What’s My Porn Persona? I know of many sex workers (as well..

What’s My Porn Persona? I know of many sex workers (as well as Instagramers, YouTubers, Tik Tok stars, etc...) use personas for their work. I think that the ways they use them falls on a spectrum from minimal to 100%. It’s a highly personal choice. I land on the minimal, but still find many aspect of having a persona plays a part in my sex business. I Had a Porn Persona When I began making porn I didn’t have a persona. I was exploring my sexuality not just in terms of sexual scenarios but also in the ways I felt sexy. I was highly influenced by mainstream porn as well as sexiness in the broader culture but this felt less like a persona and more like I was discovering who I was by trial and error. By the time I had been making and sharing my porn for five years I felt very set in my ways and that was something I didn’t know what to do with. There were so many expectations placed on me by partners as well as fans and I felt very constrained. I had created a persona without even knowing it. Ultimately trying to remain as I was led me to having a midlife crisis and burnout. The static nature of a persona doesn’t suit me. This part I didn't like. Personas Tell a Story Human beings love stories— telling them, hearing them. A persona allows you to tell a story to draw clients and fans to you. It might use tropes and archetypes. It might be an exaggerated version of yourself or the positive aspects of yourself. Its main purpose though is to be a bridge of connection between you and your audience. With our limited attention spans the successful use of a persona helps establish that connection within seconds. It's a powerful tool. This part I liked. A Persona Sets Boundaries Having a persona can protect your privacy to a certain degree because you can share personal details that belong to your persona and conceal your true name, personal history, location, relationship status, other work, etc… It’s not 100% effective as I know from personal experience. You can still be doxed. This happened to me when a client used his government job to research me based on the clues I provided by not being consistent with my persona and boundaries. I cannot tell you how much damage this did to my sense of privacy and safety. I’m still processing and recovering from this invasion of privacy some years later. That is another of the hard parts of having a persona for me. Having to keep my story straight. My mind and spirit is not wired for that much subterfuge. I find it exhausting and I drop my guard when I am tired or under the influence of alcohol (one reason I’m sober). I Don’t Have a Persona Anymore After experiencing that betrayal I had to develop other strategies for establishing boundaries and protecting myself. I had to discover ways better suited to my personality to present myself online and within customer interactions. It’s become about the purposeful decision regarding what to share, when I share it, and how I want to share it. It’s more of a magical cloak that I control than a shield of armour and it’s one that can transform as I continue my life’s journey. Photos: Into the Woods June 2020