Lilly Sparks, the trailblazing CEO and founder of women-led erotica platform Afterglow is hitting back at celebrities’ “nonsense” comments about adult films in a new first-person piece for The Daily Beast.
The article, ‘Hey, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jada Pinkett Smith: You Don’t Know Sh*t About Porn’, explores the reality of erotic content and its true societal impact on women – in stark contrast to the message fed to the general public through the narrow lens of mainstream media.Responding directly to Jada Pinkett Smith’s recent episode of Red Table Talk, where the actress spoke with guest Gwyneth Paltrow about how pornography has “really messed us up” and “gives the message to young women that being sexually desirable is the most important trait to have”, Sparks argues that their comments are not “backed up by science or data” and women “are smart enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality.”
Sparks notes that, despite celebrities’ unfounded claims about how bad adult films are, “the opposite has proven to be true. Backing up her assertions with government statistics, she says, “Women who view pornography report higher sexual satisfaction in nearly every measure. They have improved communication about sex with their partner, greater comfort with their own sexual orientation, more frequent and higher-quality sex, easier time reaching orgasm and more comfort with their body.”
“The real harm of porn, Jada and Gwyneth, is the shame you’re perpetuating. There are precious few resources out there for us to learn about sex, so we turn to porn. It’s not the best solution, but there’s nothing wrong with it,” she states. “It’s much easier to blame porn than the fact that society has made us so ashamed of our bodies and our sexuality that we can’t even talk to our partners about what turns us on.
“The true, scientifically documented negative impact of porn is the shame we have around watching it… the reality is that the lion’s share of the people demonizing and shaming porn use know very little about it, which brings me to my next point: You don’t know shit about porn.
“When I started afterglow, I was an outsider who believed the narrative that women in porn were frequently exploited or trafficked. But now I know that nothing could be further from the truth, and we need to break down this stereotype. Performers are treated the worst by the judgments of those outside the industry.
“So, Jada and Gwyneth: Check us out. Give porn a chance. I think you’d be surprised by the benefits.”
To read Lilly Sparks’ article in full, visit here.
To learn more about afterglow, visit Afterglow.
