I’m sure by now everyone’s heard of the rising media starlet Belle Knox, otherwise known as the Duke University porn star. Her arrival in the public sphere has stirred up plenty of chatter, both good and bad. Some call Belle Knox an abomination, a slut, a whore, and a shame to her university. Others call her courageous, iconoclastic, surprising (in a good way), and a shining new voice for modern feminism. I personally like Belle Knox. While I’m not sure that I would do what she has done, I still appreciate what Belle Knox stands for and what she has to say about sexual empowerment.
When I watched her interview conducted by Piers Morgan on CNN, the first thing I thought about was how young she looks. This got me thinking about myself when I was her age, not that I’m that much older than her in the first place. At age 18 I had already had sex and done most of the basic maneuvers seen in your average porn video. I have nothing against an 18-year-old participating in consensual sex and filming it for money. But at 18 I was so self-conscious still, uncomfortable in my own skin, unsure about what guys really liked, and unsure about what I really liked, for that matter. I would have never had the confidence to go so boldly into the adult film industry at such a young age–or even now, three years later. An 18-year-old female, while she might be considered relatively mature, is still a young adult. She would still fall under the YA genre umbrella, she can’t legally have a drink at a bar, and her brain won’t finish developing for another six or seven years. No matter how mature the nature of her work, Belle Knox still has the brain and body of a young and still-developing woman, and in that regard I do worry about the impact of the developmental path entering the adult film industry has put her on. Then again, I was also fortunate enough to be able to go to college without worrying about where I would get the money to fund my education.
While Knox originally entered the industry to help pay for Duke’s pricy $60,000 tuition, she says that she is fulfilled by her line of work. Judging from her articles and interviews, I would say that Belle Knox sincerely enjoys porn, and is using her newfound publicity as a platform to catalyze discussion of feminism and sexual empowerment, which are two stigmatized and important issues that are constantly changing and must be addressed. I commend Knox for the positivity she exudes while enduring hate and cruelty from her friends, her peers, and from strangers all around the world. It really does take an incredible amount of strength and resolve to maintain her position and hold her head high, despite the barrage of insults and hatred hurled at her from every conceivable social media platform. But hey, the girl found something lucrative that works for her that she actually enjoys, which is a lot more than many adults decades into the work force can say for themselves. Knowing that, I would hold my head high, too.
In a more recent article by Belle Knox posted to XO Jane, she discusses her choice to film a rough sex scene. She writes that she enjoys rough sex, and doesn’t feel that her sexual preferences and what arouses her should have anything to do with whether or not she is a feminist. And why should it? Feminism, at its most basic level, is about equality between the sexes. If a man likes rough sex, why shouldn’t a woman be allowed to like it too? A person doesn’t control what sexually arouses him or her, just like a person doesn’t control his favorite color, or her favorite flavor–it is what feels good or what works for that one person, subjectively. I personally believe that almost every facet of life can be tailored the concept of personal practice, be it “practicing” yoga, religion, homework, partying, feminism, or sex. Unless Belle Knox is a master actress–and she very well might be–I believe that she truly enjoys the sex she has, the field she has entered, and her life, all around. While she might be facing hard times now with criticism and ridicule from her peers, she has to know that there are people on her side, rooting for her, listening and nodding appreciatively to what she says. Belle Knox has found a way of practicing life that works for her. Now I suggest we all shut up, let her go back to having sex and taking classes at Duke, and start paying some attention to our own lives and the ways in which we can improve our own personal practices–from academics, to fitness, to sex.