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Stormy Daniels, porn, Trump trial and why our views on sex matter

TheoMay 12, 2024

The hush money trial of former President Donald Trump and adult film star Stormy Daniels continues — and the way Americans view sex and sex workers could play a role in their judgment.

During her questioning of Daniels, Trump attorney Susan Necheles pointed to Daniels’s profession to question her credibility, according to the New York Times. “They have a lot of experience making false stories about sex seem real,” Necheles said, to which Daniels replied, “I wouldn’t put it that way.” …The sex in the movies is very real, just like that, what happened to me in this room.”

Despite the widespread use of pornography, sex and sex work remain taboo subjects in American culture; However, experts say these views are gradually changing. It could be crucial to how people perceive Daniels and her credibility.

“Sex workers are whole people,” Jill McCracken, a professor of English and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, previously told USA TODAY. “Our society tends to focus on sex, and especially when we think about sex work and exchanging money for something sexual, I think we naturally tend to stigmatize sex and also just emphasize that over everything else.” .”

How do Americans view sex and sex workers?

American society has strong Puritan roots and has historically scoffed at sex talk, experts say; However, the Internet age has also made sex and sexual expression more accessible and, as a result, pornography more commonplace.

As a result, pornography has become “a very robust source of people’s sexuality and sexual access,” Laurie Mintz, a professor of human sexuality at the University of Florida, previously told USA TODAY. “And maybe it’s considered particularly taboo because other people can see it.”

According to a Gallup poll, the share of Americans who believe pornography is morally acceptable has also increased in recent years, rising from 36% to 43% from 2017 to 2018. This number remained roughly unchanged at 41% in 2022.

Despite this, many Americans still have strong prejudices against porn and sex workers. For example, the internet was ridiculed when photos circulated of “Hot Ones” host Sean Evans spending time with porn star Melissa Stratton. “In general, we’re moving toward sex positivity,” Courtney Watson, licensed marriage and family therapist, previously told USA TODAY. “But that’s because the society we were in was so far back.”

More:“Hot Ones” host Sean Evans was spotted with porn star Melissa Stratton. The ridicule has crossed a line.

Daniels has described being in court for his appearances in pornography as well. On Thursday, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger showed jurors a tweet Daniels received on March 18, 2023, in which she called Daniels a “disgusting degenerate prostitute.” The Twitter poster added, “Good luck on the walk afterward!” Daniels described that tweet and another as “tame” compared to others she received.

According to experts, women are particularly under strict scrutiny when it comes to sex, sexuality and porn. Allison Moon, author of “Girl Sex 101,” previously told USA TODAY, “It’s not hard to find examples of people shaming women for the number of sex partners they have or the type of sex they enjoy. Often we come to own our sexuality” with a price. Be it humiliation, rejection or just pure slut-shaming.

Ronald Weitzer, a sociology professor at George Washington University and author of “Sex Tourism in Thailand,” said people often make “blanket generalizations” about sex workers and only see them for what they are famous for. As a result, sex workers’ humanity is often neglected and people are less likely to take their allegations of sexual misconduct seriously.

Women and sex:Billie Eilish says her openness about sex makes people uncomfortable. She is right.

What’s wrong with the Trump trial?

Daniels on Tuesday described having sex with Trump after meeting him at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006 and having dinner with him in his hotel suite. Trump denies this happened.

Daniels’ story from that evening in 2006 formed the basis of an alleged $130,000 hush-money payment she received from Trump lawyer Michael Cohen less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors allege the payment violated federal campaign finance laws and that Trump falsified documents to cover it up.

Live updates on the Trump trial:Stormy Daniels’ testimony concludes Trump requests a mistrial

Daniel’s occupation and her sexual history were a major topic of her questioning during the trial. While on the witness stand, Daniels was asked by Necheles to confirm that she had appeared in over 200 pornographic films and had sex. Daniels said there were about 150.

Necheles also asked Daniels to confirm that despite her sexual history, seeing Trump sitting on a bed in a T-shirt and boxer shorts was “so upsetting” to her that she “got dizzy” and almost “passed out.” Daniels responded that she sees her husband naked almost every day, but if she came out of the bathroom and saw someone naked who wasn’t her husband, it would be shocking.