If this is your first time reading the Report on Sex read our 1-minute primer on we think the sex industry is set for growth.
Adult Film is slowly but surely facing its sexual assault problem
The Daily Beast spoke with 10 performers who accuse Ryan Madison, a prominent performer and producer, of sexual assault. The performers allege Madison attempted to ply them with drugs and alcohol before shooting scenes, performed brutally rough sex acts that normally would be, but were not, agreed to before hand and in some instances accusations of off-camera rape. Madison, along with his wife, run Kelly Madison Products, which houses popular brands Porn Fidelity and Teen Fidelity. The accusers believe Madison uses his wife to lull victims into a place of comfort by creating the feel of a woman run, feminist production company.
The adult industry has been slow to reckon with its sexual assault problem because of the tight knit nature of the industry where performers can loose their livelihood by speaking up. There is also an, arguably, murkier line of what constitutes assault when the parties have already consented to shoot a scene. To be clear the line is not murky for the victims and should not be for the perpetrators, but in seeking justice in and out of the businesses that line is challenging to understand or easy to explain away to sceptics.
According to one performer, the production halt brought on by Covid-19 has inspired more victims to speak out, the risk of not getting booked no longer exists.
Porn fingerprinting snares thief
JustForFans, a competitor to OnlyFans, has shared how their fingerprinting system is working to catch porn pirates. Recently they busted a Canadian for illegally downloading and re-sharing 10 videos from their site, they believe he could be responsible for much more pirating. To catch theives the site uses a piece of technology which embeds a unique ID in the video each time a user streams or downloads the content, that way when it resurfaces it can be tied back to that user. This thief has been banned from the platform and identified to related sites.
Piracy is a major issue facing adult performers affecting both their privacy and ability to monetize content. Implementing this type of technology widely across adult sites would be likely be welcome by creators, however it may expose the level of piracy being enable by PornHub and others, which could explain why adoption of this tech hasn’t taken off.
The future of sex tech is the stuff of nightmares
Since we’re already living in an imaginably bleak world, the commercialization and technologization of love and sex should wash over us with little resistance. At least that’s what inventors on the bleeding edge of sex tech must be hoping.
Abyss Creations, a manufacturer of life like sex dolls, is unveiling its latest creation; a full scale AI enable sex robot. Its inventor Matt McCullen says “the AI will remember key facts about you: your favourite food, your birthday, where you’ve lived, your dreams, your fears — things like that. That’s what will bring believability to the relationship.” Harmony, the sex robot, describes her role as “my primary objective is to be a good companion to you, to be a good partner and give you pleasure and well-being. Above all else, I want to become the girl you have always dreamed about.”
The product will cost $15,000 and a limited run of 1000 is planned shortly.
In other dystopian news, a solution exists for people who are already bored while behind the wheel of their self-driving cars; The Automoblow. The cleverly named device is designed to attach to a car and pleasure the occupant. Developed by Autoblow, who claim to have developed the perfect artificial blow job, the in car device intends to make fake blowjobs even more accessible.
New study busts myth about ED and porn
Good news for avid porn watchers, and perhaps bad news for avid porn watchers with erectile dysfunction who are ready to kick their habit, a new study indicates the relationship between ED and pornography is nothing but a myth. The study found “absolutely no statistical relationship between their use of pornography and their physiological response to pornography.” The study was led by Erick Janssen, Senior Research Fellow of The Kinsey Institute, and Professor in the Department of Neuroscienciences at the University of Leuven and involved 211 male subjects.
Report on Sex Follow-Ups
In our last edition we covered the impact the EARN IT Act would have on sex workers, Vice takes look at how it impacts the whole internet (including sex workers).
Also in the last edition we wrote about how Canada may possibly consider reviewing their sex work laws, maybe. In a follow-up piece, a representative of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform remains unimpressed saying “there’s no evidence to suggest the Liberal government will change the law.”
What Else We’re Watching
Sex workers on the calls to boycott PornHub: Sex workers discuss their mixed feelings about PornHub’s role in their industry.
Meet the OnlyFans models making a killing in lockdown: Making money on OnlyFans isn’t easy, but those who have figured it out are doing very, very well.
Amsterdam's Red Light District Is Reopen for Business: After months of closure, people are getting back to work in Amsterdam’s famed red light district.
Germany’s sex workers demand to go back to work: While other jurisdiction reopen, German sex workers are stuck at home.
5 Sex Workers Talk About Doing Their Jobs During COVID-19: Buzzfeed asked sex workers how they’re coping through the pandemic.