A review by gray_05_sea
Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Essays on Pornography, Protection, and Privacy by Jiz Lee
slow-paced
I have mixed feelings about the book.
On one hand, the point is to normalize porn performers so many of the coming out experiences were normal. That’s a good think - alignment between objective and activity. On the other hand, there was so much normal and with some mediocre writing so as a reader I wanted more editing- the same point could be achieved with 100 fewer pages. It felt like some essays were included because the essayist sent something in- not because it merited inclusion. That said, cutting 100 pages would mean that by proportion some of the unusual stories would be given more proportional “reading time” which could skew the narrative towards the exceptional. I felt like this was a book for the people who wrote the book, for the in- community more than for an out of community member picking it up. There were some great essays included among the mediocre.
On one hand, the point is to normalize porn performers so many of the coming out experiences were normal. That’s a good think - alignment between objective and activity. On the other hand, there was so much normal and with some mediocre writing so as a reader I wanted more editing- the same point could be achieved with 100 fewer pages. It felt like some essays were included because the essayist sent something in- not because it merited inclusion. That said, cutting 100 pages would mean that by proportion some of the unusual stories would be given more proportional “reading time” which could skew the narrative towards the exceptional. I felt like this was a book for the people who wrote the book, for the in- community more than for an out of community member picking it up. There were some great essays included among the mediocre.