Alex Henderson

The Adult Entertainment Industry 

BDSM With a Heart: Dominatrix and Fetish Model January Seraph Cracking the Whip to Help Friend Fight Cancer 



By Alex Henderson
RealmNoir, April 5, 2012

UPDATE: Hollie Stevens passed away on July 3, 2012.



The adult entertainment industry, like mainstream entertainment, is full of self-employed freelancers. From porn stars to professional dominatrices to adult webmasters to strippers to sex toy merchants, many people who earn their living from adult entertainment are independent contractors. And if they live in the United States (the only developed country that lacks universal health care), chances are they are buying their own health insurance—that is, if they even have health insurance. San Francisco-based porn star Hollie Stevens, who is being treated for metastatic breast cancer, is presently covered by Medi-Cal (a state-funded plan in California). But prior to being diagnosed with cancer, Stevens lacked health insurance. Even with insurance, however, cancer treatment can be expensive—Stevens has been unable to work during her treatment—and dominatrix/fetish model January Seraph, a.k.a. Mistress January,  is among those who are helping to raise money to help Stevens pay her cost-of-living expenses. Seraph has been holding special BDSM sessions in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, and she is donating some of the profits to Stevens. If clients make a $50 donation for Stevens’ treatment, Seraph adds 30 minutes to a BDSM session. So submissives who book those special sessions not only have the privilege of being chained up, spanked and whipped into obedience by Mistress January—they are also supporting a worthy cause. 

The 30-year-old Stevens, who has appeared in a lot of BDSM erotica for Kink.com, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2011 and underwent chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a mastectomy last year. However, the cancer spread to other parts of her body, including her liver, bones and right leg—and in 2012, she has been receiving additional chemotherapy and radiation treatment. On March 28, cancer was also discovered in Stevens’ rib; she was scheduled for leg and hip surgery in early April and after that, plans to receive even more chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Because of her leg and hip problems, Stevens is presently using crutches to walk.

Sadly, fundraisers for entertainers who experience major illnesses are not uncommon in the United States. All too often, one hears about a fundraiser for an American jazz musician or stage actor who is facing a six-figure debt because he/she suffered a heart attack or got into a car accident while having no health insurance. Some lack health insurance because they cannot afford the high premiums; others cannot get health insurance because of what American health insurance companies call a “pre-existing condition,” which could be anything from a heart condition to asthma to high blood pressure to Type 1 diabetes. Asked how much of Stevens’ treatment is being covered by Medi-Cal, Seraph told RealmNoir, “pretty much all of it, with the exception of some pain medications.” But there are many self-employed people in the United States who do not have access to a program like Medi-Cal, which is run by California’s Department of Health Care Services.

Last year, Seraph and adult performer Nica Noelle founded an adult industry-oriented organization called the Adult Performers Association (APA). Eventually, APA hopes to offer some type of group health insurance for adult-oriented professionals. Seraph explained: “One of the goals of the APA is to put together something akin to the New York Freelancers Union, which has a group health care plan its members can opt into. The APA is still a fledgling organization; so it will most likely be some time before that comes to be a reality, but it’s a goal regardless. Adult performers literally put their health on the line for their chosen careers and should all at least have a realistic option to have health insurance.” 

Seraph has been closely following the health insurance debate in the United States, where the U.S. Supreme Court recently examined the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPAACA). When President Barack Obama signed the PPAACA into law two years ago, he accomplished something that a long list of American presidents—from Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton to Harry Truman to Teddy Roosevelt—was unable to accomplish: he moved the U.S. a bit closer to universal health care. Health insurance reform advocates have praised some provisions of the PPAACA, which forbids insurance companies from denying coverage to someone because of a “pre-existing condition” and outlaws rescission (insurance companies dropping people when they suffer a major illness). But while the PPAACA outlaws some of the more egregious practices of the health insurance industry, the “individual mandate” part of  “Obamacare”  remains controversial; critics of the “individual mandate” have argued that minus a public option, Americans are being forced to do business with an industry that has a long history of abusive behavior.

The Supreme Court will not announce its decision until June, and it remains to be seen whether the justices will (1) strike down the “individual mandate” portion of the PPAACA but uphold other parts of it, (2) strike down the PPAACA in its entirety, or (3) uphold the PPAACA in its entirety. Seraph pointed out that because so many Americans in the adult entertainment industry are self-employed independent contractors, the outcome will have a major impact on their access to health care.

“I think they will rule it unconstitutional, and while I understand why, I can't help but think that doing that is a huge mistake,” Seraph asserted. “While the Affordable Health Care Act may have some flaws, at least it’s a plan. I haven't heard of any other viable plans going around.”

Health insurance reform is not only a health care issue—it is also a business issue. Presently, the American health insurance system discourages many people from starting their own businesses and being entrepreneurial, including Americans who work in the adult entertainment industry.  That isn’t a problem in Western Europe, of course; whether Europeans who work in the adult industry operate a small business or work for a large company like the Barcelona-based Private Media Group, they have access to universal health care. But in the United States, access to affordable health care continues to a major struggle for many people in adult entertainment.

“I personally have been waiting for the Affordable Health Care plan to go into effect because I am considered an independent contractor, as are most adult performers—and as such, it is incredibly difficult to get a reasonable health insurance plan,” Seraph noted. “I have a pre-existing condition that is manageable but excludes me from being accepted for an individual health plan. I have been told that my best option for getting into a health plan is to get a job with a company that has a group health care plan. But I like what I do, and don’t feel I should have to sacrifice my chosen career just to have access to affordable health care. I know many other adult performers who feel similarly, and have had similar struggles with the current systems that are in place and end up having to be uninsured.”

Those who wish to make donations on Hollie Stevens’ behalf can do so at her Give Forward page: http://www.giveforward.com/holliestevens.


Alex Henderson is a veteran journalist whose work has appeared in The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, Billboard, Spin, XBIZ, Creem, The Pasadena Weekly and a long list of other well-known publications. He can be followed on Tw

itter @ale

Hollie Stevens at the AVN Adult Expo in Las Vegas in January 2011. Photo by Glenn Francis.

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Dominatrix/fetish model January Seraph (above) is helping to raise money for adult actress Hollie Stevens (below), who has been undergoing treatment for metastatic breast cancer. The cancer spread to Stevens' liver, bones and leg.