Overcome Porn: The 40 Day Challenge Sample

Day 11: The day I met a porn star

Unless you have ever met a porn star, you probably turn a blind eye to the fact that performers are people. Many people don’t understand how porn impacts the performer.

Author Amy Riordan, a former porn user who watched same-sex performances, once ministered to a woman named Angie who struggled with pornography consumption. Angie was grateful to have found a Christian woman who understood her struggles. The difference, though, is that Angie was a former porn star.

Angie started out performing with men only, and later filmed with women to make more money. Her emotions were destroyed, and she’s still dealing with the aftermath.

Amy realized the damage that had been done to Angie as a result of the pornography she performed in—the same films Amy watched. Behind the fantasy of pornography, there is a real person. Realizing this changed Amy’s heart forever.

People think porn is just a fantasy. It’s designed for people view without thinking about the fact that the performers are real people with real feelings.

Amy never considered why these girls performed in pornography in the first place. Many came from broken homes. Many were abused as children. Many see themselves as worthless.

Porn performers are manipulated by an industry that exploits their bodies for profit. These men and women are surrounded by heavy drug use, STDs, and abuse. Angie shared that they literally had to get high to participate.

Just as the commandment "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20) sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say "You shall not" to sexual exploitation. As the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops explain, “Looking at another person with lust—as only a sexual object to enjoy, control, and use—is a sin. It is a disordered view of the person, because it is ordered toward use, as of a thing, rather than love, which pertains to persons. This is why pornography can never be justified, even within marriage.”

Reflection

Porn performers are not fictional characters pretending to have sex. These are real people engaging in acts that destroy their conscience and warp their minds. God created each person and knows them intimately (Psalm 139:13-16), and longs to restore them to himself.