Adult actress Amber Rayne made mainstream media headlines last year when she accused her former co-star James Deen of sexual assault. Deen, a porn industry darling beloved even by those not tuned in to “the scene,” had allegedly punched Rayne in the face and caused her to bleed so heavily she couldn’t finish filming one particular scene. Rayne sadly passed away over the weekend at the age of just 31, and the outpouring of emotion on Twitter has, thankfully, been largely positive. Unfortunately her backstory has been too sensational for some corners of the internet to ignore, and coverage of Rayne’s untimely passing has too often been both heartless and unnecessarily sexist.
The hashtag #SheHasAName has now surfaced as people draw attention to the glaring problem with reducing Rayne to a nameless “porn star” defined only by her assault. As if to rub salt into the gaping wound, Deen is being referred to by the much more agreeable term “adult actor,” despite “alleged rapist” being an equally accurate description. “Sex workers are more than their job. Survivors are more than their rapists,” wrote one person on Twitter.
Sex workers are more than their job. Survivors are more than their rapists.#shehasaname – it was Amber Rayne, and her death is a tragedy.
— ecto gamat (@fabfeminists) April 4, 2016
*Amber Rayne
So you name the attacker but not the deceased.. Give her some respect #SheHasAName https://t.co/WDzJqXRyxr— claudia . (@claudiadelgadox) April 4, 2016
The social media response will likely provide little condolence to Rayne’s friends and family. But if she couldn’t get justice for sexual assault survivors in life, she can hopefully spur change in the way we talk about such things in death. RIP, Amber Rayne.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Twitter