COMMENTARY | A Florida school district fired substitute teacher Sean Loftis because he used to act in gay porn. Assigned to teach kids ranging in age from kindergarten to high school, Loftis was at Nautilus Middle School when school officials contacted him to tell him he had been terminated. Loftis disputes his removal, claiming that his experience in porn could aid him in discouraging kids from heading toward the industry.
CBS News reports Loftis said: “I totally see it from the parents’ perspective…but why can’t I have that separate life?”
Loftis is not alone as a porn star-turned-teacher. Former Missouri educator Tera Meyers resigned from her job after one of her high school students reportedly asked her if she had appeared in porn. The inquiry led to the district’s discovery that Myers previously worked as Rikki Andersin/Anderson in adult films. In 2006, while teaching under the name of Tericka Dye, Meyers lost her teaching position in Kentucky for the same reason.
Discussing his termination on CNN, Loftis told Dr. Drew Pinsky, “I walked into that classroom and I left my past behind.”[@ 1:15]
Except he didn’t.
Loftis, in the Pinsky interview, seems to believe that he was fired because he participated in gay porn. As Tera Meyers can attest, though, it’s not the type of pornography that is the problem.
The former teacher’s argument that he left his adult work in the past sounds fine, except that the Internet is forever. Porn on the internet — gay, straight, fetish, whatever — is particularly forever. It does not matter if the porn was shot yesterday or 10 years ago; it will always be available, and will always impact the impression he gives his classroom and the community. Even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) declined to take Loftis’ [@ 3:06] case, citing the state’s interest in protecting children.
The idea that we should permit former porn stars to teach children is wildly illogical. Even the argument that another’s mistakes can help teach children not to follow along proves disingenuous. Loftis has reportedly returned to adult film work, making his claim that he believes his past to be a mistake difficult to take seriously.
Forgetting a past and fresh starts are great in theory and under certain circumstances. But there are simply some past careers that preclude future careers.
The introduction of a porn actor to a classroom brings with it the condoning of disturbing aspects of pornography, including sexual objectification and the recklessness of engaging in sex with vast numbers of people.
The adult film industry is a tribute to poor choices. Even Meyers says of her past that it was “the worst choice she ever made.” As she demonstrates, that past lives and breathes and stalks her; she’s used two aliases to attempt to escape it, but it always finds her.
Now that’s a lesson for teenagers.
Porn actors do not belong in classrooms. That this concept needs to be stated at all is ludicrous.