Pornography Appreciation / Sexual curiousities / etc topic

[Kaaoskultti]

Btw, listened to Caligula031's "An Empirical Analysis of Escorting"

Thank you, glad you enjoyed!

Oh thank you for your work on PE/Noise scene, and also on this forum! Listening to "Domino" right now, thinking to myself "this is how PE should sound like!".

[tiny_tove]

Blush blush. I am slowly getting out of my forced hiatus. Many releases lined up, a few cancelled since labels no longer exist.

[Cranial Blast]

Blush blush. I am slowly getting out of my forced hiatus. Many releases lined up, a few cancelled since labels no longer exist.

Also VERY excited about the news in regards to new releases!

[Kaaoskultti]

Have seen Jerry Springer being discussed on some pages. I believe his talent as a talk-show host is really admirable, but then I just stumbled against this video today. Even though everyone had seen it, I still find it pretty amusing. Makes me think of the red-thread on "Substitute" is partly about how what is shunned and forbidden is still sold to the people as commodities of popular culture. As previously discussed here. Nonetheless, The Mentors are pretty much quite one of the most over-the-top acts of all time, as in hands with other great transgressors.

[Cranial Blast]

Have seen Jerry Springer being discussed on some pages. I believe his talent as a talk-show host is really admirable, but then I just stumbled against this video today. Even though everyone had seen it, I still find it pretty amusing. Makes me think of the red-thread on "Substitute" is partly about how what is shunned and forbidden is still sold to the people as commodities of popular culture. As previously discussed here. Nonetheless, The Mentors are pretty much quite one of the most over-the-top acts of all time, as in hands with other great transgressors.

Hands down one of the best Springer episodes! The Mentors are legends! The GG Allin and the Murder Junkies episode on Haraldo Rivera was quite good too from back in the day. Haraldo says to Merle, that's a nice mustache haha.

Anyone seen this talk show episode about serial killer worship and serial killer victims family members. It's one the greatest! I can't find the whole video anymore, here is a segment from it, but it was a Salle Jesse Raphael episode about Serial Killer fans/artists meeting some of the victims families and what not and it's hilarious, turns kind of into a shit show at times. Highly recommend checking out the whole episode if you can find it. Probably belongs more in the true crime thread, but here it goes anyways.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K_xrEXKes-I&pp=0gcJCYYJAYcqIYzv

[FreakAnimalFinland]

https://www.timeless-shop.com/product/hardcore-dust-jacket-eric-kroll/?v=75778bf8fde7

Timeless Edition is thrilled to announce the publication of HARDCORE, a striking new photobook by Eric Kroll, featuring rare and intimate photographs taken during the shooting of Paul Schrader's cult 1979 film — and much more beyond.

This book takes you deep into the world behind the camera: the set, the atmosphere, and the many individuals — technicians, casting director, actors and non-actors alike — who accompanied or inspired Kroll throughout the shoot.

More than a simple behind-the-scenes document, HARDCORE also includes the photographer's own reflections, commentary and a recent interview he conducted with adult film actress Serena.

The book is also accompanied by a foreword from Paul Schrader and a rare text he penned in 1978 for a publishing project about the film that was never completed.

Together, these elements reveal a deeply personal and unexpectedly intimate perspective on the film and on the porn film industry at the end of the 1970s.

I suppose many know this film? I remember seeing it as teenager and back then it was so hard to find any specific films, it really took me till 2004 visit in NYC when I found the original DVD from regular mainstream store. I placed pre-order for this from Timeless and grabbed couple other things too. Shipping starting in two days.

[Balor/SS1535]

https://www.timeless-shop.com/product/hardcore-dust-jacket-eric-kroll/?v=75778bf8fde7

Timeless Edition is thrilled to announce the publication of HARDCORE, a striking new photobook by Eric Kroll, featuring rare and intimate photographs taken during the shooting of Paul Schrader's cult 1979 film — and much more beyond.

This book takes you deep into the world behind the camera: the set, the atmosphere, and the many individuals — technicians, casting director, actors and non-actors alike — who accompanied or inspired Kroll throughout the shoot.

More than a simple behind-the-scenes document, HARDCORE also includes the photographer's own reflections, commentary and a recent interview he conducted with adult film actress Serena.

The book is also accompanied by a foreword from Paul Schrader and a rare text he penned in 1978 for a publishing project about the film that was never completed.

Together, these elements reveal a deeply personal and unexpectedly intimate perspective on the film and on the porn film industry at the end of the 1970s.

