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James Deen: Porn’s Missing Stair?

Who's got two thumbs and is allegedly a serial sexual assaulter?
Who’s got two thumbs and is allegedly a serial sexual assaulter?

Three women, so far, have come forward to accuse porn star James Deen of sexual assault. It seems exceedingly likely there will be more.

After porn actress Stoya tweeted on Saturday that Deen had forcibly raped her, other women in the porn industry made clear that they’d been warning fellow performers about Deen’s allegedly predatory actions for years.

Indeed, porn actress Sydney Leathers told the Daily Beast that another porn performer “told me when I first got into the business that I should avoid him — that he has boundary issues, basically that he tries to break women.”

In other words, Deen seems to be a perfect example what kink blogger Cliff Pervocracy once called a “missing stair” — that is, a dangerous person that women warn one another about, but whose power in the community shields him from public accusations.

As Cliff wrote in a now-famous post, some people are the equivalent of a missing stair,

[s]omething massively unsafe and uncomfortable and against code, but everyone in the house …. [is] used to it? “Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you, there’s a missing step on the unlit staircase with no railings. But it’s okay because we all just remember to jump over it.”

Cliff came up with this striking metaphor after posting publicly “about a rapist in a community I belonged to,” noting that even without giving a name or details of the rapist’s actions,

I immediately got several emails from other members of that community saying “oh, you must mean X.” Everyone knew who he was! … The reaction wasn’t “there’s a rapist among us!?!” but “oh hey, I bet you’re talking about our local rapist.” Several of them expressed regret that I hadn’t been warned about him beforehand, because they tried to discreetly tell new people about this guy. Others talked about how they tried to make sure there was someone keeping an eye on him at parties, because he was fine so long as someone remembered to assign him a Rape Babysitter.

Just as Bill Cosby’s status as a beloved father figure of the comedy world made it terrifyingly difficult for women to go public with their rape accusations against him, Deen’s status in the porn world, and his public reputation as an enlightened, even feminist, porn performer made it similarly terrifying for women to come forward with their accusations against him.

But it wasn’t just Deen’s power in the porn world that kept his alleged victims silent. There is also a strange but widespread belief that porn performers (and sex workers more generally) can’t really be raped.

Tori Lux, one of the three women who say they’ve been assaulted by Deen, explained that she hadn’t gone to the police or gone public earlier because

people (including the police) tend to operate from the assumption that sex workers have put themselves in harm’s way, and therefore can’t be assaulted – which is incorrect, as being involved in sex work does not equate being harmed. …

[S]ex workers are silenced and our negative experiences are swept under the rug in simply trying to protect ourselves from judgement of others, or worse, a variety of problems ranging from further physical attacks to professional problems such as slander and blacklisting. To put it simply, I was afraid.

Her fear is certainly understandable. The “porn performers can’t be raped” argument, despite its obvious absurdity, is one that actually makes it into rape trials. Indeed, only a couple of days before Stoya came forward with her accusations, the lawyer for the MMA fighter known as War Machine, who is currently on trial for sexual assault and attempted murder, suggested that his accuser’s history as a porn actress known for rough sex somehow means that she can’t be raped. As the Daily Beast writes,

War Machine’s attorney … said that even when she wasn’t acting as on-screen seductress Christy Mack, the accuser showed the “desire, the preference, to acceptability towards a particular form of sex activities that were outside of the norm.”

If Deen is prosecuted for his alleged sexual assaults, will we hear a similar argument from his lawyers?

For now, Deen is flatly denying all of the allegations leveled against him:

https://twitter.com/JamesDeen/status/671131915773022209

https://twitter.com/JamesDeen/status/671131998535090176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

But a couple of years ago, Deen took the issue of consent a good deal less seriously than he says he does now. joking about it on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/JamesDeen/status/39057114148245504

He liked that joke so much that he used it again later:

https://twitter.com/JamesDeen/status/189541701751287812

Then again, maybe these Tweets weren’t meant as jokes at all. Maybe this is what Deen actually believes.

