LOS ANGELES — The Daily Beast published Saturday the latest opinion piece by Cherie DeVille, titled “Why Dating Is Hell for So Many Porn Stars — Thanks to Dating Apps,” exploring the discrimination many adult performers suffer when attempting to use dating apps.
In the 21st century, DeVille writes, “most people meet partners on dating apps.” However, when she reached out to adult performers and other sex workers about their dating stories, she received “an onslaught of stories about Tinder and other platforms outright banning sex workers simply because of their occupation.”
“Nearly every sex worker has stories about dating apps deplatforming them for their occupations,” DeVille recounts. “Technology companies are making it difficult for sex workers to chat, let alone find a romantic life partner.”
“I mentioned once in a conversation on Tinder that I was involved in sex work,” April Kelly told DeVille. “The next time I opened it, my account was given a warning. From that point forward, attempts at having a Tinder led to accounts being deleted. I moved to Bumble, and it happened even faster. In short, various breadcrumbs made it clear being a sex worker wasn’t ‘OK’ with Tinder.”
According to DeVille’s informal research, the issue has increased in recent years.
“Sex workers are facing the most censorship since the 1980s,” she concludes. “At the same time, Americans are more obsessed with sex work than ever. I’ve dealt with multiple scam artists impersonating me on dating apps and other social media sites, conning men out of money. Dating apps have handled the problem by—you guessed it!—deplatforming porn stars. Multiple girls report dating apps booting them from a platform because the algorithm believes they’re a catfish. Yet catfishers continue to proliferate.
“Everyone’s allowed to be us except ourselves.”
To read “Why Dating Is Hell for So Many Porn Stars—Thanks to Dating Apps,” visit The Daily Beast.
Main Image: Cherie DeVille (Photo: Gustavo Turner)
