Where is porn headed?

[dmichaels199]

Since the internet boom, porn has become increasingly popular over the years. Used to be that the only way to get your hands on porn would be from aquiring "mens" magazine, ordering a VHS or DVD from a mail-order company or maybe some late night soft-core on a pay channel.

Now, it is accessible to anyone at anytime, and it appears that gradually it is also becoming more acceptible to people. Network TV and movies are very sexualized, and whereas it used to be something that was restricted to later hours, even prime time shows are getting away with talk that is very sexual in nature (not to mention what you can see on HBO).

My question is, where do you think things are headed over the next 5 to 10 years. 15-20 years?
How much more will porn be discussed and referred to on television? Will there ever be nudity on network TV? Will sex acts be shown?
Will porn actors and actresses become more popular with the mainstream, cross over to "regular" films and TV? I know this is sort of a novelty item today, but will it continue and broaden?

Just something I think about sometimes, and wonder what others think?

 

[somedah]

I don't think that pornstars or porn will ever be as popular as regular tv-shows and movies. Regular stuff has much broader audience than porn. Well, maybe if people focus more masturbating than having relationships, things might change, but so far this kind of development has happened mainly in Japan. You can easily watch regular movies your darling in your arms, but not porn, especially if you have kids hanging around. In other words, porn usage is much more influenced by changes in life.

And I don't really see a reason why porn should or would be discussed in TV, excluding of some movie reviews. Even in here the discussion is mainly "what is your favourite..[something]". However, if we are talking about reality TV, then there is potential for shows where people fucks around, but that's not discussing about porn, it is porn.

I don't know about USA, but around here we have nudity in regular TV and also porn (late night). People tend to be naked at times and it is also shown in movies and TV-shows, similar than in HBO-series (that shows in regular TV).

 

[freeonesandy]

Straight to my hard drive!

 

[BusterLoads]

How much more will porn be discussed and referred to on television?

Maybe 1% more, and that's a big maybe. You have to understand that even though network television shows are becoming a bit more liberal with their sexual overtones, particularly with FX and the things they get away with on their shows, porn still has a major taboo attached to it and that's due in part (or mostly) to the fact that American's still view sex as a dirty thing. For example, when Skins debuted on MTV a few years ago, that show got so much backlash due to its sexual themes that MTV had to pull the show off the network, and the American version was HEAVILY censored compared to the British version. I also think that if porn was as "innocent" as it was in the 80's and early 90's, MAYBE it would have become a more accepted thing in our (American) society. But nowadays, you have all kinds of gang bangs, oddball fetishs, and degrading types of porn out there that it just reinforces its own negative stereotypes.

Will there ever be nudity on network TV? Will sex acts be shown?
Will porn actors and actresses become more popular with the mainstream, cross over to "regular" films and TV?

We're still WAYS off from that. I refer back to the Janet Jackson incident during the Super Bowl. America still has to get to the point where we don't see sex as something only done between people in relationships, and it also has to get to a point where a girl can openly acknowledge here sexual experiences the way a guy can without being called a slut for it, before the general public can be ok with seeing nakedness and sex on TV. But I see it like the legalization of weed in Colorado and Washington, the more young people start getting into positions where they can control the types of things shown on TV, the more people in the general consensus will be OK with it. We have to get those old, frigid people out. But to estimate an answer to your question, I would think within 10 years we'll start to see a change. It won't be normalized but we'll start to see a shift.

 

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

Porn is OK for about 10 minutes at a time. There is so much free content on the internet I see so reason to pay for porn. It's not an industry I feel compelled to support. If I buy a DVD/Blu-ray it's a real movie. I liked porn before during the days of VHS tapes renting them at stores trying not to be seen by people you know. I wonder how much of the thrill came from the actual video.

I do like hookers and get them cheaper now then the price tag on the VHS boxes from 20 years ago. For $89.95 I get 2 pops.

 

[wigster]

Porn is going backwards not forwards. Rather then except it for what it is, people are trying to hide it and pretend it doesn't exist. Look at what there doing in the UK trying to ban Internet porn full stop, In America there trying to bring in condom laws and slowly but surely trying to move it elsewhere (Preferably out of the country). Also depending on what happens in the UK regarding the ban and how effective or not effective it is, other countries may try the same and ban it completely.

Porn will be as it always has been very popular. My opinion of the state of porn at the moment is it's very stale. I still watch it quite a bit, but a lot of the time I find myself thinking "Oh look it's her again" or "This looks the same old same old". There hasn't been a scene or film that's made me like "Wow that's awesome". All the so called big companies are just pumping out the same kind of stuff over and over again, At least in Europe there's still some craziness that I haven't seen or some performer I haven't seen, But in America it's always the same performer or the same stuff over and over.

But anyway to answer your question "where is porn headed?" The same direction it has been since the beginning, always there, always moving forward and always considered immoral by the majority.

