“Terrifying” Josh Duggar Porn Star Allegations Reveal the Depravity of Evangelicals’ Sexual Ethic

“Terrifying” Josh Duggar Porn Star Allegations Reveal the Depravity of Evangelicals’ Sexual Ethic August 26, 2015

Earlier today, InTouch unveiled allegations by stripper and porn star Danica Dillon that Josh Duggar paid her for sex and then engaged in rough sex that she found “terrifying” and “traumatic.” While Dillon described the encounter as consensual, she made it clear that she was not comfortable with what took place between them. You can read more here:

“He walked into the Gold Club like a normal patron and said he’d been a fan for a long time and has watched my career grow — he even said from before my boob job until recently — and that he loved watching my very first scene on [an adult website],” she tells In Touch. “Then it got creepy.”

After watching her show and “eyeballing me,” Danica says he bought $600 in private dances and then “asked me how would he be able to spend the evening with me.” She reveals to In Touch that Josh was violent with her when they had sex, he did not use protection and gave her thousands of dollars after their encounters.

Danica admits she “took the opportunity because Josh offered to gift [her] $1,500.” But soon after Josh arrived at her hotel room, things got rough.

“He was manhandling me, basically tossing me around like I was a rag doll,” Danica, whose real name is Ashley Lewis, and although the sex was consensual, “It was very traumatic. I’ve had rough sex before, but this was terrifying.”

These allegations have not been confirmed, and after writing earlier today about Josh checking into rehab I had decided not to blog about this aspect, at least for now. I have changed my mind after reading some comments on Facebook that I found rather terrifying—and incredibly evocative of the “tale of two boxes” analogy I made several years ago.

In these comments, three different individuals argued that Danica had brought this upon herself and that, as a sex worker, she had no room for complaint. Indeed, they described Danica as “as guilty as Josh.” I’m not going to include screenshots because these comments were on an individual’s private page, but I suspect this is something we will see more of over the next couple of days.

Conservative evangelicals believe that all extramarital sex is sin. As such, Josh’s wrongdoing with regards to Danica Dillon was not engaging in sex acts she was uncomfortable with but rather having sex with her in the first place. Similarly, Danica herself is guilty of sexual misconduct for having sex with him to begin with. From this point of view, both Josh and Danica are guilty for having sex outside of marriage, and whether or not both parties were comfortable with the sexual encounter as it unfolded is completely irrelevant.

I am, frankly, disgusted. Again. Conservative evangelicals condemn secular culture as sex-crazed and immoral while at the same time promoting a sexual ethic that is both horrifying and sick. They act as though they’re the ones who have a handle on sexual morality when in fact the system they promote is grossly immoral.

While secular individuals tend to base their sexual ethic on whether on consent (i.e., what matters is whether or not the sex was consensual), conservative evangelicals base their sexual ethic on a very different principle: whether or not the sex in question takes place within marriage. The closest these evangelicals tend to get to the idea of consent is arguing that the Bible commands men to love their wives, and that this means men should be kind and understanding of their wives in their sex lives. Of course, wives are also told that it is their duty to put out and that if they don’t satisfy their husband’s sexual needs they will be partly to blame if he goes looking elsewhere.

Because their sexual ethic is based on whether sex is married rather than on whether it is consensual, Danica’s allegations of “terrifying” rough sex are less important than her admission that she had sex with Josh when she wasn’t married to him. And because she was having sex with a man she wasn’t married to, well, she deserved what happened to her. She was sinning, and sin has consequences. Sin comes back to bite us, just as it came back to bite Danica Dillon.

All of this means that Danica’s allegations will be interpreted very differently by secular individuals than by those in Josh’s circles. To secular readers, Danica was a victim and Josh an abuser. To conservative evangelical readers, Danica is a whore who is just as guilty of sin as Josh—worse, even. Indeed, I have heard conservative evangelicals describe a 15-year-old victim of statutory rape (including months of grooming) as the wayward woman of Proverbs. How much worse will they say about Danica? To them, the allegations of “terrifying” and “traumatic” rough sex honestly don’t matter. What a difference one’s sexual ethic makes.

See also Josh Duggar Sent to Long-Term Treatment Center.

Note #1: I do not describe Danica as a rape victim because she does not term herself such, and we need to let victims have control over their narratives.

Note #2: It is worth noting that there are consent issues beyond the obvious ones involved here. Josh violated Danica’s consent by engaging in sex acts she was not comfortable with, but he also violated his wife’s consent by not telling her that he had additional sexual partners. 


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