Porn Valley – When newly retired porn star Jenna Jameson recently talked about having her breast implants removed, the mainstream press made a big fuss.

Jameson gave an interview to Us Weekly, which is usually more interested in celebrity babies. (“I had my surgery while [my boyfriend] was in Iraq on a USO tour. He was so excited: ‘I’m coming home to brand new boobies.’ “) Dozens of pop culture Web sites picked up quotes.

But it’s not as if Ms. Jameson renounced the porn-star look in favor of a more subdued approach. With her cosmetically reconstructed face, her alarmingly thin figure, her perma-tanned skin and her bleached-blonde hair, Jenna Jameson still looks like, well, a porn star.

Walk past any of the mega-clubs that dominate the Las Vegas nightlife scene — or even some nightclubs in Chicago — and you’ll see long lines of young men and women waiting for the chance for a man behind a velvet rope to judge them on their looks. If they’re lucky, they’ll pay $20 for the right to enter a sweltering club with deafening music, where they can pay $10 for a drink. (Ah, youth.)

Some — not most, but some — of the young women are wearing skirts the size of cocktail napkins, and shoes with four-inch heels. Their hair will be bleached, their makeup thick and whorish.

They look like porn stars. They WANT to look like porn stars.

The mainstreaming of porn is not a new phenomenon. For years, we’ve seen porn stars appearing in music videos; porn stars on reality shows and talk shows; porn stars dating movie actors and rock stars; porn stars “writing” autobiographies that hit the best-seller lists.

As a moderate/liberal/free speech absolutist, I defend the rights of all Americans (of age) to consume pornography. And if an adult male or female makes the choice to work in the porn industry, that’s their decision to make.

What I don’t get is the mainstream interest in porn stars. They’re not admirable or interesting or provocative or particularly sexy, in most cases.

They’re just kinda pathetic.

I’m not trying to be mean-spirited here. When I say “pathetic,” I mean it in the true sense of the word. If your career choice is to have sexual intercourse with multiple partners while a camera crew records it, that’s just sad.

Look at the life and times of Jenna Jameson, nee Jenna Marie Masoli. According to numerous articles and Jameson’s own book, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star (six weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, 2004), you wouldn’t wish her life story on your worst enemy.

When Jenna was 16, she was attacked and raped by four boys. She also says she was raped by her boyfriend’s uncle when she was 16. (The uncle denies it.)

While still in high school, Jenna became addicted to numerous drugs. At one point, her weight dropped to 76 pounds.

When Jenna was underage, she started working as a stripper in Las Vegas.

In the 1990s, Jenna went from posing nude to starring in pornographic films. She also underwent numerous cosmetic surgeries to her face and breasts.

Marriages to a porn star and to a porn producer didn’t last. Jameson has had a number of other relationships with men and with women.

Jameson moved closer to the mainstream with appearances on Howard Stern’s show (and in his movie), hosting duties on E!, a non-porn movie role for Comedy Central, video-game voice work and guest roles on network shows and in horror films. Her porn site reportedly has made her a wealthy woman.

I’m not saying pop society should shun Ms. Jameson — but should we embrace her? The porn life is not to be envied.

Of course, the horrible things that happened to Jenna aren’t her fault — but so many porn stars have similar stories about being abused as children or teenagers. All too often, the porn star that coos about loving sex and being a nymphomaniac has a tragic back story. Who gets into that business because they’re well-adjusted?

What kind of message does it send when a porn star is treated much the same as a singer or an actress?

There’s talk of some star like Scarlett Johansson playing Jameson in a feature film. If they ever make such a movie, here’s hoping it doesn’t glamorize Jenna’s life. If they tell the truth, it’ll be a horror film.