As a Webmistress and Model in the porn biz the thought has crossed my mind more than once, and as safe as I might feel hiding in my own house posing nude on the Internet, the truth of the matter is that there is a lot more that you reveal than just your body and sexual secrets...
When I first got started in the porn industry, I knew very little about the Internet and virtually nothing about porn. I was a California "country girl" now living in Los Angeles, CA. with a dog, a little boy, and no job. While searching the job section in the paper one day, I noticed some ads for Models and Exotic dancers needed. Although I'm not the "Barbie Doll" type, I liked to dance and being a country girl, nudity had never been an issue for me, so I applied.
I Forgot About "Stage Fright"
As I entered the dance club I saw women on stage dancing around polls and men wildly yelling, gawking and poking money into any crevice they could find on the girls as they danced. I was then lead to an office where a man sitting behind a desk stood and introduced himself. Left alone with him behind closed doors, he began asking me questions about myself, and then he asked me to dance for him and slowly take off my clothes as he needed to know that I could do the job.
The thought of taking off my clothes and dancing in front of a perfect stranger, let alone dancing on stage in front of more than one, made me instantly feel like a deer on the road in front of bright headlights, and I new instantly I was not right for the job and only later did I realize the vulnerable situation I had put myself in that night.
Thinking about the endless dangers of exploiting one's self on stage and while being interviewed is one thing, but what about doing it on the Internet in the privacy and comfort of your own home? After watching a show on TV about porn on the Internet, the solution became clear to me. I had a computer, and since it posed the possibilities of working from home, what more could I ask for? There was no more worries of stage fright, or unsafe situations to get myself into, or was there?
Pleading Notes From Hungry Men
At the time I was single, and believe it or not, too shy to boldly flaunt myself at men to hopefully get a date, so as I sat behind my computer busily designing and building my first porn site and creating naughty mpeg's of myself and with my member's area already up and running, I began to get flooded with "love letters" and pictures of men and their body parts begging me for a date.
At first I thought this was really fun! Not only was I going to make money, but what an excellent new way for me to get a date. My dad had always told me to never mix business with pleasure, but being a newbie in this business I figured that what did he know; this was different, or was it?
The Big Bad Wolf!
I received an email one night from a man who wanted a date, and he said that he was an actor. His letter came with a picture that proved it; but even though I wasn't about to listen to my dad's good sense and thought it might be cool to go on a date with an actor, thankfully I listened to some of the stories from my childhood that my mother had read to me in the past. The one that kept coming to mind was the story of "The Big Bad Wolf."
Deep down, I instinctively new that any letter that I responded to by revealing my own real name, address or anything else about "the real me" not only put me in extreme danger but any one that I was connected to, such as family and friends. What I mean by this is that just because it feels really nice to get letters and pictures from guys on the Internet, do not forget that like the big bad wolf, there are many disguises, and the second you take your wall of security away you become prey to the hungry, not knowing what the outcome will be.
I don't wish to place fear in a model's mind, just a warning that the more you reveal, the more vulnerable you can become (even if the date looks promising). It's better to play it safe, and if you do mix business with pleasure do it smart; never give out personal information, and make sure you have a "bodyguard" if you meet fans in person.
Some Business Advice
Don't throw away all those love letters and pictures of men and their body parts who love your porn site and think you look great. Make a page on the outside of your site for "Fan Letters" because men listen to other men, which might make them want to join. Then make a page in your member's area for those pictures that come with those "Fan" letters as extra content!
As an added bonus, if things do get out of hand with one of your members who has sent you fan mail, saving the original email can give authorities a clue that may be traced.
Have fun, but do it safely! ~ Ayrora
