Lady and livelihood ...
Just remember that you are a lady, deserve to be treated as one and should expect no less from everyone. Many of us know this is both your livelihood and your passion, and we never forget that they two can be very compatible for the benefit of all.
Just ignore those 2% that believe you cannot be a lady and a beauty that makes her living off of what she loves. It's not only ironic, but self-defeating for men to not enjoy the adult industry, and want to treat performers like yourself with such contempt. They should recognize the more we treat adult models like ladies, the more women would explore erotica without fear for their livelihood (or lives for that matter).
Erotica is natural, not outcast. It's just another industry. As long as we continue to focus on consent of the performers, content when it comes to sex, there's nothing wrong with consumers and producers of erotica. And women are ladies for not what they do, but for how they treat others.
It's those men who want to treat ladies as anything but ladies that are the outcasts themselves. They are the ones who have passions that do not care about consent, use sex as an excuse for their own issues, and believe they are entitled to performers without care of their livelihood or lives (often with the excuse "they're the ones doing wrong, who are greedy, etc..."). The more we do not tolerate such men with such attitudes, the better erotica is for everyone.
God knows the whole concept and fear of "degrading" does not come from what performers do, but how a minority of men want to treat them. Continue to keep your head above these men, continue on with your passions and continue onward with making your living so those of us may enjoy you for as long as you desire.