The porn industry is constantly changing. As a result of technological trends and the current global economic shitstorm, it’s changing faster than ever. It’s at times like this that performers must fight to keep their autonomy, both in business and and body. As a dominatrix, I’m lucky. I get to sidestep most of the chaps who assume I owe their erection my attention because of what I do for a living. The BDSM world is not perfect by any means, but the majority of those who approach me as submissives tend to have a sense of respect and consent. This is often lacking in men who stumble into my world via more traditional mainstream titillation.
Here’s part of a brilliant and slightly heartbreaking article by Amanda Hess for Slate Magazine about the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas:
“…When David Foster Wallace chronicled porn’s biggest fan show back in 1998—at the height of VHS and DVD sales—he observed a sweaty, trembling mass of shy guys who appeared both thrilled and ashamed to make first contact with their favorite pornographic actors. But the Internet crumbled all that, and last year I watched a man wait 30 minutes to grope a porn star’s breasts and announce, “That’s going on Facebook later!” Another languished in line to see if his favorite star was nice; act too aloof, and “I’ll never want to see her again,” he told me. “Not even in porn.”
In an age when every conceivable permutation of pornography is immediately accessible for free online, the power dynamic between viewer and star has shifted. Most porn viewers are still quietly accessing the material from the privacy of their own homes, but because it’s so easy to get, the reverence has faded. And when a man actually uses up his vacation days, books a plane ticket to Las Vegas, secures a hotel room off the strip, and drops between $35 (one-day access) and $325 (the VIP treatment) to celebrate porn in person, he is no longer content to gawk at a porn star standing on a pedestal. He expects an intimate affair…”
I recommend reading the full article here.
