Anyone who has chosen to read this magazine knows that the mainstream media is utterly clueless when it comes to the adult entertainment industry. For that matter, they seem incapable of dealing with topics relating to sex and sexuality in general. While pretending to have the moral high ground, they use sex to spice up their publications and increase sales. If distorting the facts or misrepresenting the situation happens along the way...well, it’s not like Real People were involved. Just adult industry workers.
The most flagrant examples of...what? Ignorance? Misunderstanding? Disregard? Disdain? Whatever it is, it’s most perversely illustrated in the recent spate of obituary/news articles run in The Oregonian, the state of Oregon’s largest newspaper. A paper which can be picked up at newsstands throughout the northwest.
We’ve lost at least two of our pretty young ladies here in Portland. Lost them to the brutality of people who are no better than mad dogs. Yet who did these articles condemn? Jasmine, murdered on her 19th birthday, was tried and convicted by the staff writer who focused on allegations of theft, drug use and prostitution. Because she had no permanent housing, she was labeled a “transient.” And we all know that the only thing worse than an adult entertainer is a transient. Just like we know that we can believe everything we read in print.
Angelique, is also no longer with us. Again, the condemnations flew like a slap in the face...which is what they are. Because she worked as an escort she was labeled a prostitute.
And then there’s the even bigger sin committed against a woman murdered in Massachusetts. With all the murders happening nationwide, why is this one in a paper on the other end of the continent? The local headline read, “Slaying of woman discloses second life as exotic dancer.” Hold on...where’s the news here? It wasn’t in reporting her murder and letting us know the villains had been caught. It was in dragging up the fact that a decade ago she worked as a stripper. Now there’s news, folks!
The only article that hasn’t been an assault on the victims, concerned a 44-year old pervert who kidnapped and raped a young dancer for whom he had been working as a driver. After being held for 18 hours, the quick-thinking lady escaped to a nearby grocery store, the creep got caught and will do 40 years. This article didn’t list the girl’s name and it never once spoke ill of her. Good start.
The ultimate smack in the face came when The Oregonian ran a very long, very twisted piece on escort services. The headlines blared that escorts were a “look but don’t touch” proposition (if you will) but the majority of the article was various wholesome uniformed types insisting that all escorts are whores. Period. Allegedly hired to protect and serve, these men have actually increased the risk that escorts encounter on an assignment since, after all, The Oregonian said they were prostitutes. Why would The Oregonian lie? It’s not like a little sex scandal would help sell papers. Nahhhh.
If you’re as sick of this shit as I am, you can write a letter to the editor of The Oregonian at 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201.