Porn - Is it only me?

[darkeyes]

Ever since the sites inception every so often some discussion or other about porn blows up, whether it be about naughty pics on profiles or about the best of porn films..

Now I am not prude..its a bit hard the way my life panned out to be so. Nor am I embarrassed about the sight of naked bodies in any shape or form, or of sex acts being screened, or of being present when a sex act is taking place at a party or whatever. I was even once approached in Amsterdam by some well dressed and suited business type and offered a few hundred quid to perform in such a film. And no I didnt, so dont try and find the fran tittie tapes...

I have never been a great porn lover, not because of what it depicts rather my concerns about the exploitation of the the men and women who perform sex acts for the titillation of the masses. Concerns rooted in my gut instinct that the way most porn is produced for the benefit not of our sex lives, or to give people jobs, but to provide massive income for a few seedy so called respectable business men, and even less savoury characters in organised crime.

I am concerned seriously that the actors, if that is the right word, are neither paid their true worth for the job they do, the risks they take, for the slavery in part which many endure. The health issue is a huge concern and to be honest I am not sure just how carefully the producers of porn are concerned about the spread of disease. Some I know are very careful, some less so, but one succumbing to the HIV virus while filming is 2 many. I do not advocate its banning for I loathe censorship, but do believe that wherever porn is produced it is incumbent on that society to ensure that the actors are well paid, that they have regular health checks and treatment, that producers of porn are responsible for proper insurance for performers, and that their are proper health and saftey safeguards for them. In short there has to be more rigorous regualtion of the industry.

Until that happens, then it is incumbent on the consumer to find out as far as is possible where their porn is produced, what are the conditions for the actors, how exploited are they by their employers, WHO are their employers, and so on. I am aware that this is not always easy, but we too have a responsibility to try and protect those we use as turn ons in porn films. It is also incumbent on us to press the authorites for regulations which eliminate as far as possible the worst excesses of producers while exploiting the actors, and that the actors have proper employment rights. Not all are well paid or are able to negotiate any real rights for their job.. it is up to us if we can to help them in this.

As bisexuals, and as the object of contempt by gay and str8 community alike, we have to be seen to try and be responsible when it comes to porn. I am not convinced that many of us are. No real debate ever seems to have existed about porn, except the fors and againsts.. its about time we looked more deeply into the issue and seriously considered just what our attitudes are, and how do we improve the lot of the exploited,and regulate the abuse by the exploiter producers.

[LoveLion]

Like any job, porn stars know the risks in their work, and it is up to them to decide if the risk is worth the pay. If they think doing a film is unsafe, or if they are not getting enough money then they have all the freedom to refuse to do the project. The porn industry is of course about money, just like any other buisness, and every one involved in it knows that. I dont think it is the consumers responsibility as much as it is the producers and the actors to make sure they are safe and getting enough money for their work. Further more I think it is impossible for a consumer to find out such details about porn. There isnt any labels on porn films that say "This porno is STD free!". There should probably be a committee or board that ensures that a porno meets certain standards when it comes to pay, and safety before it can be produced or released. The problem is no gov. official wants to be the one who stands up for the porn stars because of the general view towards porn.

As for me, Im not a big fan of the larger porno films or companies. They always seem so fake and cheesy, and the sex is always so fake looking. I never buy porn, and much prefer the free stuff on the Web. Amature porn always seems more real and intimate.

[darkeyes]

Much of what u say is true love lion, production of porn is a minefield that society almost everywhere just ignores and brushes under the carpet, except possibly with the exception of the ban it brigades. But I think you may have missed the point LoveLion.

I know only too well the world of porn production is secretive in the extreme. This is in part due to society's attitude to it and the fact that really its considered seedy disgusting and really who cares about the sluts? My point is that we should know everything we can about porn production..like any business it should be obligated to be open at least administratively and fiscally, it should be regulated, and its employees treated with humanity and respect and given the rights of any other worker. Like with drugs, society's indifference to the consumer means a lack of real control and regulation, and an abuse and exploitation of peoples lives. It is this I wish we should begin to address.

I know that the internet makes it easy for so much porn to be placed free on it. It is offically amateur, but is it all? It is a grey area. Whether it is amateur or not some of it has a dubious pedigree. I previously said when opening this thread I am not a gr8 lover of porn and Im not, but have seen sufficient to have an idea of the breadth of its remit on dvd or on the web. Regarding the web, I have observed real fear in some so called amateur videos in the eyes of some of the participants, and on occasion, some nasty facial and body bruising/ Of course this may be quite innocent but it does make me wonder the extent to which coercion is used in the production of pornographic material. Quite simply, whether it be professional or amateur material there are enough questions to be asked and addressed to cause us real concern about the exploitation of human beings.

I am not an expert on porn production, speak as a concerned individual only. There are those far better placed than me, far more knowegable, who for whatever reason simply have not raised their head above the parapet. What has disappointed me here is that since posting this thread there has been just 1 response, and for that I am grateful LoveLion, but we have thousands of members of this site and while many have at least opened the thread it appears that few give a bugger enough about the industry and more importantly its workers, to express a view.

