Fanboys Anonymous

We are living in interesting times. Back in the '70s, names like Larry Flynt, Linda Lovelace, and John Holmes were as popular as swear words. Everyone knew them, but no one would openly say those names out loud;after all, there was a lot of morality at stake. There appeared to be a rift of social opinions back then—government, God, and righteousness versus rebellion, peace, and sexual freedom. It seems like things haven't changed, and if they have, the name of political correctness is still used, but as a preemptive strike to quickly dismiss the fact that everyone wants some porn.


Duke University, March 2014. A freshman with a secret career as an upcoming porn star was outed by a fellow student at the same school. The news spread, her name made the headlines, and Belle Knox, the 18-year-old vixen, became a top search on Google. After appearing in 12 scenes, she was found out by Thomas Bagley, a fellow Duke student who, like practically 90% of teenagers and adults of all generations, watches porn. He discovered Knox and immediately took the opportunity to spread the news of his sensational discovery to his frat house—which then made it hot gossip on campus.

What is disturbing about this depends heavily on the reader. Duke University is reputed to be one of the best schools in the United States, and traditional as well. The fact that a porn starlet is currently studying in the renowned institution can be a scandalous affair. After all, porn is a dirty business, and sex, even after all the freedom of speech allowed, is still a bad thing for the average American psyche. A majority of conservative viewpoints still frown upon anything that goes beyond missionary in the bedroom.

Belle Knox on Piers Morgan Live

The other side of the coin sees Knox as one of millions of young girls (and even guys) who use sex as a way to make ends meet. Belle Knox didn't want to burden her family with debt and took to the porn industry as opposed to earning a meager $400 a week as a waitress.

There is nothing to scoff at with these Starbucks jobs. They help out, the pay is fair (well, almost), and the workers, almost always students, get some real-world experience. Unfortunately, the salary won't pay for even 5% of college fees. It is well known that in the United States, the only way to get a good education is to have parents who can afford it or take out a massive loan that will probably take half your life to repay in addition to other loans such as for a car, house, etc.

Belle Knox knows this. Her case is a bit out of the ordinary though, as she found her way to the A-class of online porn in sites such as…well, I don't want to lose this gig, but they are pretty big and she was accepted pretty much right away. She is making more than the average sex worker.

Unnecessarily mean tweets from Duke students

Others resort to using all sorts of back pages, dating sites, and other casual hookup methods on the Internet. The wave of prostitution (a word that's been avoided, but is the reality) is higher than ever given that there is a fear of not succeeding professionally if you don't have a degree. Yes, there is a growing number of sex workers, due largely to the questionable system in place. It isn't just the United States, though; the numbers have risen around the world as well—in percentage, which is a more alarming statistic.

Mean tweets, part deux

Now there is another issue at hand: what will become of Belle Knox? She claims that she is extremely happy doing what she is doing to pursue her goals—which is to become a women's civil rights spokesperson for women in porn—and enjoys the sexual freedom she has experienced. All of this is great from my point of view, but 10 out of 10 times women in the porn industry have faced all sorts of serious emotional guilt trips in their later years in the business. I fear Knox is a bit naive in her youth. That she has experienced sexual liberation and is a defender of sex is the good side. Now she has to balance out the media attention, which is a very dangerous game, probably the most dangerous social mind-war one can play. Fame, at the end of the day, is not a good thing.

Bagley was wrong, but not necessarily the bad guy

Someone else has also been dealing with the fame from this story: Thomas Bagley, the guy who raised Belle Knox's fame to Google-heights. He has since regretted his actions, but probably more for the criticizing he has been enduring than for the frat-boy prank he pulled. His actions are typical and not to be judged; the race to be accepted as "one of the guys" is a very cruel one, and bullying of all sorts can occur when one fails. Bagley was just trying to win points. The only crime is that he hypocritically pointed the finger at a girl he—and probably most of Knox's haters—enjoy in the comfort of their rooms. Mike Kulich, CEO of Monarchy Distribution, saw this and wrote a comical and sarcastic open letter to Thomas Bagley offering him $10,000 and an extra $1,000 for every inch above 4 of his manhood appears in a movie with the porn star of his choosing. How picturesque would it be if he chose Belle Knox?

Look on the bright side, Duke: a porn scandal is better than a school shooting.

I mentioned preemptive strike in the beginning paragraph—who smelled it dealt it. Some of the hate the porn actress has received is definitely cruel and hypocritical, especially because other porn stars have gotten education from the money they earned making skin flicks. Can't the order be reversed?

Although the "80% of the Internet is porn" figure given by Belle Knox herself in Piers Morgan Live on CNN is likely incorrect, every healthy person enjoys sex, porn or no porn. In the country that birthed that very industry, however, there is still some sort of ghost of history past, whence Quakers and witch hunts were a part of the landscape. As time passes, nothing changes. The game remains the same, only the players and settings change. Is there something to learn from all this? Perhaps. Collective hypes are a disease that will keep martyring those who don't deserve it, just because people go with the norm and throw stones to feel better. Neither Belle Knox nor Thomas Bagley deserve the bad vibes. I wonder who else feels this is an issue? Comment.

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