Mia Khalifa says she wasn't called 'pretty' until she got 'fake knockers'

Mia Khalifa has explained the realities of being a young woman in the porn industry and why it can be so hard with widespread "internalised misogyny" as she discussed what is hard about life after leaving it

Harry Thompson Senior Features Writer

16:25, 31 Mar 2023

[Mia Khalifa has a point to make (file) ]

Mia Khalifa has a point to make (file) (Image: Instagram/miakhalifa)

Mia Khalifa has bemoaned trivial modern beauty standards as she launched a scathing attack on some of the worst aspects of the porn industry.

She discussed the realities of life after porn and the toss-up between being perhaps the most famous pornstar of all time and a person who wants nothing to do with the adult industry.

Speaking to Arcadia , Mia explained the realities of being a young woman in a potentially exploitative industry and the challenges of being in your early 20s in todays society.

She said: No one called me pretty until I lost 60lbs and got fake knockers.

[Mia has given an in-depth interview about a range of topics (file) ]

Mia has given an in-depth interview about a range of topics (file) (Image: Instagram/miakhalifa)

So anytime someone would show me even a shred of attention, I felt like I had to grasp onto it.

She said that the loving eyes made her feel seen and were part of the reason she went back for more.

Mia added: I did not want to lose that feeling that made me feel special.

[Mia said she lost 60lbs (file) ]

Mia said she lost 60lbs (file) (Image: Mia Khalifa/Instagram)

I didnt feel that way growing up, and I felt very, very ugly growing up.

Oh my God the things I would do for the male gaze, but that was my internalised misogyny.

These days Mia knows herself and how to recognise such unhealthy behaviour for young women.

[Mia Khalifa said male attention at a young age was hard to ignore (file) ]

Mia Khalifa said male attention at a young age was hard to ignore (file) (Image: Instagram/miakhalifa)

Ive learned that you dont have to placate anyone who gives you a compliment just because youre afraid youre never gonna get another one again, she said.

That stems from low self-esteem and self-hatred and all of these really, really harmful things for young women.

Elsewhere in the interview, she touched on her legacy for other women going into the industry many regard her as an inspiration and people still tell her shes still their favourite.

[Mia gets frustrated when people call her an inspiration for getting into porn (file) ]

Mia gets frustrated when people call her an inspiration for getting into porn (file) (Image: Getty Images for Acne Studios)

Please do not come up to me and tell me that, even if it is true, please keep it to yourself. You just bought my therapists third child braces. My guilty conscience doesnt need to hear that, she said.

It is not because of me that you joined the industry. Its probably things that have stemmed from your childhood and you need to delve deep into them.

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