Reading the ‘queen of porn’: Jenna Jameson, feminist ethics and entrepreneurial selfhood

In recent years, porn stars have undeniably emerged as dominant figures in American popular culture. The career of Jenna Jameson is a case in point. Not only a former porn star but also an entrepreneur and celebrity, Jameson now features as a regular attraction in lifestyle magazines such as People and Us Weekly, on the television channels VH1, E! Entertainment, HBO, and in advertisements for Abercrombie & Fitch. In exploring Jenna Jameson and N. Strauss’s How to Make Love Like a Porn Star ([2004] 2010), this article will suggest that while the memoir acknowledges the misogyny and numerous constraints placed upon women within the sex industry, it nevertheless affirms the empowering possibilities of entrepreneurial selfhood and the liberating potential of sex work. Even though the commercial success of porn star memoirs can be positioned as a further marker of the contemporary fascination with the porn industry, I would like to suggest that these texts offer more than merely sensationalistic, ‘trash’ accounts of hardship and exploitation.