The LAST thing the porn industry is is feminist. It’s run by men taking advantage of confused, usually sexually abused women being treated like dogs so some loser can whack off. It’s nasty and misogynistic and degrading.
I feel bad for this poor girl. something very awful happened to her as a child. It’s sad.
23 is still a kid to me.
A young woman with a history of sexual abuse upset she couldn’t monetize her body so is going into porn but to not upset her fiance of twice her age is not participating with other partners?
I’m all for your body your choice, but it sounds like she needs additional therapy to help deal with sexual trauma of her youth instead of hooking up with this old man enabler who is looking to use her to pad his wallet. This sounds less like taking charge and more like avoiding the trama by going into what she was taught too young; sexual exploitation.
Check out Erika Lust re feminism and pornographic film making.
As a feminist, I’m frankly torn on the issue of women using their bodies for money. Yes, it is there choice. But what concerns me with both porn and sex work in general is that it is so, so very unsafe. I don’t judge women for doing it – I just don’t feel they should need to turn to that to make a living. I don’t know.
American feminism in 2020 is really….something.
Ayup.
this ^
🤔Crazy, right? It’s almost like some people these days are starting to acknowledge that protecting woman’s right to say no to or not rely on certain things, is worthy of just as much concern as protecting woman’s right to say yes to certain things without that yes being treated as a pass for discrimination and abuse. 😂
Agreed. I more or less got called a prude, bad feminist and a negligent mother for questioning whether we really needed a pole dancing sequence at the super bowl. The cries of “but it’s empowering! Sex sells don’t you know!” is almost deafening and it completely misses the point.
Studies have shown that a huge number of adult film performers later regret their involvement in the industry. There is something to that.
People may feel empowered initially and later feel they were taken advantage of.
Young, impressionable people in particular are vulnerable to this and unfortunately that’s the exact market that the industry looks to recruit.
Signed, a staunch feminist that respects everyone’s right to choose but hopes dearly that they were fully informed and will always be ok with their choices
@D You’re right and you should say it.
@Otaku Fairy There are many downsides to American Feminism buy y’all not ready for that conversation.
@Chris: There are, and have always been significant downsides to feminism. It’s true. But there are also lots of downsides to men who only want to change the color of patriarchy, and use that as a shield.
They rarely see the actual problems within the movement for what they are because they’re busy longing for a bygone era, complaining about women being ‘ruined’, and chalking up women’s challenging of traditional values/efforts to protect other women from those values as a geographical ‘problem’. More than one woman in my family has at some point been on the receiving end of an uninformed “If you had been raised in our country” lecture from this type of man. The manosphere is also packed with this type. Not impressed.
I think Kate and Steven need to Rande and Cindy their girl- not regarding her choice of career, but to submarine that 47 year old fiancé garbage.
I was really hoping this headline meant that a Spielberg daughter was going to explore how to make/direct feminist erotica movies or something because that’s an interesting, empowering angle but… no. I don’t have anything else to say that y’all haven’t said.
@sassafras, that’s what I was hoping,that she was going to direct/produce and try to change things in the porn industry. This just sound like the same sad story we’ve heard so many times. I hope she survives.
This is so sad. A young adult with mental health issues from serious childhood trauma. Most victims of trauma re-enact it to some capacity throughout their life, trying to make sense and change the ending. She seems to think, “if i’m doing it on my own terms, I’m taking back my sexuality!” …but it’s just more trauma, self-inflicted. It’s also interesting that her dad is probably the most famous director in the world and she thinks she needs to put herself on film (not just exotic dancing). and she’s involved with someone twice her age who could also be her father. Lots of daddy issues. Borderline personalities have serious histories of trauma and usually deep-seated fears of abandonment. Too bad she can’t just go get some therapy with her dad…………………..instead of dealing with these issues by thinking that servicing and satisfying strange men “by choice” is going to fill the hole in her broken heart.
Yes. I’ve seen less red flags in a ski race.
Women should do what they want with their own bodies, but so many things about this don’t sound or feel like empowerment, but instead a cry for help. I hope her parents are able to be there for her.
@S your comment is perfection! Comment of the Day for me!
I was hoping she was going to be a behind the scenes person–maybe a producer or something and then make some big $$, if she wanted to be in that industry.
Pron people are on a different level all together. Awhile back in the early 00’s, I was around a lot of pron people, because my husband was in a band and a few members worked in pron as video editors and lighting. From being around them in a social situation (watching the band play), I noticed several things.
One, they have no sense of personal space. They just stand in your “personal space/comfort zone” to just chat and talk–it’s not aggressive, but just odd. Two, they also tended to be very touchy/feely people–touching your arm or shoulder, hugs that are a tad too long. Three, they will check you out right in your face it and say provocative things without embarrassment. And last, to be honest, as happy as they ‘seemed” to be, being around them made me sad for them. Because, you can put on the “Woo woo I love being in pron” speech, but you can just tell that many of the people had come from backgrounds that weren’t in some way messed up. I never delved too deep, because I just knew I wasn’t prepared to hear their stories–and it wasn’t like I ever saw anyone on a regular basis or knew-knew them. It was all very superficial on that front.
The most “normal” people I encountered were the behind the scenes people. The producers, the camera/lighting/film editors. They all had what would be considered normal lives and families–but after a certain age (with the exception of company owners and producers), these camera/lighting/editors all moved on to other jobs entirely, or were able to make the leap into mainstream media.
This makes me sad.
Good for her! I like how she’s taking a positive approach to this. She loves her body, wants to show it off. I feel like in society, masterbation/enjoying sex/watching porn as a woman is viewed as shameful. It shouldn’t be. This allows us to know what feels good for us. And if she wants to make money in porn she should. It’s the most profitable of all the media industries. It’s actually quite smart of her. She’s going to make bank.
I read Jenna Jameson’s book. Really interesting. Around that time I had heard that about 90% of the woman who get into porn, were sexually assaulted or abused as a child. It didn’t surprise me to hear that and it’s very sad.
Sorry not sorry, this sounds like a hurt young lady who’s self destructing due to hurt. It saddens me that she doesn’t see it ..
You need a license to be a stripper in Tennessee?
What’s the exam? I’m legit interested.
How do you renew it?
Completely shocked given all the avenues that she had available to her that she would make this choice at 23 going on 24 . The fact that the fiance is 47 is another red flag.
Sooo she wants to be a p0rn actress but refuses to have sex on camera… How does it work ??
I don’t see empowerment, only vulnerability and a great deal of sadness
Why did she pick that guy?! Baffling.
I did not expect it.
A teacher at my former high school was outed having done porn… many, many years prior. By a make student.
She was fired by two other schools- one college- same thing. Did porn, thirty something years prior and now does not.
She does not look like a porn actress, at all. I mean that with no disrespect.
The internet is forever, there is a LOT of porn out there and the women don’t appear to be empowered if decades later, can’t hold a legit job because of regrettable past.
To add insult to injury, the male student faced no repercussions, only the former teacher. Not very empowering.