There was an HN article recently linked that talked about one of those religious based charities. They hired the women on as house cleaners, paid minimum wage, deducted room and board. The poor matriarch of the program had to "deal" with the profits from the cheap labor and fund raising.

One could make the same argent about mill or mining work. Maybe even the military? I don't think the adult entertainment industry averages 22 suicides a day.

But those professions are OK because they're reputable?

Why are you a better person to make these judgments than the people it actually affects?

When you start making rules for/against certain activities "for their own good", you need to be extremely circumspect, especially when these are consenting adults. Just because you feel strongly about something being bad for you doesn't mean it's your place to make the call for someone else.

I am not doing judgment, I am trying to prevent consequences like these:

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-49757600

This was linked in the original article. Do you have any better solution?

I personally know two originally fashion models I had photoshoots with that later turned to porn and subsequently to escorting and now they are shadows of their former selves and I don't think they will make it through the next 5 years. If you didn't see what happened to them you probably could be indifferent or be even "enjoying it".

yes I do: let adults make their own decisions.

if you feel that strongly about it, then spend your free time educating people about it.

but activities which don't affect anyone but the individuals who are choosing to participate should not be regulated by the state.

the article you linked has a tragic outcome, but I suspect you're not in favor of ending military service, law enforcement, long-haul trucking, underwater welding, or working in an oil field (all of which have meaningful risks). Let's pass laws to keep industries safe, but it's hypocritical to prohibit one of these and not the others based on some paternalistic notion of what's best for the individuals involved.

* I think your last paragraph was an edit, and I'm sorry about your friends' experience. It sounds genuinely terrible. But without more detail it's impossible to speak to those circumstances. There are people in all walks of life who are predatory, and the individuals have to be protected by the law when they say "no!", but it's an overreach to say that because some people wish they said "no" when they didn't then we need to prevent others who might have been happy with that choice from having the option. By that reasoning, we would have to ban all employment, because a boss manipulated you into trading your youth for a dead-end job at $15/hour.

You're not accounting for the fact that (so) many porn performers are victims of sex trafficking, coerced into doing porn when not even or barely 18, and/or unable to escape the profession (because they fear for their safety, or the fact that they are unhireable into many professions with only porn on their resumes).

They're not the ones making a decision at all and what I describe is exceedingly common.

Unfortunately, many of them do it on their own without any external influence, even coming from good families, consider it exciting and are proud of it. Rebellious teenager phase (exploration/exploitation), not realizing what's the likely outcome, then coping with consequences using drugs/alcohol/crazy behavior later when their beauty disappears. It should be regulated the same way as alcohol consumption and every effort made to prevent kids and susceptible teenagers from finding it online if we want any kind of good future for kids.

Sorry, I thought you were talking about Hollywood and the recording industry there.

Instagram has original content as well. You wouldn't believe how little are most pornstars paid (would you let yourself be filmed with an unknown man for $250-$1000?) unless they are superstars so they need to reach out elsewhere, using their filmed scenes as "marketing", trying to catch some rich sugar daddies or clients on Instagram. That all evaporates once their bodies can't compete with younger "models", cycle repeating itself. It's best for Instagram to pull the plug on their part of the cycle.

I am all for banning them all from Hackernews; it'd be both for the good of society as well as for them. Their "working years" are very short, many of them don't make it to 45 years of life and generally live horrible lives past age 30, likely as obese misanthropists if they weren't smart enough to enter management. I find it terrible that people are financing their disastrous choices, then moving onto new younger developers, keeping alive vicious cycle that spits out ruined persons. Talk to some therapists that have to deal with the "outcomes" of that industry...

[NSFW] https://www.redbled.com/dead-pornstars/

Look especially at "Cause of Death" and "Age". So similar to STEM folks, right?

Yes, it is similar to STEM folks. STEM folks aren't immune to disease, depression and drugs either.

And that site only lists the dead porn actors, not the ones who are still alive.

but isn't funny nonetheless ...