Here’s Why Being an Adult Film Star Doesn’t Mean You Lose Your Right to Consent

Last week, adult film performer and sex educator Jessica Drake became the 11th woman to come forward with allegations against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Drake claims that Trump kissed her without her consent and offered her $10,000 to come up to his hotel room at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006. In a press conference about the incident, Drake added that she was coming forward with her allegations about Trump presently “in light of the recently released tapes to lend my voice, strength, and support to the other women who are coming forward.”

In a statement released that same day, the Trump campaign called Drake’s allegations “totally false and ridiculous” and noted that “Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person, and would have no interest in ever knowing her.”

In a radio interview on Oct. 24, Trump himself continued to deny Drake’s claims and implied that because of her profession, she was unable to make claims about consent and physical contact. The candidate said, “One said, ‘He grabbed me on the arm.’ And she’s a porn star. You know, this one that came out recently, ‘He grabbed me and he grabbed me on the arm.’ Oh, I’m sure she’s never been grabbed before.”

Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume also came to Trump’s defense and employed a similar approach to dismissing Drake’s allegations:

And other less famous Trump supporters also jumped on the bandwagon of telling sex workers that they are less entitled to respect and to employ consent than other people merely because of the work they do:

The officers and board of the Adult Performers Actors Guild issued a statement, however, to clear things up for people who somehow fail to understand why consent is a right and not a privilege for all people, including sex workers.

“These serious allegations [made by Drake against Trump] are of concern to members of the Guild and we offer our full support to all performers who deal with the misconceptions displayed by Donald Trump. Responsive statements made by Mr. Trump are just as concerning as the allegations themselves. … Mr. Trump’s ignorant comments unfortunately echo sentiments that are made far too often when it comes to adult actresses being victims of a sex crime. The idea that a woman or man who is a sex worker cannot have a crime committed against them due to their profession is not only barbaric, it justifies the rape culture we live in today. With the Republican Party recently stating in their 2016 GOP platform that the adult film industry is a public health crisis, it is no surprise that Mr. Trump feels no regard to the rights of adult film actresses.”

They continue: “While we feel that the following statement should not have to be made, it has become clear to the performers in this industry that sometimes common sense needs to be restated: The Adult Performers Actors Guild would like to make it known that adult performers are not to be regarded differently than any other working professional, nor set apart from the consciousness of human decency. Being a porn performer does not give the public the right to violate our rights, at any time. Whether we are on set or off, we reserve the right to say “NO” to any unwanted advances, be it sexual or physical, as it is our civil right.”

Indeed, Drake’s commitment to educating about consent — and the power of effective and fact-based sex education — is especially notable and precedes her allegations against Trump. In August, Drake was a guest lecturer in a human sexuality class at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she spoke on sex, pleasure, and improving communication and consent between adults. The course’s instructor, David Frederick, PhD, now an assistant professor of psychology at Chapman University in California, said in a statement at the time that “there is a definite call for available sex education, and Jessica is in a unique position to respond with equal parts understanding, compassion, education, and experience.”

During her lecture, Drake told students, “Young people have been under a lot of pressure to have sex, and it’s important to speak out and remind everyone that no means no! Sex can be an amazing experience when it’s consensual and communicated in a healthy and nurturing environment.”

Indeed, not only are sex workers — including adult performers — entitled to consent to any kind of physical or sexual interaction, just as any other person would be, but are uniquely qualified to discuss and champion the importance of consent within the realm of sexuality as a result of the way that it inherently underlies and empowers the work they do.

Sex work is work, just like any other form of labor. When people are victimized, they often face even greater stigma than that already faced by survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment because of the work they do, because of the false assumption that sex workers don’t understand their own boundaries or their own bodies. Comments like those made by Donald Trump about Jessica Drake only further this inaccurate narrative that because one’s work is sex work, one somehow loses the right to consent.

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