I watched as my twitter feed filled with anxiety on April Fool's Day- someone had apparently put up a website devoted to outing people who had been to the AIM clinic:

If you have ever been AIM (Adult Industry Medical Foundation) tested for any reason, whether or not you are a sex worker, porn performer or “porn star” your personal and private information has been published publicly at so-called “Porn Wikileaks” (pornwikileaks.com). That website is, in fact, a copy of Wikileaks with the word “porn” added in its place. The database exploit contains information belonging to over 15,000 people.

The person or persons behind “Porn Wikileaks” has published stage names, real names associated with any stage names, addresses and other private information with the clear intent to do harm.

Their stated motivation is, “To get the gays out of straight porn and illegal gay pimps that have ruined porn and shut it down making condoms mandatory by the government now. The fag loving has got to stop. California is full of gay Mexicans and now they can even marry which is so wrong.”

As of this posting, there is a new section on the site called “Category:High Risk HIV: To get put in this section you are either gay or you fuck fags.” This section lists people in the database who are straight, gay male and especially queer or transsexual.
-Violet Blue, About the “Porn Wikileaks” and AIM’s Database “Leak”

I thought it might be a joke, until I started asking and discovered that no, this not only was a thing, but it had been brewing for a while. Unfortunately, no. Violet Blue's article gives some advice from Miss Maggie Mayhem on what to do if your name is on that list and how to get some support. It also debunks some of the myths going around in the media- for example:

Home addresses are *NOT* kept in the AIM database. Many “Porn Wikileaks” entries contain not just names, but also addresses, family information, copies of state ID’s, and Google maps images of their homes. This information has been sought out separately and appears to be personally vindictive in nature.

and

There are portions of the PornWikiLeaks website that hint at a potential release of HIV and STI status. At this point in time, no information about STI or HIV status has been released despite rumors in the media to the contrary. Nevertheless, it is patently obvious that the person behind this is not operating in a reasonable and rational manner and there are hints that the website is interested in releasing this kind of medical information. 

I can't begin to say how angry this makes me. And as I said before: fuck this scarlet letter bullshit.

It saddens me that we live in a world that is so keen on outing people for their sexual practices. From Oscar Wilde to McCarthyism to chasing around Abby Lee to this, there is just this constant fascination and inability to leave other people alone, particularly as it pertains to sexuality. And I just don't get how it's ok for people to treat sex workers as if they're less than human:

It isn't just that these performers are being outed; they're potentially being put in serious danger. Kane says it's inevitable that "bad apples will come out of the woodwork." Performer Lorelei Lee (who last year motioned to have her real name withheld from a federal obscenity trial out of concerns for her safety) told me by email, "The combination of volatile public reactions to sex work and an audience perception of performers as more accessible and/or less 'real' than other women makes us a target for hateful rhetoric, harassment, and too frequently for real violence," Lee says. She calls it "an ugly and inhumane act." Debates about the ethics and morality of the sex industry are rarely simple, but I suspect that is at least one argument most people can stand behind.
-Salon, The twisted world of Porn WikiLeaks

I'm even more angered that the wording on the site is so obviously racist, homophobic, and sex negative. I can't wait for them to get outed and for the courts to smack them down. I really don't know what possessed them to invade people's privacy to such an extent- I mean, it seems like it's fueled by a self-righteousness, especially as the guy accused of being one behind it has the only somewhat flattering entry:

"Donny Long is the last hetero man willing to stand up [sic] the Gay Mafia destroying porn. He is retired in the porn business in California because he sold his business but still tells the truth about the fag crossovers destroying straight porn as we know it."
-The Daily Beast, The Person Behind the Porn Wikileaks Website

I don't have much to say on this particular issue except to extend my sympathies and anger to the friends I have who are upset because of this asshole. I hope it gets sorted out and that whoever is behind this shit gets what they sorely deserve.

Also, definitely check out FurryGirl's blog on this topic- she also covers 2257 laws and privacy in porn, so good to look at if you think you might every go into the industry.


If you're worried you might be affected by this leak check out this database created by an ally, and view the README file first.