 

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

I guess there is not much room for creativity when videos are basically sausages jousting tuna fishes with no attempt at any story or even much variation. I admit to getting the porno ladies mixed up. They are rolled out as objects and the fake tits and even faker smiles are hard to keep track of.

 

[somedah]

Porn is going backwards not forwards. Rather then except it for what it is, people are trying to hide it and pretend it doesn't exist. Look at what there doing in the UK trying to ban Internet porn full stop, In America there trying to bring in condom laws and slowly but surely trying to move it elsewhere (Preferably out of the country). Also depending on what happens in the UK regarding the ban and how effective or not effective it is, other countries may try the same and ban it completely.

It is not a ban. The issue is about filtering the content if the person who has bought the internet connection hasn't approved porn to be viewed. I read that major companies are going to ask from their customers that do they want to be able to see porn or not. Yeah, like anyone would see it by accidentally right now. Not directly porn related thing, but Russia wants Russia related information stored on their soil (passed law this friday), most notably affecting big companies like Google and Facebook, who have Russian customers. Putin says he wants to protect children from unappropriate content (I guess he means porn). And while we are on the subject German government wants strict age verifying procedures before being able to view porn from German providers. It's pretty much bye bye for German porn. It seems that not enough puritans did ship to America (sorry if there is any puritans reading this).

 

[himperv203]

I cant help jump on this discussion...

Although most people like to watch porn and it can be very addictive, but it still cannot provide a full spectrum of entertainment. It cannot provide the thrill of watching a soccer game and cannot provide the laughter of a funny TV show. Look at all the XXX parodies for example, does any one even care about comedy in them... I myself fast forward to sex stuff, do what ever I need to do and I am done in a few minutes. I think main stream television will remain the same.

That being said I do agree that porn has changed a lot. Back in the days we had a select few porn star, but now... its difficult to keep track of what new pornstars have entered the industry. Besides every other celebrity is making sex tapes now. Look at the vivid home page, it does not even contain regular porn any more.

 

[wigster]

If you buy a computer from now on the filter is automatically switched on it's up to you to phone up your IP and get them to switch it off, if you've already got a computer your IP will contact you asking if you want it switched on or off (I believe that's what it is anyway). But that's pretty much the governments way of saying "We don't want you to watch porn, but we'll give you a choice (Which means your IP will know exactly what your watching) and they and the government will be watching you like hawkeye and if you do anything remotely suspicious they'll probably throw the book at you.

But my point was that most people rather then except porn for what it is and which will always be around they would rather just throw it in a draw, lock it away and pretend it doesn't exist. That's what I meant by going backwards rather then forwards. I mean I don't get some people's attitudes, after all the whole reason we're hear is because 2 people have had sex, and births are going up each year so it's clear people are having sex pretty much all the time. So so what if somebody chooses to stay at home and whack off to watching people having sex.

 

[D-rock]

I also think that if porn was as "innocent" as it was in the 80's and early 90's, MAYBE it would have become a more accepted thing in our (American) society. But nowadays, you have all kinds of gang bangs, oddball fetishs, and degrading types of porn out there that it just reinforces its own negative stereotypes.

I think this is an important point. The people that produce porn are almost always in it for the quickest and cheapest buck they can get and to hell with the long term success of the industry or other besides themselves in it. At a point when the industry should have been doing everything it could to become more mainstream acceptable to increase it's own market and advertizing ability it did just the opposite by putting just about every type of nonsensical or offending stupidity or circus act in it's material it could. The people in porn don't seem to be able to stick together on anything either no matter how important the issue.

Now I do think porn has still become more acceptable, but I think that's almost completely despite what the industry has done and not because of what the industry has done. It's almost all due to cultural shifts in our view on it.

I think finally we are starting to get back more of the porn of the past, where a lot of normal stuff is like what was produced in the 80s and 90s but with better production values do to better technology, and the industry is even making a lot more glamcore type stuff, but that's only after about a decade and a half of bitching about the state of things from people like me, and it's still has to compete with all the garbage out there.

I just don't have any faith in the people that run the industry, and all the moral guardians in society are also starting to come after it again. Just look at California's condom law it's trying to pass as an example. It also doesn't help that people that perform in it are now getting historically little money from doing so than what it was like for the past decades before now. More money being paid to people would allow better performers, better production of the product, more people wanting to buy the product instead of pirating it, more places to buy porn, and better risk against the stigma and other ills the industry can throw at people.

I think porn is something that could have gotten much more acceptance and grown as a big money and at least more mainstream thing by this point, but it has mostly squandered the cultural shift it should have benefited from, it has to settle for very slow and small increments as people come to accept it despite the industry.

 

[dmichaels199]

Thanks everyone for your comments and thoughts, really appreciate it.
I just want to be clear-in no way was I suggesting that straight-out porn would be acceptible on network TV (or would ever happen). If you look back about 10-15 years ago, the "prime time" 8:00-10:00 block was extremely tame to what is shown today. Comedy shows are filled with sexual innuendos and discussions that would have never been green lit back then. I understand it is a mindset and cultural thing, but just looking at the trends over the years I curious what things might look like in the next 10-15 years.

