NPR: 'Porn Star'?

'Porn Star'?

Filed under: News

Police now say they've found the body of Emily Sander, an 18-year-old Kansas woman who'd been missing for a week. The story has been all over TV and the Internets this week because Sander had (somewhat) secretly been posing nude online under the name Zoey Zane.

It's obviously a very sad story for this girl and her family, made more sad (I think) by the repeated use of the term "porn star" in reference to Sander.

A brief check on the Web:

Philadelphia Inquirer: Friends: Missing Kansas Student Led Double Life as Porn Star

FOX News -- Turns out that Emily Sander of Kansas led a double life as a porn star, now she may have lost her life.

ABC News: Porn Star Revelation Clouds Missing Teen Case

Gay Wired: Family Says Body of Emily Sanders aka Porn Star Zoey Zane

Jawa Report: "Porn Star" Zoey Zane Jawa Report

Yes, Sander did pose naked for some online photos, but does that make her a "porn star"? I would say no. Jenna Jameson is a porn star, Ron Jeremy is (regrettably) a porn Sstar. To me, porn star means someone who has sex with other people on video or film. Video or film that is then sold to people. Not some college kid who took some naked photos for a sleazy site to make some money. What say you, BPP readers?

Oh, and please don't make this smutty -- my bosses are probably already squeamish enough about this post.

Luke Burbank

2:35 PM ET | 11-30-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

It seems to me that an even more important point is that her modeling appears to have had absolutely nothing to do with her death. The incessant focus on it has nothing to do with reporting and everything to do with marketing. So who's the sleazy one here? Emily or the media using this to sell advertising?

Sent by John | 3:13 PM ET | 11-30-2007

I find the media tainting this tragedy by calling her a 'porn star' offensive. I feel worse for her family.

Sent by chris | 4:17 PM ET | 11-30-2007

You can do solo shots and still have it be porn if the photos are sexual in nature. You don't even have to make money for it to be porn; its the sexual and public intent that counts.

Was she a porn STAR? No. But she had progressed passed the point of just "some photos". There was apparently videos too. And she wasn't apparently always alone in the material she posed in. And there was a whole zoeyzane.com. So while she wasn't a porn star, there was more going on than just a few photos on a lark.

But who cares? It has nothing to do with case. And in the end, porn isn't the grave social ill some people think it is. There's a few moral "bumps" depending on the situation, but in the end porn is fairly awesome.

The family trying to whitewash things isn't going to accomplish anything. And it makes them look ashamed of their deceased daughter.

And the media playing it up isn't going to help either. We all do things that are a little wild, but that's life. The news should stick to the case, not the lifestyle of the victim.

The real question is what type of photos has Luke Burbank been posing for and where on the net are they? Haha :)

Sent by Brian | 7:36 PM ET | 11-30-2007

Thank you for re-focusing the issue, which is the fact that a young girl has lost her life in a violent manner. It is devastating enough to her family without the media hype. Yes, she made some questionable choices, but young people don't have the advantage of age to guide them in their decisions.

Perhaps that is the real issue here. How can we teach our children to make good life choices, especially when it comes to using the internet?

Sent by Diana Schroeder | 11:31 PM ET | 11-30-2007

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