Duke porn star and student loans

[Atlanta Duke]

Uh-oh - Duke students' lifestyle choices back in the national news

Time for President Brodhead to dust off the playbook used in responding to inquiries when Karen Owen's PowerPoint went viral

Duke student responds to critics after outing as porn star

A freshman at Duke University who was outed as a porn star last month has broken her silence, responding to the criticism she’s faced since the news broke across Duke's campus.

After a student on campus outed the adult film actress, she sat for an interview with Duke University's student newspaper, the Chronicle, saying she wants to “control the conversation” being had about her.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/nationa...porn-st/ndZQs/

Link to Chronicle interview that ran on Valentine's Day

Portrait of a porn star
Duke freshman stands behind her alter-ego

http://www.dukechronicle.com/article...rait-porn-star

[YmoBeThere]

The lesson she has now learned, you can't really control the conversation being had about you.

[throatybeard]

I'm pretty impressed with her response, which is circulating on Facebook. I won't link it, but it's sex-positive and she sounds like a strong individual. I'm in no position to judge.

[Edouble]

I'm sold. She is an excellent writer and critical thinker, particularly for her age.

[Atlanta Duke]

I'm pretty impressed with her response, which is circulating on Facebook. I won't link it, but it's sex-positive and she sounds like a strong individual. I'm in no position to judge.

She seems pretty savvy based on this interview with New York Magazine that was put online today. Someone decided to work on a media strategy.

Q&A: The Duke Freshman Porn Star

When a Duke freshman revealed herself to be a porn star last week, her story's sensationalism was somehow familiar: College student plus sex equals another occasion for overnight internet notoriety, with some old-fashioned slut-shaming in the comments section. But what makes the Duke Freshman Porn Star unique, as far as collegiate women turned sex memes go, is that she hasn’t gone away.

http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/02/qa-t...porn-star.html

I had not heard about this until the AJC ran the story today but this is getting play in publications including (no surprise) the British tabloids.

[Indoor66]

This strikes me as entirely sexist. It is OK to "come out" being gay. Why is is an issue to "come out" for being hetro or for doing porn?

[Reisen]

I'm sold. She is an excellent writer and critical thinker, particularly for her age.

+1. I considered linking this when the Chronicle story first broke, but decided to hold off until it got national attention (it's on the front page of cnn.com at the moment).

The story is interesting to me because it contains so many titillating details (some cliched) that the media outlets are just eating up:

- She's not just a student porn star, she's a "freshman" porn star. Somehow that one year between a freshman and sophomore is an important detail not left out of any media story.

- Obviously Duke has had their share of sex stories in the media (LAX, Karen Owen, to a lesser extent the Steve Aoki girl), and the combination of elite University plus deep South (yes, I just claimed Durham was the deep South) evidently continues to make the story more newsworthy than if she was a freshman at, say, Arizona State (I'm resisting the urge to make a joke here).

- She's a bisexual feminist (interesting angle in our current political environment)

- She "had her life ruined" by a frat pledge during rush who got drunk and spilled the story. I mean, that's straight out of a 1980's John Cusack movie.

- She's speaking out on negative aspects of the culture (including the Greek culture) at Duke. That's nothing new (see the stories above), but the media and public eat that up. To be fair, nothing she mentions in any of her interviews conflicts with what I saw there, but I kind of thought things had changed in the last decade.

- Her approach to the porn business seems somewhat similar to a moderately well known female blogger / journalist who recently made a sex tape with a very well known male porn star "just to write about the process". This analytical angle is something new and novel in one of the oldest industries around.

- She's advocating for sex workers' rights, which is another interesting twist to the story.

- The political angle of her being a college Republican is too juicy to ignore.

- She's attempting to keep her anonymity, and more importantly, her "two lives" separate. Everyone likes a story about people living dual lives, and if those lives are seemingly in conflict with each other (feminist college Republican vs sex worker, lying to her parents about where she spends her school breaks) it makes for near required reading for many of these publications.

This story has been out there for over a week, but it's just getting started. I'm expecting a 60 Minutes interview in the next couple of months (with her face & possibly voice obscured).

