That was a joke, perhaps ill-timed.

Then I apologize. Misunderstandings happen.

I thought it was clearly a joke because it was in an edit and irrelevant to the rest of my post, which had to do with the discussion at hand.

You forget - I moderate a default sub. I've seen it all. It seemed out of character, but so did your willful misunderstanding. My apologies for assigning you intent that you did not wish to portray. Understand that my internet is a darker, seedier, clumsier place than yours, where people who remove pictures of PC towers from gaming forums not only get doxed, the cops get told they have a bomb and just shot their girlfriend.

And now the original argument:

But "take away the stigma and suddenly she gets nothing" is wrong. Minus the stigma, she's still doing decently money-wise for a college student.

You're missing the fundamental issue: the money only exists because of the stigma.

My sister paid for some of college by being a fit model. No stigma there. My wife actually paid for some of college by being a gynecological model - a little bit of stigma there, but she was paid commensurately (and, bless her heart, she figured it gave her a better perspective when she examined her clients). The article is about a girl who found pretty much the most stigmatized thing she could find... and she's crowing about the money. No stigma, no money. People aren't going to pay some coed off the street phat stacks of bills to model gloves; they didn't pay my sister phat stacks of bills to model lycra. But you involve an act that really gets you in social jeopardy? Suddenly the benjamins are flying.

So the crux of my argument: there shouldn't be a stigma against porn stars,

But there is. And there was when she signed up. And there shall be no matter how many essays like this are written. She wants to have her cake and eat it too.

and even without it she'd still be making some money (and every little bit helps in college!)

Right. She could be waiting tables. No stigma there, not very much money. Again, rational marketplace.

and thus she has a reasonable right to complain when she's called a slut and so on.

She signed up for employment where the direct risk is being "called a slut and so on." The only reason for the money to be any good is the direct risk of being "called a slut and so on." It's the very definition of hazard pay - sure, you're just driving a truck but there might be IEDs. Sure, you're just sticking a coke bottle up your ass but those acts might haunt you for the life of the Internet.

This is a transaction. She signed the contract. She took the money. And now she's bitching that driving a convoy to Falludja might be dangerous.