Maybe we are not so different from the rest of society after all. Maybe we just want to be titillated and turned on so we can enjoy ourselves and fuck the consequences to human beings who do that for us. Its a minefield so lets ignore it. It seems to me that as with so many consumer products we dont care about where it comes from, how it is produced and what are the conditions of its workers. Well I fucking care.. and do what I can wherever I see questionable practice, from boycott to party and issue activism to being downright obnoxious wherever I think it will do any good and often when I know it wont.

For Gods sake is it too much to ask you the think about this and talk about it???

[mannysg]

My wife & I each had our own porn sites up until a couple of weeks ago. We were on an "amateur" site which had a discussion board for the models to converse, exchange ideas, etc. There were (are) a couple of models on the site who started as amateurs, but are now doing "main-stream" porn. By "main-stream" I mean they have been in videos made by large production companies. These ladies are making decent money from the mainstream porn industry.

There are also a few who porn is their main job, maintaining multiple web sites including video, web-cam, and phone sex sites. The girls (or guys) who put a lot of effort into their sites make decent money, the ones on the site who do porn as a job make pretty good money. The ones who do the minimum work, i.e. only post a few updates a month, don't change their site (text, background, thumbnail pics, etc.) very often, and don't venture out to web sites where they can promote their individual site don't make a whole lot of money. My last 6 months I did the bare minimum, I only posted 2 updates a month and did nothing else. I was making $50 a month which isn't bad considering that it took me less then an hour to do those 2 updates. My wife was also doing the minimum (2 updates taking less then an hour total) and was making over $150 a month. The web site we were on kept 50% of the sales, so they were also making $50 a month from my site and $150 from my wife's site. Them keeping 50% isn't bad considering that they did advertising for the entire site (which brings sales to all the models), they hosted the site, took care of being able to accept credit cards & money orders. THey also took care of the legal aspects, i.e. preventing minors from getting access, preventing subject matter which me be illegal from being posted, etc.

It's a great misconception that people (women especially) are "exploited" by the porn industry. I admit, there are SOME women (and men) who are exploited, but most of them are doing it because they want to. Admitttedly, many of them only do it for the money, but they are NOT being forced to do it. Yes, there are a few who are being "exploited", they are even a few who are being "forced" to do porn but these people are the minority. And like anything these days, the minority gets the most attention since "the squeeky wheel gets the grease".

Many people think that you can get rich doing porn, only to find out the money isn't that good without a lot of effort. Some people think they can get rich by doing movies for the porn industry,only to find that they can only get a small amount of money for doing a movie. BUT, many people think they can get rich by becoming an actor or actress and going to Hollywood to get into movies only to find out that all they can get is bit parts that don't pay very much.

Some people get rich doing porn, but not many. At the same time, some people get rich doing "regular" movies, but not many.


As for the health issues... California (where most of the porn is produced) has laws requiring people in porn to only do "safe sex" in the movies and to be tested regularly for STDs.

[ambi53mm]

Darkeyes,

I can only speak for my self. I've read both of your posts and as always apreciate the way you express yourself as I glimpse bits and pieces of the world when viewed through "darkeyes". Honestly it's an area I've never given much thought to until your post and sometimes ,I prefer to listen and digest before commenting. I'm not big on porn with the exception of that which I create with my wife for our own personal viewing pleasure. That stays under lock and key for the most part not wanting to traumatize the kids by letting them think that Mom and Dad actually enjoy sex.
I have no doubt of the exploitation that goes on in the porn bussiness.My bigger issue with porn should I ever take up that cause, wouldn't be focussed on the issues you've bought attention too, but would probably be directed very strongly towards the explotation of children for sexual purposes.This I find beyond repulsive and would push for first and foremost stronger enforcement towards those that engage in this activity before all else.
Darkeyes, There are many battles to be fought on the world stage. We all have to choose which ones to fight and which ones we choose to leave for others to fight.Thanks for bringing light into another area of darkness. My own ignorance never ceases to amaze me but today is a good day for I have learned something...and thereby I grow.

Ambi

PS excuse the gramatical and spelling errors..no time to spellcheck

[the sacred night]

I agree that porn actors need respect and protection, and I don't watch it if I think there's exploitation going on. I have never gone out and bought a porn DVD either, though, I tend to stick to free amateur stuff on the Web too, which is usually produced in someone's home with just that person and a webcam, or a very small crew depending on the site. It does really make my heart happy when I see them using condoms in porn, and I refuse to go to sites that advertise "no condoms." I also really hate to see the actors obviously not enjoying it, and I'm thinking, why the hell would you film this? Still, the people obviously agreed to do it, so I guess it was worth the money or whatever other incentive they were offered.

Yeah, and the children thing... that is sick. I occasionally come across that by accident and I immediately scream "EW!" and close it... not just because it's gross (which it is...) but also because it's abusive and exploitative to the children involved.

[innaminka]

From my readings and travels, I believethe Porn industry in the US and Westerns Europe is as much as it can be, reasonably above board.
The actors make a decent living, they are medically checked and the everyone know the limits so no damage is done.

The growing problem is the stuff being made in Eastern Europe esp Russia, Belarus, Roumania and Moldova where those safegurds and standards are not enforced or adhered to.