Erstwhile Disney star Bella Thorne has made a porn film. An award-winning porn film, in fact. It's called Her & Him, and she described it by saying, 'What inspired me to do the movie was basically thinking about this relationship between a male and a female and this fight over dominance, and how much that relates to us in a general world besides in a sexual scenario.'
The porn industry has changed somewhat over the past decade. While there are unquestionably still problematic aspects of the industry, there are also producers such as Erika Lust, who have built entire companies based around creating beautiful, ethical, feminist porn. Porn, once considered the preserve of perverts, is an acknowledged part of human sexuality.
But one thing hasn't changed: the prospect of a Disney star making porn is still shocking. Because however much our attitude towards sex moves on, it still remains the singular way that young women are able to emancipate themesvles from their childish reputation.
We can't know what Bella's motivation was in making her first porn film. Maybe she loves the craft of erotic-film making. Maybe she consciously chose to honour the time-honoured tradition of doing something provocative to escape the type casting of Disney good-girl. But whether or not it was an active choice to that end, it's the result. Being hyper sexual is the quickest and most effective way to escape typecasting.
Early examples of this tradition are Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who started as fresh-faced angels in the Mickey Mouse club before adopting lipstick lesbianism and leather chaps to signal to the world that they were, as the tabloids have it, All Grown Up.
The tradition didn't die with these women, though demonstrably it had a painful affect on their lives. Charlotte Church went from voice of an angel to corseted popstar. Miley Cyrus ground her crotch into Robin Thicke while wearing latex knickers. Since women have been growing up on screen, they've been reliant on sex and sexuality to signal their transition from child to adult.
While every woman has the right to use her sexuality in a way that suits her, and the slut-shaming of women like Bella Thorne is unforgivable, the idea that heavy sexualisation is the only way to be taken seriously is problematic.
Last week journalist Sophie Wilkinson tweeted: 'I think Greta Thunberg is the first 16yo girl in a long time who has been presented to the public outside of a sexual lens and a lot of men can’t handle it'. The response was overwhelming because she articulated what so many of us had felt without realising it.
When a young woman wants to be taken seriously she is so often sexualised, because we view sexual maturity and availability as synonymous with being worthy of attention.
Bella Thorne's porn film is, by all accounts, very good. Perhaps there is a sense of progress in the fact that she's behind the camera making porn rather than in front of it. But the central point remains the same: if you want to be seen as an adult woman, the fastest and easiest way to do so is to allow yourself to be hyper-sexualised. And while there is nothing wrong with wanting to be perceived as sexual, it creates a culture where girls like Greta Thunberg are objects of hate for rejecting sexualisation and girls like Bella Thorne as objects of lust for embracing it.
Women should feel free to be as sexual as they wish, performatively or privately, for profit or for fun. But that choice should be based in what they actually want, not as a necessary part of reputation management.
READ MORE: Bella Thorne, on why she hates getting ready for the red carpet