Linda Marchiano played both sides

I recall the "Deep Throat" phenomenon quite clearly. There were a lot of porno films back then, when all restraints on movie morality were lifted: "Debbie Does Dallas" and "The devil In Miss Jones" were two others that became known in the general population. I was at a party one night and when the topic of conversation turned to the movie, a fellow and his girlfriend got up and left. A couple of hours later they returned from the theater. They had gone to see "Deep Throat" so they would know what everyone was talking about. Viewing X-Rated movies carried no shame.

Soon after, hard core porno went out of style as feminist organizations went on a morality kick that would have pleased the much-despised Christian reformers. But, the fems put a different spin on it: they claimed that pornography demeaned women, so they weren't making a moral judgment of sex, but of exploitation of women. Of course, it was the female actors in the films who got the money - male porn stars were a dime a dozen, but victimization had been born as a social and political weapon. It was no longer fashionable to be seen entering or leaving theaters that showed porn flicks. The fad was over. Porno had returned to the shadows from whence it came. "Deep Throat" was nothing more than a cheap porno flick that happened to be made during a very small window of time when porno was chic (pronounced - sheek).

Linda (Marchiano) Lovelace, who had made at least two earlier porno flicks prior to DT (that few ever saw) and a sequel to "Deep Throat" (that only a few ever saw), decided to tell a story of being raped and forced at gunpoint to make "Deep Throat". Of course, the tide had turned and now the same people who had cheered the freedom that spawned "Deep Throat" were either quiet or had seen the error of their ways. No one questioned the absurd story Linda Marchiano told or pressed her on the other films she had made. She was now a feminist hero. She had played both sides and won.