Over winter break, I was rewatching season two of “Euphoria” with my mother. Why, I’m not entirely sure, as anyone who has seen the show knows that watching it with one’s parents is a terrible, horrendous, even nightmarish scenario. When Faye strutted onto the screen and introduced herself to Zendaya, my mom’s eyes widened and jaw dropped. “Look at her mouth! She looks like a porn star!” To which I responded, “Well…she is.”

Last year, model and writing sensation Emily Ratajkowski launched “High Low” with EmRata, a feminist podcast that has developed a focus on sex and relationships. In the last four months, Ratajkowski has hosted two former sex workers, Chloe Cherry and Mia Khalifa, on the podcast to share their experience in the pornography industry, forcing her listeners to ask: Are porn stars the new celebrities?

During her porn career, Chloe Cherry was scouted on Instagram by Sam Levinson, creator of “Euphoria,” for season two. The season was a huge success and Chloe’s character, Faye, was a crowd favorite. The show launched Chloe to exponential fame, and she decided to devote her time to being a full-time actress. According to her interview on “High Low,” she quit pornography because of the incomparable money she was making as an actress, and she thinks that the world just may not be ready for a powerful woman actively working as both a high-profile actress and porn star. And she might be right. Despite being incredibly famous (Chloe has over 1.3 million followers on Instagram), Chloe Cherry has yet to secure another role that’s achieved the cultural stardom of “Euphoria,” though she has been cast in two in-production films. On the other hand, she has been overwhelmed with brand deals and sponsorships since her “Euphoria” fame and has been the face of campaigns for Versace, Urban Decay, and Steve Madden.

Before Chloe Cherry’s appearance on “High Low,” Emily Ratajkowski hosted Mia Khalifa, another former porn star with much to say about the industry. Mia is even more famous than Chloe, boasting 27.5 million followers on Instagram and an audience that is entirely global. She spoke on “High Low” about her followers, expressing that for the first time in her career, her demographic is over 40 percent women. This is largely due to her comedic presence on TikTok, where she humorously discusses crazy exes, holds McDonald’s mukbangs, and contrasts her glamorous photoshoots with a less glamorous reality. 

Stella Barey is another sex worker with a huge social media presence, and not because of her work in the sex industry. Her TikTok has over 627,000 followers, and it serves as a platform for her reviews of philosophy books, frank discussions about OnlyFans, and relationship tips. On her TikTok, Stella opens up about her experience as a pre-med student at UCLA, planning to go to NYU for medical school before choosing to pursue a career on OnlyFans. According to her, she is in the top .01 percent of creators on the platform, raking in over $200,000 per month. 

These women’s entry into the celebrity sphere normalizes sex work as an industry in the larger scope of media. Chloe Cherry says in her “High Low” episode that she shares her experience to ensure that the next girl who decides to follow her path does not face the same extreme level of backlash that she did, and it is working. Stella Barey especially works to combat the idea that women in sex work are unintelligent, and all three of these women are building respect for women everywhere, regardless of their occupations or industries.

All three of these women are incredibly successful, whether they still participate in sex work or not, and their followings are growing. Modern women are, for the first time, able to shamelessly admire and revere sex workers and former sex workers as strong and powerful women in the eyes of society. Their opinions and experiences are not only being shared widely on large platforms, but are actually being heard and understood by wide audiences, regardless of gender.