'Insatiable': One Woman's Love Affair With The Porn Industry
Akira also acknowledges that her positive experience in pornography is not necessarily representative. Many women fall into the sex industry because they feel they have nowhere else to go, or are forced into it by abusive men. Drug addiction is very common, and many women who have left the industry say the culture is one of emotional, financial and physical exploitation of desperate young women.
As the title of her memoir suggests, Akira is happy to be a porn star. She doesn't feel her work is degrading or exploitative.
"I don't really see anything degrading about living out a sexual fantasy," she says. "I see it as empowering."
But Akira also says that when she chose a career in porn, she "knew it would ruin my life forever." Her profession could limit her options for the future; the social stigma that comes with being a porn star means she will likely never hold a regular job or be able to work with children.
One of the toughest questions Akira faces about her future is whether to start a family. She wants to have children, but she is concerned that explaining her work to her kids would be difficult. Her husband also works in pornography.
"It would be a lot to put on a child," she says.
As for whether she would allow her own daughters to pursue a career in the sex industry, Akira is unsure. "It's a really hard question, because if I knew in my heart that my daughter was getting into porn for the same reason I was getting into porn, I would say definitely go for it," she says, "but ... how would I know she's in it for the right reasons?"
For Akira, the "right reason" for her own career has been that she enjoys her job. It's fun. If that changes, she says, she'll leave pornography.
"You should never sell your body for just money," she says. "It's not worth it."