[duke79]

Jeez, I know selective colleges like Duke like to have diverse student bodies and uniquely talented kids, but this may be going a LITTLE too far in that direction. LOL

[weezie]

Jeez, I know selective colleges like Duke like to have diverse student bodies and uniquely talented kids, but this may be going a LITTLE too far in that direction. LOL

"Well, we've never had a [fashion major] before...."

[Mike Corey]

Sometimes you just gotta say, "What the F, make your move."



In all seriousness, she's clearly got the writing and critical thinking skills. Surely, more so than I did when I was a Duke first-year. Best of luck to her.

[davekay1971]

This is such a non-story. She may be doing something that is (1) risky to health and (2) something I'd prefer my daughters not do, for so many reasons...but ultimately she's an adult choosing to make money legally. If she were my daughter, I'd be worried for her, upset, try to talk her into a different profession. But she's not my daughter, and I'm not walking in her shoes or (more to the point for me as a 42 year old guy) her father's shoes. I hope she gets what she wants out of her work in that field, and that she comes out of it healthy and intact (physically and emotionally).

Not to take this into PPB territory, but I wanted to make one personal note: I saw in the article that she is a "young Republican." As a Conservative (with a Libertarian bent), I sincerely hope this young lady stays active and engaged in politics. While the national perception of Republican women seems to be that they are submissive, or living in a 50s fantasy, my personal experience of the Republican women in my own life is that they are strong, intelligent, independent, and comfortable in their sexuality. A smart, attractive, and "rule-breaking" Republican woman would be a welcome addition to the public profile of the party.

[davekay1971]

Wow. In the nymag article this young woman expressed my political views, as well as my societal views about the rather pathetic sexual maturity of young men, better than I could. Bravo.

[Edouble]

This is such a non-story. She may be doing something that is (1) risky to health and (2) something I'd prefer my daughters not do, for so many reasons...but ultimately she's an adult choosing to make money legally. If she were my daughter, I'd be worried for her, upset, try to talk her into a different profession. But she's not my daughter, and I'm not walking in her shoes or (more to the point for me as a 42 year old guy) her father's shoes. I hope she gets what she wants out of her work in that field, and that she comes out of it healthy and intact (physically and emotionally).

Not to take this into PPB territory, but I wanted to make one personal note: I saw in the article that she is a "young Republican." As a Conservative (with a Libertarian bent), I sincerely hope this young lady stays active and engaged in politics. While the national perception of Republican women seems to be that they are submissive, or living in a 50s fantasy, my personal experience of the Republican women in my own life is that they are strong, intelligent, independent, and comfortable in their sexuality. A smart, attractive, and "rule-breaking" Republican woman would be a welcome addition to the public profile of the party.

Sarah Palin says hello!

I, too, have much to say about this topic, but of course, I am wary about drawing the discussion into the PPB territory.

My two biggest questions are:

1) How do her parents think she is paying for college? I had some loans and grants myself, but my parents were very involved in the paperwork. I am pretty sure they had to cosign on some stuff, and certainly fill out some forms to report their respective incomes! Has she just taken care of her tuition bills without her parents looking over her shoulder? I don't expect an answer, it just seems a bit odd.

2) Porn really pays THAT well? I'm sure that the big name stars pull in a good income, but you can turn enough for Duke tuition as a newb? This surprises me. I gotta say... I am curious if we will hear of any other students at a top tier, high price tag institution look into the porn route to handle their tuition bill. I recall, from my application days, that Brown was not need blind. If I got in, but my only choice to flip the bill was to do a few scenes in an adult film... hmmm...

[Bluedog]

Sarah Palin says hello!

I, too, have much to say about this topic, but of course, I am wary about drawing the discussion into the PPB territory.

My two biggest questions are:

1) How do her parents think she is paying for college? I had some loans and grants myself, but my parents were very involved in the paperwork. I am pretty sure they had to cosign on some stuff, and certainly fill out some forms to report their respective incomes! Has she just taken care of her tuition bills without her parents looking over her shoulder? I don't expect an answer, it just seems a bit odd.

