Sorry Belle Knox, porn still oppresses women

Porn stars aren't fighters against "patriarchy." They're non-unionized contract workers with horrible benefits.

Quiet women
(Image credit: (Thinkstock))

In what may be one of the splashiest media sagas of this year, a Duke University freshman has revealed her secret porn performer persona after being "outed" to her classmates by an insensitive male friend earlier in February. The student, known now by her stage name "Belle Knox," has vociferously defended herself through editorials submitted to the feminist website xoJane, and has enjoyed a great deal of support from sex positive quarters, though not without a good amount of admonition from sources both within Duke and on the web at large.

Of course, a good chunk of the criticism Knox has received has been of the reprehensible and personal sort, including threats and harassing messages sent through social media. These attacks are of course odious and inexcusable, and no amount of disagreement with Knox's message can justify them. This kind of behavior is not only harmful, but disproportionately aimed at women in the public sphere.

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Elizabeth Stoker writes about Christianity, ethics, and policy for Salon, The Atlantic, and The Week. She is a graduate of Brandeis University, a Marshall Scholar, and a current Cambridge University divinity student. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys working in the garden and catching up on news of the temporal world.