I have been listening to this song since I was 17. Now 12 years later I'm a psychiatrist that does psychotherapy and my opinions haven't changed much, just better ability to support my arguments.
I think this song is just the story between the narrator and his childhood neighbor/friend Lori. It's a song about their differing views, psychologies, feelings, about what went on in their childhood and in her current career. I don't think it's necessarily a commentary on what the listeners should think about the porn industry, so I won't comment on that.
At 9 years old they played forbidden games: Children often explore sexuality and relationships. (Except for the latency period, which can last from starting at ages 3-7 until puberty at ages 8-15.) Since one or both of them are 9 years old, one or both could be past the latency period, and their sexuality is re-emerging. It's very common for children who are exploring sexuality to be doing things that are forbidden, and things which later cause them a lot of guilt, because they think were wrong to do it. I don't think he feels guilty about it (he probably repressed/suppressed it) until he realizes accidentally that she's a porn star, after he recognizes her in one of the films he was watching. The "familiar mark" is something like a birth mark or other unique mark on her body that he had remembered from those earlier times. He doesn't recognize her face initially because he doesn't expect her to have gotten into that career, but when he sees the "mark" he knows beyond doubt that it's her. When he finds out she is a porn star, he feels very guilty, because he remembers what they did as children and he thinks that may have tainted her and caused her to go into the sexual industry. And maybe it did, or maybe it didn't. The guilt leads him to buy more of her porn material because he's trying to understand/see her more, so he can see if the guilt is warranted. The more he sees of what she's had to do in this career, and the more he interprets it as "incriminating", meaning what she is doing is bad/wrong/unfortunate. When he says "I felt that I could save (her)" I see it as being cut off, he didn't finish his sentence, there's either a conversation between them that we don't hear, or he drops off wistfully because it's so emotional. But he feels that if he can save her from these "incriminating acts" of continuing in the porn industry, then he can absolve his guilt about what he did to her that may have caused it.
Her verse is either the response to him, or to what she expects other people's opinions are. She does not agree that her job is incriminating or warranting of anyone's guilt. She is happy where she is; she has power, money, control, and she doesn't feel degradation. I agree with xingallover that when she was degradated on the floor, she means that working at factory jobs for low pay was even more demeaning than her being a porn star. She doesn't comment on whether it was the sexual acts with him that prompted her into that career field; again, we probably won't know.
I have been listening to this song since I was 17. Now 12 years later I'm a psychiatrist that does psychotherapy and my opinions haven't changed much, just better ability to support my arguments.
I think this song is just the story between the narrator and his childhood neighbor/friend Lori. It's a song about their differing views, psychologies, feelings, about what went on in their childhood and in her current career. I don't think it's necessarily a commentary on what the listeners should think about the porn industry, so I won't comment on that.
At 9 years old they played forbidden games: Children often explore sexuality and relationships. (Except for the latency period, which can last from starting at ages 3-7 until puberty at ages 8-15.) Since one or both of them are 9 years old, one or both could be past the latency period, and their sexuality is re-emerging. It's very common for children who are exploring sexuality to be doing things that are forbidden, and things which later cause them a lot of guilt, because they think were wrong to do it. I don't think he feels guilty about it (he probably repressed/suppressed it) until he realizes accidentally that she's a porn star, after he recognizes her in one of the films he was watching. The "familiar mark" is something like a birth mark or other unique mark on her body that he had remembered from those earlier times. He doesn't recognize her face initially because he doesn't expect her to have gotten into that career, but when he sees the "mark" he knows beyond doubt that it's her. When he finds out she is a porn star, he feels very guilty, because he remembers what they did as children and he thinks that may have tainted her and caused her to go into the sexual industry. And maybe it did, or maybe it didn't. The guilt leads him to buy more of her porn material because he's trying to understand/see her more, so he can see if the guilt is warranted. The more he sees of what she's had to do in this career, and the more he interprets it as "incriminating", meaning what she is doing is bad/wrong/unfortunate. When he says "I felt that I could save (her)" I see it as being cut off, he didn't finish his sentence, there's either a conversation between them that we don't hear, or he drops off wistfully because it's so emotional. But he feels that if he can save her from these "incriminating acts" of continuing in the porn industry, then he can absolve his guilt about what he did to her that may have caused it.
Her verse is either the response to him, or to what she expects other people's opinions are. She does not agree that her job is incriminating or warranting of anyone's guilt. She is happy where she is; she has power, money, control, and she doesn't feel degradation. I agree with xingallover that when she was degradated on the floor, she means that working at factory jobs for low pay was even more demeaning than her being a porn star. She doesn't comment on whether it was the sexual acts with him that prompted her into that career field; again, we probably won't know.