Porn Perspectives

Porno Linkyfun

I come across tons of interesting porn-related links each week, but I'm only inclined to write full posts on a small number of them. I hate to deny my faithful readers a regular dose of fascinating porn news, so I'm instituting a new feature on Porn Perspectives called Porno Linkyfun.

My aim is to make this a weekly feature, but I look to you (and your page hits) to see if this is a feature with staying power. Ok, on to this week's links:

Sasha Grey discusses porn, prostitution, and politics in an intelligent interview with Dazed Digital.

An adults-only MiKandi app market allows users to view porn on their Android phones (as history has shown, when you're having trouble grabbing market share, go for porn). Apps for jailbroken iPhones are coming soon.

Meanwhile, China's cracking down on mobile phone porn.

Cool blog post: An economist and academic addresses self-regulation in the porn industry, in reference to the recent HIV scare.

Porn Industry Primer

Below is a brief piece of reporting on the porn industry. The creator is Vaguard, from Current TV (my favorite source for hilarious Sarah Haskins videos).

While not exactly an in-depth investigation, it's nonetheless a decent primer on porn's relationship with technology and the issues facing the industry.

Watch for the bit towards the end about how pornstar Jessica Drake builds relationships with fans, who become invested in her success. Dare I suggest this could be the industry's salvation?

Jenna & Violet on Oprah

Jenna Jameson and Violet Blue will be on Oprah today. This is huge (I hope!). Don't forget to tune in!

Universities Defy Porn Ban

In defiance of the Maryland legislature's request that state-funded universities regulate porn on campus, the state university replied with a resounding 'No Way!'

The university clearly understands the nature of college students, and also that of porn consumption - both are notoriously difficult to regulate. Case in point:

Enforcing such a rule might require the creation of a panel to review all films shown on every campus for "purely entertainment purposes," the report states, to determine whether they might need to be augmented with an educational component.

A porn panel! Who's signing up for a seat on THAT committee?

I understand people's desire to "protect" youths from porn...but come ON. College students are adults, and restricting porn access on campus is a hilariously outdated notion. Glad the university system put the smack down on that harebrained scheme.

via www.washingtonpost.com

The Dirty Truth Behind 'Playgirl'

I wonder where he gets his hair done...

One of the most articulate pieces from the editors at now-defunct Playgirl magazine appeared this week on TheAwl.com. Jessanne Collins begins the piece addressing controversy over the softcore subscription website operating under the Playgirl name's decision to feature Levi Johnston (Sarah Palin's would-be son in law). That part is boring, but what Collins really is interested in is defending attackers of Playgirl who allege the magainze's editorial staff was out of touch with women's desires, and furthermore ignored its much more loyal gay audience.

According to Collins, the editors of Playgirl didn't actually have control over the publication. Its parent company Trans Digital Media, had a stranglehold on the content, and THEY were the ones out of touch:

The men in the boardroom had no idea how to market or appeal to either women or gay men—never mind to both at the same time, an unattainable magic act, in my opinion, but one the company insisted on attempting for years. The tragicomedy of Playgirl's particular aesthetic failure starts to make a lot of sense if you consider that it wasn't constructed by anyone who professed actual physical interest in the male physique. If would-be Fabios were standard, that's because "musclebound with a ridiculous mane" is a comfortable caricature of what women find sexually attractive as doodled in the minds of out-of-touch old dudes. 

Collins bemoans all that Playgirl could have been, if only the editors had had the freedom to explore female sexual desire.

My colleagues and I wished we could've made something relevant and fresh out of the troubled, tousled remnants of what had once been one of the world's most unique and successful magazines for women. I don't know if we would have succeeded—we never got the chance to find out—but in its last few months, despite the brewing recession, Playgirl was actually seeing an increase in newsstand sales.

The piece didn't strike me as scapegoating. Collins has a plausible argument, and seems to have a firm grasp on the potential of the magazine. Given the behind the scenes dynamics, I'm glad Playgirl folded; now we need a new generation to fill the void with a kick-ass "mainstream" publication (online or otherwise) which fulfills the original Playgirl mission.

via www.theawl.com