I suppose many know this film? I remember seeing it as teenager and back then it was so hard to find any specific films, it really took me till 2004 visit in NYC when I found the original DVD from regular mainstream store. I placed pre-order for this from Timeless and grabbed couple other things too. Shipping starting in two days.

I saw this too.  Disappointed that I can't make it to the signing in LA!

[Kaaoskultti]

Questions about books.

"Everything You Know About Sex is Wrong"

Has anyone read this book or mentioned it here? Found out about while searching the references for the CCC wikipedia article, and fathom it could provide good information on the world of once legal kinky porn industries like those.

"Chasing Lolita" also seems quite interesting, specially by taking a 'cultural' perspective on the phenomenon and thus documenting the afromentioned collectively-cultivated shifts on that.

...

Interesting article which I found during this research, with much information already documented on Soto's "Pure" and Mikko's musical(-documental) endeavours:"Porn Was Legalized 50 Years Ago, This Is How The Business Has Changed". From Oct 20th, 2019.

Fifty years ago something new and exciting was taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Scandinavian country had lifted the ban on pornography on July 1, 1969, and on October 21, 1969, the world's first pornography trade show was about to kick off.

Reporting on the trade show, the UK's Observer newspaper wrote that Denmark's export market for sex books and films was already worth $3.8 million a year. In the U.S. the open sale, exhibition, and distribution of porn was still prohibited. The 1969 Stanley v Georgia ruling helped establish the "right to privacy," which meant individuals could not be convicted merely for possessing obscene materials, but the nature and definition of "obscenity" was being, had long been, and would continue to be thrashed out in the courts.

Meanwhile, in Denmark, some 50,000 people flocked to "Sex 69," as the trade show was titled, including American filmmaker Alex de Renzy who was shooting a documentary about the show. "Censorship in Denmark – A New Approach" was released in the U.S. in 1970. It comprised reports from the trade fair alongside vox pops from around Copenhagen. But what made it notable was the inclusion of scenes in which the hardcore erotic movies that were being screened at "Sex 69" were clearly shown. While the movies themselves would have been illegal to screen in American cinemas, "Censorship in Denmark" was able to circumvent this on account of being a documentary.

As The New York Times reported at the time: "'Censorship in Denmark' manages to display a lot of the product itself. There are still pictures, movies, a visit to the set of a porno film, live shows as they are being performed in porno clubs—all framed, and thus, apparently legally protected here, by the fact that this is, after all, a movie about pornography."

Cut to 2019 and the Berlin porn film festival is gearing up for its 13th year, showing upwards of 100 adult movies across six days. It's hard to gauge the size of today's online porn industry—and it is notoriously difficult to crunch the numbers—but estimates range from $6 billion to $97 billion. So how did we get here?

De Renzy's wasn't the only film to make waves that year. Andy Warhol's controversial "Blue Movie" was also released in 1969 and was the first movie to show explicit "real sex." Like "Censorship in Denmark" it got away with its "obscene" content on account of being considered art. Indeed, Warhol is quoted in Victor Bockris' biography of him as saying: "'Blue Movie' was real. But it wasn't done as pornography—it was done as an exercise, an experiment."

From 1969 to 1984 there followed what is now known as the Golden Age of Pornography, when even very low-budget adult films were able to achieve box office success. By 1975, the retail value of all the hardcore pornography in the U.S. was estimated at $5 million to $10 million (equivalent to $24 million to $48 million today).

Advances in technology forced change in the way business was done. The arrival of VHS, the VCR and the camcorder in the early 80s made it much cheaper to shoot, produce and adult films. While seventies films such as the famous "Deep Throat" starring Linda Lovelace had focussed on high production values, complete with script and storyline, the 80s saw the emergence of "amateur" porn.

Then, in the 1990s, DVD and the Internet changed the way porn was delivered. More people than ever were now able to access and view porn. It also changed the way money was made. While people were still, at that time, prepared to pay to access adult images and videos, online advertising meant that those hosting this content didn't have to rely on its revenue alone. In "The Players Ball: A Genius, a Con Man, and the Secret History of the Internet's Rise" author David Kushner wrote: "While [website owners] might sell membership subscriptions—charging visitors a monthly fee to access photos, videos, and so on [...], the trick was getting surfers to click a banner ad, the interactive billboards of the information superhighway, and visit a site."

