Stormhammer
09-06-2007, 02:09 AM
Though it has existed nearly as long as movies have, video pornography has truly exploded over the past 35 years. The initial growth was fueled by the box-office success of movies like Deep Throat in the ‘70s. Porn then took a quantum leap forward with the advent of home-video machines; no longer did people have to sit in a seedy movie theater to enjoy an adult film. And the internet provided the coup de grace -- porn seekers now don't even have to traipse to the local video store, they can choose from a stupefying variety of filthy material from the privacy of their own computers.
But as mainstream as porn has become, the history and practices of the porn industry remain mostly shaded from the public. With that in mind, here are five things you may not have known about adult films.
1- It decided the VCR wars
It may all seem irrelevant in the age of DVDs, but the bitter VCR wars of yesteryear were a reflection of the strong influence of porn. In the early ‘80s, two formats of videos and video recorders -- Sony Betamax and VHS -- were carried in electronic and video stores. In a decision that was initially paid little heed, the porn industry decided to format its home videos exclusively in VHS format. Despite the fact that Beta was considered by techies to be the better technology, VHS put a crippling choke hold on the market, thanks in large part to the porn industry's endorsement. Beta died out completely within a couple of years and is now a technological footnote on par with eight-track machines. This scenario may or may not replay itself out in the current format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD.
2- The industry has an STD master log
With the outbreak of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, the pornography industry predictably instituted a crack system of testing for HIV. But they also took an even more drastic step by creating a database -- a cross-industry master log -- to keep track of all STDs contracted by actors in porn movies in the United States in order to reduce contraction. The system has been effective for years, with occasional breakdowns (including one in April 2004, when two heterosexual pornographic actors tested HIV positive in California, which resulted in the brief shutdown of all filming in the industry). As another precaution, the nonprofit Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation is working with the government and industry to continue to develop safe-sex policies.
3- Porn serves the most obscure of fetishes
We're all well aware of the prevalence of fetishes in the porn industry. What seems weird and distinctly un-erotic to one man is another man's greatest fantasy, and the adult film companies have predictably moved to fill the marketplace. But most have no idea just how obscure those markets are. Examples of available fetish porn include hairy porn (featuring rather hirsute women), diaper porn (involving performers pretending to be infants, often with an adult performer acting in the role of an adult caretaker) and, perhaps most bizarre, wired pornography (involving the use of electrical shocks and stimuli). So the good news is that chances are, no matter how specific your turn-on is, there's porn out there to serve you.
4- Women make up a large percentage of porn consumers
Pornography has always been viewed as a male-focused form. This stereotype has been aided by a string of pop-culture portrayals of men comically trying to cajole their reluctant wives/girlfriends to watch porn with them. But, as usual, King of Queens and Friends reruns are lying to you. While men are still more porn-centric, women have become surprisingly comfortable with adult films and now account for approximately 40% of all porn rentals. This is partially due to the increase of female-oriented porn with a greater focus on foreplay and female-centered fantasies (think hidden penetration Cinemax). So instead of figuring out how to hide your porn stash from your girlfriend, start looking around for hers.
5- Male actors make far less than female ones
Porn is actually one of the few industries in the world where women, on average, draw a far higher salary than the men. While the average Buck Naked pulls in an average of $40,000 per year or $300-$400 or so per scene (starting salaries are well below that), female porn stars make about $100,000 to $250,000 per year, with some of the biggest names, such as Jenna Jameson, pulling in even more dough. Perhaps it's time for Ron Jeremy to launch a male porn star union drive?
http://www.askmen.com/toys/special_feature_150/151_special_feature.html?FLASH
But as mainstream as porn has become, the history and practices of the porn industry remain mostly shaded from the public. With that in mind, here are five things you may not have known about adult films.
1- It decided the VCR wars
It may all seem irrelevant in the age of DVDs, but the bitter VCR wars of yesteryear were a reflection of the strong influence of porn. In the early ‘80s, two formats of videos and video recorders -- Sony Betamax and VHS -- were carried in electronic and video stores. In a decision that was initially paid little heed, the porn industry decided to format its home videos exclusively in VHS format. Despite the fact that Beta was considered by techies to be the better technology, VHS put a crippling choke hold on the market, thanks in large part to the porn industry's endorsement. Beta died out completely within a couple of years and is now a technological footnote on par with eight-track machines. This scenario may or may not replay itself out in the current format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD.
2- The industry has an STD master log
With the outbreak of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, the pornography industry predictably instituted a crack system of testing for HIV. But they also took an even more drastic step by creating a database -- a cross-industry master log -- to keep track of all STDs contracted by actors in porn movies in the United States in order to reduce contraction. The system has been effective for years, with occasional breakdowns (including one in April 2004, when two heterosexual pornographic actors tested HIV positive in California, which resulted in the brief shutdown of all filming in the industry). As another precaution, the nonprofit Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation is working with the government and industry to continue to develop safe-sex policies.
3- Porn serves the most obscure of fetishes
We're all well aware of the prevalence of fetishes in the porn industry. What seems weird and distinctly un-erotic to one man is another man's greatest fantasy, and the adult film companies have predictably moved to fill the marketplace. But most have no idea just how obscure those markets are. Examples of available fetish porn include hairy porn (featuring rather hirsute women), diaper porn (involving performers pretending to be infants, often with an adult performer acting in the role of an adult caretaker) and, perhaps most bizarre, wired pornography (involving the use of electrical shocks and stimuli). So the good news is that chances are, no matter how specific your turn-on is, there's porn out there to serve you.
4- Women make up a large percentage of porn consumers
Pornography has always been viewed as a male-focused form. This stereotype has been aided by a string of pop-culture portrayals of men comically trying to cajole their reluctant wives/girlfriends to watch porn with them. But, as usual, King of Queens and Friends reruns are lying to you. While men are still more porn-centric, women have become surprisingly comfortable with adult films and now account for approximately 40% of all porn rentals. This is partially due to the increase of female-oriented porn with a greater focus on foreplay and female-centered fantasies (think hidden penetration Cinemax). So instead of figuring out how to hide your porn stash from your girlfriend, start looking around for hers.
5- Male actors make far less than female ones
Porn is actually one of the few industries in the world where women, on average, draw a far higher salary than the men. While the average Buck Naked pulls in an average of $40,000 per year or $300-$400 or so per scene (starting salaries are well below that), female porn stars make about $100,000 to $250,000 per year, with some of the biggest names, such as Jenna Jameson, pulling in even more dough. Perhaps it's time for Ron Jeremy to launch a male porn star union drive?
http://www.askmen.com/toys/special_feature_150/151_special_feature.html?FLASH