#payforyourporn!
But seriously. Who actually pays for porn?
However, there is some demographic research on this topic. One study showed that in states that have passed conservative laws about sexuality, residents are more likely to pay for porn—in those states, about five percent of internet users pay for porn.
In a 2009 study, “Red Light States: Who Pays for Adult Entertainment?” by Benjamin Edelman, urban areas with high densities of young, college-educated people also have the highest rates of paid subscriptions to adult sites. Studies show that consumers with enough spending power tend to make ethical choices about personal items they wear and eat, but think less about which dish detergent they buy or what brand of light bulbs they use.
Ethically minded media consumers probably take care to pay for movies, books, and TV they want to support, so what about ethical consumption of pornography?
But getting more quality porn out there means people have to be willing to pay for it. Taking care to pay performers, writers, and filmmakers fairly can cost more than less-ethical porn shoots and without the backing of traditional financial institutions to lean on, indie porn creators need their viewers to help foot the bill.
Find performers you like and support them. That’s the best way to know your money is going into the right hands. And that those models will be able to continue to make content that you can purchase.
It’s not really stealing……Is it?
A lot of people want to think of piracy as the “sharing” of files (you know, for the greater good of humanity!) and claim that since they’re simply using a copy of the original, it’s not stealing. It sounds harmless on the surface, but it’s not. Those who copy and distribute digital content illegally are stealing someone else’s ideas, creative property, and hard work. That is stealing any way you look at it. When you render someone else’s creative work by copying that recording, it’s theft.
But it’s not hurting anyone….Is it?
Lots of people acknowledge that pirated content is stolen content, but they will still support piracy regardless because they think it’s essentially a victimless crime, that file-sharing is helping, not hurting, the entertainment industry. At the end of the day someone is being hurt by your actions. You are not Robin Hood.
Tube sites have caused many companies to go out of business, or cut their budgets down significantly. Scores of the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people employed by the California adult industry lost their jobs, both behind and in front of the camera. Porn performers in the early-to-mid 2000s watched standard film set amenities became a thing of the past.
Now most porn studios that survived will operate on bare-bones budgets, with little to no crew, and still struggle to create quality content that might still get pirated.
Even though porn is stigmatized in our society, it serves a valuable function for the billions of men and women who watch it.
The adult film industry also faces the challenge of people not treating most adult performers like humans. Porn fans generally don’t respect adult performers. If you don’t respect the workers you don’t see the value in paying them accordingly.
Studies have shown that watching porn can help decrease your stress levels and improve your cognitive performance. It can even help improve your sex life. The human beings who contribute their minds and bodies to produce your beloved jerk-off material deserve your respect, and they deserve the right to be able to make a living.
Most performers have to supplement their income with Web camming, doing personal appearances, dancing at gentlemen’s clubs, or escorting, all while maintaining their social media presence to connect with their fans.
But even doing all that might not be enough to make a decent living.
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