Duke Freshman Porn Star Wishes the GOP Would Get More Libertarian

So
a Duke University freshman recently came out as a part-time porn
actress, and the combination of sex, a prestigious university and a
barely legal co-ed has made the story an instant Internet hit. But

as New York magazine’s Kat Stoeffel points out, “what
makes the Duke Freshman Porn Star unique, as far as collegiate
women turned sex memes go, is that she hasn’t gone away.” Lauren
(not her real name) didn’t plan to be a poster-girl for
college porn stars. But she went on the media offensive about her
extracurricular activities after a friend leaked the info to his
fraternity bros and rumors began to circulate
on a college message board.

I’m glad she did because damn: This girl seems wise
beyond her years. Every article I read about or by Lauren only
makes me like her even more. In an interview with New
York, Lauren clarifies her association with the campus
Republican group thusly: 

“I’m a libertarian who is forced to play within party lines
because, at this point, our party isn’t strong enough to get
anything done without the backing of the Republican Party. It’s
really frustrating that when I tell people I’m in College
Republicans they immediately assume I’m a bigot and a homophobe.
Duke Republicans is completely pro-gay rights. Calling somebody a
Republican is almost an insult and, personally, I hope the party
moves toward a more libertarian style wherein they give rights to
gays and more respect to women, and it’s not so driven by religion
or by theology.”

And in an essay
at women’s website XOJane, Lauren rails against the idea

that sex workers are all victims: 

“A woman who transgresses the norm and takes ownership of her
body—because that’s exactly what porn is, no matter how rough
the sex is—ostensibly poses a threat to the deeply ingrained gender
norms that polarize our society… That a woman could be
intelligent, educated and CHOOSE to be a sex worker is almost
unfathomable.”

Lauren told the Duke campus paper that she got started in
porn to pay for her education—with Duke University tuition and fees
adding up to about $60,000 per year, it’s really a wonder more
students aren’t doing this—and she isn’t ashamed. She
also scoffs at the idea that porn demeans her:

“I worked as a waitress…in high school and not only did it
interfere with my school where I was barely sleeping and wasn’t
doing my work, but also I was making $400 a month after taxes. I
felt like I was being degraded and treated like s–t. My boss was
horrible to me. For people to tell me that doing porn and having
sex, which I love, is more degrading than being a waitress … that
literally makes no sense. To be perfectly honest, I felt more
degraded in a minimum wage, blue-collar, low paying, service job
than I ever did doing porn.”

For more sex worker positivity, check out
Reason TV’s interview with Nevada “brothel king” Dennis
Hof.