As an example, on the HBO show "Girls" there was a cumshot shown on one of the episodes last season. I don't think that would have ever been possible when HBO first became a thing. Yes, it is not "network" TV but it is something a lot of people subscribe to and is considered mainstream.

I find it interesting.

 

[BusterLoads]

It also doesn't help that people that perform in it are now getting historically little money from doing so than what it was like for the past decades before now. More money being paid to people would allow better performers, better production of the product, more people wanting to buy the product instead of pirating it, more places to buy porn, and better risk against the stigma and other ills the industry can throw at people.

I think porn is something that could have gotten much more acceptance and grown as a big money and at least more mainstream thing by this point, but it has mostly squandered the cultural shift it should have benefited from, it has to settle for very slow and small increments as people come to accept it despite the industry.

I think there are some contributing factors to this. First, the number of girls that come in just to do one or two scenes, the one-and-dones, not only outweigh the seasoned veterans but there's more of a market for them since most guys are more intrigued by fresh faces and new bodies over the girls that they've already seen before, which means those veterans aren't making as much money as they could have been making back in the day since you can pay a newbie a couple hundred dollars as opposed to paying thousands. Personally speaking, back in the early 2000's my porn collection was nothing but veterans like Tera Patrick, Serenity, Jenna Jameson (back when she was hot), etc. Now in 2014 it's primarily girls who just wanted a quick buck or wanted some kind of thrill and decided to shoot a quick porn vid. There's only a handful of women now that I'll "follow" nowadays.

The growth of tube sites is another factor. Check out youporn, tube8, xvideos, or any of the dozen (or dozens) of those sites, and you can get all kinds of porn from the couple that decided to film themselves and upload it to full scenes from some major porn sites. Again personally speaking, I now tend to gravitate towards the amateur stuff not necessarily because it's free but because of the chemistry between the couple. Mainstream porn has gotten so fake, with girls making ridiculous faces and noises solely for the camera (I'm so tempted to name names but I won't) and the actors in the scenes having little to no chemistry whatsoever that I barely have any interest in them at all. Some people watch porn for the girls. But some, including myself, watch it for the sex. If the sex is uninspiring, then what's the point?

I think what porn needs is another Jenna Jameson/Tera Patrick; an actress that the majority of porn watchers will gravitate towards, while at the same time having a good business sense to take full advantage of their "brand" or "product" to act as a sort-of bridge between the porn world and the mainstream. The most an actress can hope for nowadays is to gain a few followers but for the most part fans' interests and tastes are too widespread because porn is just so over saturated with women. The Jenna Jameson/Tera Patrick days are over.

 

[Rey C.]

I guess there is not much room for creativity when videos are basically sausages jousting tuna fishes with no attempt at any story or even much variation. I admit to getting the porno ladies mixed up. They are rolled out as objects and the fake tits and even faker smiles are hard to keep track of.

Well, there's always plenty of room for creativity. But just like with mainstream American TV and movies, the lazy ass slobs making mainstream TV and movies and porn movies in the U.S. would rather just follow the established formula and avoid thinking/working outside the box. Like was said above, all these clowns care about is turning a fast, easy buck.

I guess for porn newbies, anything can still be exciting & different, since they haven't seen much yet. But once you've been around for awhile, seeing the same poorly acted, poorly written bullshit for the 50th time just becomes a chore and that's why I don't watch much modern pro porn. I pay a LOT more attention to pro-ams and independent models these days. Plus, unlike back in the 70's thru early 90's, the girls now are getting more man-made materials put in their bodies (lips, tits, asses, etc.) than my car has in it - and some of them just look downright scary!

 

[bobjustbob]

Everything is funny with Benny Hill music except Benny Hill. The same can be said with porn. Sex can sell anything except sex.

The adult entertainment industry has always been on the forefront when it comes to distribution through technology. They really have no choice because creating programming costs money and no company's advertising budget wants to risk getting shut out of the mainstream. You couldn't see X rated films in standard theaters so they created their own. Once video cameras became cheap enough everyone jumped into the video market. Digital photography and the Internet made distribution almost free. What do we have now? Any chick can Skype from and to IPhones. And I mean ANY chick. Quality will never be a deciding factor for what will sell. Never has been.

Just look at the flood of models here alone. 11,000 porn stars, 5300 centerfolds, and 5000 adult models. 22 of the top 100 searched porn stars weren't in the business 3 years ago. 1700+ started since 2010 and 120 of this crop are listed as retired and 36 in the top 100. With this glut of models flowing through the market I can't imagine it going much beyond model on demand and we are reaching that right now.

 

[Little Red Wagon Repairman]

Charles Ramsey of Cleveland, Ohio tells it like it is.

"Get'cho muthafuckin' pone off the muthafuckin' tube!!!"