In 2007 three key things happened: Free streaming of online porn arrived in the form of "tube" sites such as Pornhub and XHamster, the first iPhone was released, and Vivid Entertainment published Kim Kardashian's sex tape. The socialite was barely known at the time—and certainly not the first celebrity to make and have a sex tape leaked—but the ease with which the video could be accessed, meant that it drew an unprecedented audience. "For a long time Kim Kardashian was the most-searched term on XHamster," says journalist, filmmaker and member of the adult industry's Free Speech Coalition, Mike Stabile.

It was now possible to go online—on either a computer or your phone—and search for almost any kind of scene. This "tech takeover" of the adult industry was the central line of enquiry in British journalist Jon Ronson's 2017 audio documentary, "The Butterfly Effect". But with these developments came increased piracy. Users copy paid-for films and upload them to the tube sites where thousands of people can watch them for free. Ronson heard from directors, producers, performers, how this barely-controlled piracy has impacted the industry.

In 2015, Nate Glass, owner of Takedown Piracy, a copyright enforcement service, told CNBC he sends out close to 25,000 copyright law notices a year to tube sites. "Companies aren't required to make yearly revenues public," he was quoted as saying. "However, you can see the decline in production where fewer companies are shooting new content and there's less work for performers. Back in 2009 when I was working for studios we saw about a 50 percent drop in DVD sales over the course of the year; that's when the slide really began."

In her book, "The Pornography Industry What Everyone Needs to Know," Shira Tarrant estimates that porn piracy costs the industry around $2 billion a year. Performers themselves also earn less. In 2012, adult industry agent Mark Spiegler said that performers were making about half of what they earned at the turn of the 21st century. "A decade ago the average female performer would make about $100,000 a year," he said. "She now might make as little as $50,000."

But it's not just the means of production and distribution that have changed. The market has changed dramatically too. At Copenhagen's "Sex 69," the Observer journalist wrote: "The visitors have been 90% men. The women have been strolling around as though they were at a church jumble sale." Now, women make up almost 30% of Pornhub's visitors (NB link does not contain adult content).

There are also more independent porn studios, and autonomy for porn performers who regularly use their social media platforms to talk openly and thoughtfully about the adult industry. Some have even turned their hand to sex education, while others have spoken out about labour rights and #MeToo abuse scandals.

There are porn film festivals in Berlin, Vienna, London, not to mention Dan Savage's touring Hump! Festival. When we look back at the last 50 years, it's easy to believe we've come a long way. But while the laws, the industry, and the audience have changed, there remain some parallels in the social attitudes of 1969 and 2019.

In response to another critic, who'd described "Censorship in Denmark" as "mind-boggling", New York Times journalist Vincent Canby wrote: "It may boggle the mind, but only after it boggles, shakes up and threatens a lot of other things that are more difficult—and less fashion able—to talk about, including the Puritan conscience and our traditional sexual taboos, which we all have (whether we admit it or not) and which have nothing to do with the mind, but with emotions."

Apply the above to any adult content currently under debate, and Canby's words still manage to ring true today. Only this week, the UK government finally dropped its controversial age-verification "porn blocker" plan after months of debate, amid protests from sex educators and freedom of speech campaigners. Despite the size of the industry, and the apparent appetite for it, porn is still something we struggle to talk about.

However, one thing is for sure, as every historical summary of the adult industry must conclude: Porn isn't going anywhere.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

theme of research on porn, I strongly advice this:
https://porn-gold.com/about/

I found copy of original book (came out 1988) many years ago by accident. I guess somewhere in late 90's or very early 00's at 2nd hand store mens magazines section. It seems now to be published as ebook etc. It has stories of the old times businessmen, but also book is unusual because it has so much detailed information about the history of most questionable publishers of the time.

[tiny_tove]

thanks, this seems very interesting!

[loudbugling]

Figured this would be the best place to ask, as I'm sure there's one or two connoisseurs of this topic knocking about the forum, and the "Classified" section seems... improper.

I'm looking to purchase shemale/tranny/trans/ladyboy/whatever DVDs, VHS, mags, etc. Pretty much anything would be of interest, as long as it's 1990s up to mid 2010s (give or take a year or two). No "recent" stuff. Looking for quantity, happy to spend a lot. Give a PM if you or somebody you know can provide. It's for an ongoing project (honest).

[Kaaoskultti]

theme of research on porn, I strongly advice this:
https://porn-gold.com/about/

I found copy of original book (came out 1988) many years ago by accident. I guess somewhere in late 90's or very early 00's at 2nd hand store mens magazines section. It seems now to be published as ebook etc. It has stories of the old times businessmen, but also book is unusual because it has so much detailed information about the history of most questionable publishers of the time.

Thanks very much, didn't know about it yet! Seems like really good stuff.