LOS ANGELES—Friday, Brown published an interview with Duke about issues related to the porn industry, but this time the article had nothing to do with either Duke University or Belle Knox. The Duke in this case is Diane Duke, chief executive of the Free Speech Coalition, the trade association for the adult entertainment industry, and the Brown was the Brown Political Review, whose Michael Chernin did the honors.
Though respectful, Chernin first asked Duke about the role of the FSC and how she got involved with the industry, but then segued into querying Duke on issues related to pornography that are often raised by critics of both the medium and the industry that creates it. In particular, he was interested in how Duke reconciled her claims about women in the industry owning their sexuality with "the way women are presented on camera."
"I remember walking through my first adult entertainment expo past a booth featuring a 300-pound woman in a G-string," replied Duke. "She felt sexy and powerful. Hordes of people really appreciated everything about her. There’s a place for you in our industry; it doesn’t matter who you are. In pornography, you’re going to find disabled people, large-sized people. … We don’t discriminate. I’d argue it’s what the media focuses on that causes problems."
Following a question about the Positive Image Award handed out by FSC, Chernin raised last year's HIV infections that resulted in a moratorium, asking specifically, "Were there any differences in the reactions between owners of the entertainment companies themselves and the actual performers?"
Duke responded, "When we have a moratorium, I very seldom sleep. I’m not losing sleep because of the producers — they have film in the bank. I’m losing sleep because of the performers. I want to stop the moratorium as soon as possible, while also ensuring the protection of the performers. Both performers and producers, surprisingly enough, are very supportive. We have an advisory council consisting of producers, performers, agents and medical professionals that talks about these issues."
She then lashed out at unnamed "leeches of the industry,'" who she said "try to publicize and sensationalize [the outbreaks] in the media. Performer privacy is paramount. We speak to the mainstream media because we have to keep rumors at bay."
Chernin followed with questions about the FSC's 2257 litigation and also Measure B, and ended the piece asking if the fact that many adult producers are now shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, means that the new reality for porn is that "the capital of the industry is continually shifting?"
Duke replied, "Las Vegas is a place that’s really concerned about jobs. One of the things that you’ll find is that our industry pays living wages and we bring a lot of revenue to the communities that we’re working in. Las Vegas had horrible unemployment. You need to understand the importance of industries that pay living wages and follow regulations. A lot of areas are welcoming us with open arms. So no, I don’t think that’s going to be the case."
The complete interview can be read here.
