Mia Khalifa the naked activist: Behind her fight for what’s right

Seeing Mia Khalifa naked is a favorite pastime of many pornographic voyeurs the world over. She is still one the top draws on the infamous PornHub site. Yet, this former porn queen is using her notoriety to raise awareness of issues she is passionate about.

Loves Lebanon

Born in Lebanon, Khalifa recently auctioned off the iconic glasses she wore in her naked movies for $100,000 to send to the Lebanese Red Cross after the horrific explosions in Beirut last month, which caused over 6,500 injuries and more than 190 deaths. Khalifa also spoke out against the Lebanese government, whose negligent abandonment of huge stockpiles of volatile ammonium nitrate, used in fertilizer and explosives, was at the root of the massive explosion.

Khalifa’s outspoken comments on social media has allowed the voices of the Lebanese people to be heard in the international community. More so, the social influencer is raising awareness regarding the naked corruption in the country, and urging people not to donate to the Lebanese government.

“Share, donate or do what you can because the Lebanese government failed (the people) too. It is not just the United States. Man, I have never understood the hatred of the police as I do now,” Khalifa shared on Instagram. “SHARE THIS, DON’T LET THE WORLD TURN A BLIND EYE ON LEBANON . . . Donate DIRECTLY to the people, or the Lebanese Red Cross.”

Naked negativity

Most famously, Khalifa is also an outspoken critic of the porn industry and how it preys upon young, vulnerable women. She has spoken against naked abuse & slut–shaming in the porn industry and has recently turned into an icon for women’s rights among people who follow her for more than being naked. “It was systematic conditioning to make me feel like I wasn’t worthy unless a man desired me,” stated Khalifa of the industry.

Always vocal about her experience in the porn industry, Khalifa came clean about how she was pressured into making videos. For example, her infamous hijab scene, she warned the director about her fears in filming naked with a religious garment, but the team just laughed it off. A week later the death threats began.

Khalifa acknowledged that while she wasn’t physically abused while naked, many women & girls have since contacted her and shared their stories of exploitation. Her commentary on problems in the porn industry is not without supporters from within the industry itself. Many sex workers & allies recognize that certain sectors of the industry, especially ones run by large corporations, do indeed foster toxic & exploitative cultures.

Pooh on porn

On Twitter, Khalifa urged other women thinking about entering the porn industry to rethink the decision, warning that the industry makes it “impossible to rectify your regrets should you have them in the future”.

Khalifa also stated that she made her own decision to sign her performer contract, but admitted she didn’t have the tools to identify that she was being taken advantage of. “[Porn] corporations prey on callow young women and trap them legally into contracts when they’re vulnerable,” she remarked.

Significance of self-respect

Mia Khalifa was born in Lebanon and raised in Maryland. As an immigrant child, she worried about fitting in and struggled with her weight until college. She looks back on these years of her life as a period when she didn’t know her own value, or have much of a sense of self worth.

While living in Florida, Khalifa was approached by a man who complimented her beauty and talked to her about modeling opportunities. When she visited the Bang Bros’ studio offices, she was showered with compliments and felt validated in a way she had been craving. The company, which actually produces naked adult films, talked to her about performing in porn and gave her a contract.

“I was approached at a very vulnerable point in my life,” Khalifa recalled. “I went back and shot a scene, and it was terrifying and temporarily validating, but afterwards I felt a little empty. Though I still had that pit in my stomach where I wanted to chase that validation again . . .  I think what made me go back and do it again was that the attention I was receiving, I was afraid it would go away if I didn’t do what I was asked to do.”