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Paradoxical Intention
8 years ago

Ugh. I can’t stand these kinds of assholes. At least all the women are warning each other about him. With any luck, he’ll never get his hands on another victim.

I saw this stuff going around tumblr via a few sex worker blogs I follow, and there was a huge post warning people about this guy. With any luck, someone will come down on him and he’ll get his.

James Palmer
James Palmer
8 years ago

Huh. It occurs to me that http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S2CW4S/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1 MONEY SHOT, written by a sometime sex worker who might have come across these stories, has a character in it who is a boyishly handsome porn star who turns out to be a brutal rapist.

(Val McDermid, a British crime writer, put a Jimmy Saville-inspired character in a novel as a sociopathic serial killer decades before his crimes broke, just based on meeting him a couple of times – he was obviously “off” with women, and every women I know who met him felt it.)

sofania
8 years ago

He played a serial killer sex addict in a mainstream film called ‘The Canyons’ and was lauded for his “great acting”. Maybe playing a sociopath isn’t such a stretch for him after all.

weirwoodtreehugger
8 years ago

But I thought men only became violent misogynists because they’re sad and alone and can’t get consensual sex because the mean shallow wimmenz won’t be nice and just give them hugs and blow jobs?

Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
8 years ago

(Quick note: Please don’t say “Sociopath.” Being a rapist asshole isn’t a mental illness.)

In addition to everything else, his stage name is annoying me way more than it should. James Deen? Seriously? What’s next, Marlon Brandy? Maybe Rick Hudson?

Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
8 years ago

Also, I really like the term “Missing stair.” I’ll be stealing that to use for Louis CK.

decourse
decourse
8 years ago

In further news, philanthropists can’t be robbed.

decourse
decourse
8 years ago

Hang on, Scented… what about Louis CK?!

DoubleAsaurus
DoubleAsaurus
8 years ago

Ugh, all the videos I’ve seen of him have pretty rape-y scenarios (which I kinda assumed was his specialty) which is making this extra disturbing to me.

Nothing wrong with a scene that has non-consensual elements, as long as everyone involved is consenting and has clearly discussed boundaries/safe words beforehand, however these are the kinds of situations – for obvious reasons – where respecting consent and boundaries is especially crucial.

Katherine XII
Katherine XII
8 years ago

Easy with that sociopath talk.

Reckon speculation on mental illness shouldn’t be the focus here, yeah?

(The persistent idea that horrible acts are committed only by the insane is a convenient, hurtful fiction)

Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
8 years ago

@decourse

Article, followup article (TW for sexual assault).

… I bring Rapey CK up a lot, don’t I. Oh well.

decourse
decourse
8 years ago

@Scented Thanks. And holy crap. I know it’s better to know about these things, but… damn.

Orion
8 years ago

@DoubleAsaurus,

I’ve never watched him afaik. I have heard he was known a kink/fetish performer who was able to do more elaborate bondage and willing to inflict more serious pain than most. (Some female performers deliberately sought him out for this reason) I have not heard anything one way or the other about fictive consent or nonconsent in his work.

sofania
8 years ago

@ Katherine XII and FSHC

I didn’t mean “sociopath” as a psychiatric diagnoses–just in the sense of someone who doesn’t care about other people, but point taken. He plays creeps in films that purvey violence against women–so I meant he’s not much of an actor, it seems.

Orion
8 years ago

I should probably clarify why I mentioned women seeking him out, which perhaps I shouldn’t have. Basically, it was out of despair. The point is that he’s not merely a celebrity who cover up multiple rapes — he’s a celebrity who managed to cultivate a reputation for being exceptionally pleasant and safe to work with, while covering up multiple rapes.

So it sucks that that’s even possible, and it also leaves me with doubts about whether the BDSM community can be fixed. In principle I see no reason why consenting to receive or inflict pain should be wrong. In reality, men known for their willingness to simulate rape or torture turn out, again and again, to be actual rapists or torturers. I hate this.

Leum
Leum
8 years ago

I didn’t mean “sociopath” as a psychiatric diagnoses–just in the sense of someone who doesn’t care about other people, but point taken. He plays creeps in films that purvey violence against women–so I meant he’s not much of an actor, it seems.

