Adieu, Aurora

Rarely is adult film a long term commitment for female performers. In fact, a career spanning a few months to a couple of years is a porn lifetime. The extended professions of Nina Hartley, Debi Diamond, and Joanna Angel, for example, are not the norm.

A veteran model I’ve known for some time is presently in and out of her decision to leave the business. Admitting that her exit strategy is a work in progress, she occasionally pops up with a new internet shoot, a reminder that leaving is not an easy call. All the pieces must fall into place, she recently mentioned to me, and I sincerely hope they do if retirement is her desire because opting for a hasty departure may not serve her well. Should her post-porn road be uneven, a return may be in the cards, something not uncommon in the industry.

Making the break means that a girl must evaluate her readiness to enter the “civilian” world. Though transitioning out can be culture shock, it is not always negative and can bring out qualities a girl may never have imagined she possessed.

Case in point is the retirement of respected veteran Aurora Snow. Porn is going to miss her intelligence, controversial opinions, and hard-edged performances.

After ten years in the business, Aurora leaves with talents beyond the sexual that will serve her well. Her recent article in the Daily Beast, “How a Porn Star Retires: Aurora Snow on Life After Porn” is worth checking it out.

It should be required reading for every newbie who is considering a career in adult film.

Aurora explains how difficult it is to leave the biz. She did it cold turkey, admitting that the industry does not prepare an actress for the day bookings fade away. Bills still come due, of course, and job hunting is the next reality. Dealing with a potential civilian employer who wants to know how the previous working years were spent can be a nervous encounter.

Aurora’s departure is an opportunity to encourage all performers to take responsibility for their future. She recommends developing investment plans early on and suggests experimenting with day-to-day living bounded by a budget. Stop frittering away dollars on unnecessary wants and don’t push away that nagging feeling to get an education. At the very least, consider picking up college credits here and there.

Aurora offers the following advice. Invest “wisely” and remember there is a “life after porn.” Most important, she warns performers to move beyond relying on their website’s archived content as their financial future.

Best of all, Aurora delivers good news. When the move out of porn is made, new horizons open up.

“Once I hit the eject button and became far enough removed from the porn machine,” Aurora writes, “I found that brand-new opportunities eventually presented themselves.”

Aurora Snow’s exit reveals that porn people have more skills than they realize. They are truly people oriented-just ask their fans-and the most popular girls have a commanding presence that showcases a “can-do” attitude any employer appreciates once that last shoot wraps up and a career is history.

So, adieu and fare well, Aurora. You have left us with a legacy of top-notch performances and a wealth of wisdom.