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Racism in Porn
The porn industry is not immune to the difficult conversations that have been sparked in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. Rolling Stone details troubling racist incidents, including prominent adult filmmaker Kayden Kross having black performers pose with bananas, as well as the many in the open systematic race issues which are ingrained in the sector. These issues include the staggeringly uneven rates that black performers are booked as compared to their white counterparts, and the inflated rates which white performers are paid to participate in an “interracial scene. ”
Who Pays for Free Porn
The covid-19 related spike in porn consumption has translated to big profits for the big porn sites, with little of that money making its way to the actual performers. Of course, the large “tube” porn sites have always exploited performers to a certain degree, but, like many sectors, this crisis is further exposing this inequality. Filmmaker Erika Lust has started a campaign to change this, encouraging people to “#payforyourporn,” she is encouraging fellow filmmakers to treat performers and crew fairly, and for consumers to pay for the content. Lust says “"We pay Netflix for the series. We pay Spotify for music. We should also pay for the porn we enjoy."
Complicating the matter of paying for porn, is the rampant practice of stealing porn from its rightful host and reposting it elsewhere. This is essentially the model pioneered by the tube sites, who argue they’re not doing the stealing, and is now being employed en masse against OnlyFans creators. An investigation by Motherboard has revealed “an entire supply chain of people stealing sex workers' labor using scraping programs, without permission, in some cases by the hundreds of terabytes.”
Despite the challenges, The Daily Beast is predicting a new normal in the adult industry, driven by workers. It is argued that by necessity during covid, performers skipped the studio model going directly to fans and they won’t be going back as things settle down. As discussed in the past in this newsletter the trend of individual performers connecting directly with fans is certainly ascendant, but without any meaningful enforcement of the reposting or theft of content it’s unlikely either model will be sustainable in the long run.
Uneven Opening of Legal Sex Work Sectors
Regulators and sex workers in legal jurisdictions are navigating the tricky road of getting back to work. In the Netherlands, sex workers have submitted a proposed protocol to re-open their sector which includes changing bed sheets, sanitizing the room and using positions which keep the worker and client away from each others “moist breathing zones.” The Netherlands’ Institute for Public Health is telling the industry not so fast until there are better contact tracing systems in place, including a mobile app.
Meanwhile in Belgium, sex workers are telling their regulators not so fast, as they’ve received the green light to go back to work. The union representing sex workers in that country says their members were expecting more time to prepare to get back to work, but are happy to be able to return.
What Else We’re Watching:
One Million People Sign Petition to Shut Down Pornhub for Alleged Sex Trafficking Videos: A petition calling for the shuttering of Pornhub over sex trafficking and other allegations has reached One Million signatures. The group has spurred responses from lawmakers in the UK, USA, and Canada, but as the National Post reported, their motives are more complicated then appear.
Vibrators had a long history as medical quackery before feminists rebranded them as sex toys: Kim Adams, a lecturer at NYU provides an overview of how vibrators went from bad medical advice to sex toys. Interestingly, sex toys are making a comeback as medical devices.
5 Guys Created An Algorithm To 'Validate The Female Orgasm': A sex tech startup set out to devise a plan to validate female orgasms, it’s not being welcomed with open arms.
Sex Shops Off-Limits for Small Business PPP Loans: Sales of sex toys soared during coronavirus lock downs, but most of those sales were online leaving brick and mortar stores on the sidelines. On top of this, sex shops were also excluded from government support, but one shop found a loop hole.
Florida porn actor running for office in America’s ‘second gayest city’: Wilton Manners, a city in South Florida, calls itself America’s second gayest city.
The New Zealand porn ad designed to protect children: A public service announcement in New Zealand has gone viral, it shows a pair of adult performers visiting the home of a young fan to educate on the reality of sex.
No good vibrations in sex toy copycat battle: American Latex Corp is taking Nass Toys to court claiming patents are being infringed on some products.