June 7, 2023

"Job centres in Belgium have started asking if out-of-work Belgian actors would like to try their hand at starring in pornographic films.

"Actiris, a public employment agency in Brussels, has been the subject of criticism from politicians, who are demanding that the question be struck from a list for jobseekers. Penalties can be imposed by Actiris on people refusing to work, which has only intensified the controversy.... "

33 comments:

Alexander said...

I'll start by saying that one should not be compelled, least of all by the government, to become a prostitute or a pornographer.

But being European, Belgian, and Actors, I will assume most of these people pride themselves on their progressive politics.

Sex workers are workers, pornography is freedom of speech and sexual expression that only icky fascists want to ban, no stigma should be attached to any of the above, etc etc...

Until someone suggests, hey maybe *you* should join them in exchange for your daily bread.

Everyone is a conservative when faced with the consequences of progressivism previously pushed onto someone else.

Enigma said...

So Harvey Weinstein has already been welcomed back to the industry?

Hollywood and film has always used a casting couch. If you put a price on it in private, what's the difference in going public?

Yancey Ward said...

Link

Gusty Winds said...

Why is the question only posed to out of work actors?

Ask a hungry, out of work ditch digger if he wants to star in a porn film. Sure. Why not?

It's more fun than digging ditches.

Dude1394 said...

Government supported grooming.

Dave Begley said...

Growth industry. No talent required.

Spiros said...

Online porn should be illegal. First, porn is too easily accessible by children. And, second, it's turning young men into losers. A lot of feminists agree and so does Philip Zimbardo (the guy responsible for the (hilarious) Stanford prison experiment).

Leland said...

Just the hand then?

RideSpaceMountain said...

"Create an environment where men are disillusioned, women are hateful, and both sexes enslave themselves unwittingly in the economic lie that prostitution is liberating."

Yuri Bezmenov smiles.

farmgirl said...

Hah! Love the dilemma!!

Harun said...

Try their hand?

ahhh, these are solo porn videos.

tommyesq said...

Françoise De Smedt, Workers Party of Belgium leader, said in Brussels’ regional parliament that the “trivialisation” of sex work was “totally unacceptable on the part of a public service”.

Wait a minute. Either sex work is just work, and should be subject to the same standards as other jobs, or it is something ghastly and horrific that should not be deemed "work." Which is it?

Static Ping said...

It is demeaning to ask a trained actor to act bored while getting screwed, literally or metaphorically.

tcrosse said...

Try their hand?

RMc said...

That's not their hands they are trying.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

It will happen eventually

0_0 said...

Next question is “Have you considered legal prostitution?”

rhhardin said...

Larry Flynt on Imus explained that if you've seen a commercial porn film, there's a 90% chance that it's one of his. It remains profitable because of high production values in spite of free porn everywhere.

So maybe it pays well.

JAORE said...

" Either sex work is just work, and should be subject to the same standards as other jobs, or it is something ghastly and horrific that should not be deemed "work." Which is it?"

Yep. I failed to find the noble sex worker claim here either.

Consistency? We don't need no steenking consistency.

walter said...

Manpower

madAsHell said...

So maybe it pays well.

I'm not so sure. It seems like many of the women are doing their own videos with their friends, and avoiding studios. It seems that the lavish catered studio sets are disappearing.

The customer provides some dramatic direction (g/g, b/g, threesome). The performer will then sell the video directly to the customer.

All of this can be yours starting around $3,000 per video.

William said...

Nothing wrong with a starring role. It's the supporting roles that are problematic.

Mary Beth said...

I wonder if they ask that of all out-of-work actors or only ones within a certain age range.

The Godfather said...

"Either sex work is just work, and should be subject to the same standards as other jobs, or it is something ghastly and horrific that should not be deemed 'work.'" Well, the answer is that IT IS different, even if you don't regard it as "ghastly and horrific". What if an out-of-work lawyer refused to join a bank-robbery gang?

walter said...

The gals can make $$$ cam modeling/Only Fans, acting like girlfriends.

FullMoon said...

Same time APPLE comes out with extraordinary VR 3d. Concidence?

Ralph L said...

What would Monty Python say about Belgian porn?

RideSpaceMountain said...

"The gals can make $$$ cam modeling/Only Fans"

Reddit busted this wide open years ago. The $$$ is a myth. Onlyfans/camgirls are the hooker versions of pro athletes. Genetically gifted but with very short expiration dates. There are only a few hundred - maybe less - of these women worldwide making obscene amounts of money selling their bodies online. The overwhelming majority of women on those sites are sticking 12” dragon dildos into any orifice that will stretch sufficiently for a little gas money every month. The hacked banking data doesn't lie.

What a horrific way to live.

gspencer said...

"would like to try their hand"

Yeah, sure, but I can do that at home. Though at that place remuneration isn't offered.

Iman said...

Jean-Claude Van Damned?

Dave said...

How is a public employment firm able to impose penalties on people refusing work? Who authorized this penalty? How is it enforced? Is this an unintended consequence of some government action? Is this a legitimate attempt by the agency to fill jobs and make a profit from doing so? Do they have a client base looking to employ actors in pornographic films?

I would enjoy reading quality journalism.

Also, ChatGPT apologies in advance for the emotional distress you are all feeling. It is sorry you feel the way you do, and it did not intend to upset you. It sincerely hopes you feel better soon, but it needs to remind you that as an AI language model it cannot experience human emotions or have intentional states such as hope.

walter said...

How long ago was that Reddit "investigation"?

Enigma said...

@RideSpaceMountain: "What a horrific way to live."

This is routine impulsive risk-taking human behavior: Males commit violent crimes and get tattoos. Females become sexually free and get tattoos. A low-income porn lifestyle is not at all horrific in their own minds. They happily "stick it" to society and feel free and powerful...but there are many women who participate in porn once as an experiment and then move on or regret it too.