2) Porn really pays THAT well? I'm sure that the big name stars pull in a good income, but you can turn enough for Duke tuition as a newb? This surprises me. I gotta say... I am curious if we will hear of any other students at a top tier, high price tag institution look into the porn route to handle their tuition bill. I recall, from my application days, that Brown was not need blind. If I got in, but my only choice to flip the bill was to do a few scenes in an adult film... hmmm...

I'm fairly certain it is not really fully funding her tuition bill, it's just a catchy headline to use. Just spending money really. (Unless I missed it somewhere where she actually claims it's paying for school). As for how much it pays, The Chronicle article/interview gave industry standard figures depending on the type of scene. I think it ranged from like $600-$1600 if I'm recalling correctly.

Incidentally, Brown is now need blind for US freshman applicants. Don't think they are for transfers (at least, they weren't a few years ago). A school can also be full need and not need blind, meaning if you get in, it should be affordable, it's just harder to get in if you apply for aid, but if you ultimately get in, your financial need is fully met.

[Reisen]

2) Porn really pays THAT well? I'm sure that the big name stars pull in a good income, but you can turn enough for Duke tuition as a newb? This surprises me. I gotta say... I am curious if we will hear of any other students at a top tier, high price tag institution look into the porn route to handle their tuition bill. I recall, from my application days, that Brown was not need blind. If I got in, but my only choice to flip the bill was to do a few scenes in an adult film... hmmm...

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres...scenes-2012-11

"While a decade ago the average female performer would make about $100,000 a year," Spiegler told THR "she now might make as little as $50,000 — all while juggling responsibilities such as social-media outreach and personal appearances."

But for the select few females who make it to the top of the industry, paychecks can be "upward of $350,000 a year, while top male performers can make more than $100,000 annually."

According to Dan Miller, executive managing editor of industry trade magazine XBIZ, there are about 250 "in-demand" women (called "models") who work regularly, shooting between 100 and 150 scenes per year. "A popular girl is going to work a minimum of 10 times per month," he tells THR.

[SoCalDukeFan]

is blaming the guy for outing her.

If you don't want to be outed as a porn performer, don't do porn.

Did she really think she could keep this a secret?

I would assume by now she has told her parents.

SoCal

[Edouble]

I'm fairly certain it is not really fully funding her tuition bill, it's just a catchy headline to use. Just spending money really. (Unless I missed it somewhere where she actually claims it's paying for school). As for how much it pays, The Chronicle article/interview gave industry standard figures depending on the type of scene. I think it ranged from like $600-$1600 if I'm recalling correctly.

Incidentally, Brown is now need blind for US freshman applicants. Don't think they are for transfers (at least, they weren't a few years ago). A school can also be full need and not need blind, meaning if you get in, it should be affordable, it's just harder to get in if you apply for aid, but if you ultimately get in, your financial need is fully met.

Props. I am forgetting what need blind actually means.

But, she does claim, in so many words, that the filming is fully funding her education:

http://www.xojane.com/sex/duke-unive...hman-porn-star

"I couldn't afford $60,000 in tuition, my family has undergone significant financial burden, and I saw a way to graduate from my dream school free of debt, doing something I absolutely love."

[David]

is blaming the guy for outing her.

If you don't want to be outed as a porn performer, don't do porn.

Did she really think she could keep this a secret?

I would assume by now she has told her parents.

SoCal

I agree with you that her story would have inevitably come out, but I think you are being too easy on Bagley. See this story:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...cency_and.html

The key line: "Bagley said Lauren was walking with him to a pre-game and admitted her secret. She begged him to keep it private and he agreed, but he broke his promise at a rush event that evening."

If I confided in a friend, I would be deeply disappointed if they broke my trust. He has since admitted he made a mistake but we (unfortunately) don't get to pick the events that define us.

[weezie]

I would assume by now she has told her parents.

Reading this actually hurts.

[duke79]

Not to be flippant about this "situation", but, if the young woman in question was truly performing in porn flicks to raise money to pay for her Duke education, then maybe this story should motivate parents of young children to put as much money as possible into 529 college savings plans to avoid this unfortunate outcome.