About 10 years ago, when I was studying in Saint Petersburg Russia, I wrote a dissertation on the post-Soviet porn industry.
It wasn’t something I planned. I had only a few months to choose a topic for my program (Modern Social Analysis), and most people around me were working with statistics. I wanted to do something different, something based on real-life research.
I had already been involved in a few subculture research projects, so I was thinking in that direction. But then something unexpected happened.
At an afterparty, a friend of mine told me and few other friends, that she was working as a porn actress. I remember being completely shocked. It wasn’t something I had ever associated with someone I knew personally. The next morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and that’s when I decided this would be my research topic.
It took me about two years to complete. When I defended the dissertation, there was a surprisingly large audience, which I didn’t expect. That moment stuck with me.
After that, I left the work untouched for years.
Recently, I decided to revisit it, translate it, and turn it into something more readable, less academic, more real.
I wasn’t sure how people would react, but I published it anyway.
Not really here to promote it or maybe yes, just wanted to share the story to more people.