In this Vice piece by Jake Hall, five adult film stars share their experiences with “coming out” to friends and family. Read an excerpt below, and the whole story here:

“We’re told that censorship is good and porn is bad, but what about the porn performers caught in the crossfire of this hugely oversimplified narrative? Performer Jiz Lee released an anthology entitled Coming Out Like a Porn Star back in 2016, to glowing reviews. The book told deeply personal and often laugh-out-loud hilarious stories; they were burdened by stigma, but ultimately they spoke of resilience and the value of porn. A lot has changed since 2016, but sites like Lustery and MakeLoveNotPorn are hosting progressive amateur clips to prove that porn can be realistic and intimate. Elsewhere, directors like Erika Lust are making beautiful films that prove that sex can have artistic value.”