From the comments policy:

NOTES ON “CRAZY”

Avoid “crazy” talk. That is, using words like “crazy,” “psycho” and the like to describe the terrible ideas and actions of people you don’t like. It’s stigmatizing to those dealing with mental illness, who really don’t need the extra indignity of being compared to MRAs. Try using words like “ridiculous” or “absurd” or “terrible” instead. Call someone an “asshole” instead of a “psycho.” Try to avoid internet diagnoses of mental illness, and don’t use autism or Aspergers as an excuse for someone’s shitty behavior.

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Kat
Kat
8 years ago

James Deen: He sounds like quite the manipulator. There’s another term for it, and that term is batterer.

And Louis CK. I’d read the allegations against him but hadn’t seen him until recently. I went to see “Trumbo” on Thanksgiving without knowing much about it. One chubby, balding, obviously very bright character was, in a low-key way, downright compelling. I was so curious to know who it was and was shocked to see that it was Louis CK. He’s very talented. Too bad he’s a nasty creep with serious unresolved issues.

Orion
8 years ago

Is there a less-ableist shorthand for “charming, manipulative, and remorseless”? Or do I have to spell it out?

philosopheria
8 years ago

I have a friend who is a porn actress and sex worker speak in my undergrad classes every semester in response to MacKinnon’s anti porn arguments. Years ago she told me Deen was a rapist and an asshole. She despised all the press he was getting for his pro-feminist attitudes.

It’s absolutely right that his victims haven’t come forward because they are in the industry and doubt they’ll be thought of as credible. What’s even more appalling is that he’s clever enough to build a public front of being sympathetic to women. Chilling.

Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
8 years ago

@Orion

Isn’t that just standard asshole behaviour? Either charming, manipulative and remorseless, violently aggressive, manipulative and remorseless or both depending on who they’re talking to.

Fruitloopsie
8 years ago

“I respect women and their boundaries” :years earlier: “Hey isn’t it funny to tramatize people!?”

And CK? Really? :sigh: I guess it’s time to figure that everyone is horrible so I won’t be so shocked.

Auntie Alias
Auntie Alias
8 years ago

This sounds similar to the Jian Ghomeshi story in Canada – a former national radio star whose predatory activities were common knowledge among people in the biz and the media. He fronted as a feminist yet he beat and choked his dates before sexually assaulting them then tried to play the BDSM card to excuse it. His power let him operate with impunity for 20 years. His trial begins on Feb. 1, 2016, I believe.

I’m just sick to hear about Louis CK.

sofania
8 years ago
Reply to  Leum

Sorry. New here. Didn’t read the comments policy. 🙂

Deen ‘s popularity has bothered me for awhile because he seemed to specialize in violent porn, and while as long as it’s consensual–fine, but socity’s biases being what they are, it’s easy for someone to get away with actual assualt and rape and call it “consensual”.

Kat
Kat
8 years ago

@Fruitloopsie
I struggle with this issue myself, but I wouldn’t figure that everybody is horrible. Like nonfamous people, those in the spotlight aren’t always necessarily mature or ethical. And with social media we’re finding this out more and more easily.

It’s also true that those in the spotlight often do some really positive things, such as contribute to worthy causes or be a spokesperson for those causes. They use their fame for good. Audrey Hepburn was a UNICEF ambassador for five years, until her death in 1993. Her ads for UNICEF were quite moving, and she was obviously passionate about her work for the organization.

“I can testify to what UNICEF means to children, because I was among those who received food and medical relief right after World War II,” said actress Audrey Hepburn on her appointment as a Goodwill Ambassador in 1989. “I have a long-lasting gratitude and trust for what UNICEF does.” As a result of her work for UNICEF over subsequent years, that gratitude is mutual.

http://www.unicef.org/people/people_audrey_hepburn.html

ljy2008
8 years ago

Some men believe they are feminists and hold women in the highest regard, yet do not realise that they engage in sexism and misogyny on a daily basis.

It really is a shock to some men when their misogyny is presented to them.

However, in this case, it seems very dodgy.

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