SEX ACCORDING TO MAÏA
Author Nelly Arcan, reality TV star Loana, porn actress Tabatha Cash, actresses Maria Schneider, Mallaury Nataf and Caroline Ducey: All were linked to the new wave of sexual “liberation” that peaked during the “porno chic” years from 1999 to 2004. They were celebrated, covered by the media, envied. But also scorned, criticized and shamed. Some died by suicide, others were killed, struggled with addiction or ended up homeless. Still others had to remake their lives abroad – never truly able to leave the past behind. “Once a whore, always a whore”: This is called slut shaming.
This concept is at the heart of the recently published Slut Shaming. Faire payer les femmes (“Slut Shaming: Making Women Pay”). The author, Ovidie, knows the subject intimately. She was at the forefront of France’s sex-positive feminism, a movement that regards sexuality as a means of emancipation. Before becoming a doctoral candidate and multi-platform author (podcasts, series, essays, graphic novels), she also worked for a few years in the porn industry, as both an actress and director. That phase of her career lasted just three years, ending in 2002. And yet, no matter what she does, Ovidie is still introduced as a porn star.
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