Paying for Porn
Added 2016-07-05 17:40:53 +0000 UTChttp://www.ohjoysextoy.com/paying-for-porn
The last two decades have been really fascinating, haven't they? The way we consume media and compensate the creators who make it has changed massively since the rise of the internet. I remember my dad being so excited about Napster back in 1999, how he was delighted to download hundreds of his favorite songs-- for free! AWESOME! He didn't pay the radio station to listen to music, so it didn't even occur to him that straight-up downloading songs was directly impacting his favorite artists until a musician he adored released a song lamenting how all the years and blood and sweat she'd poured into creating a sustainable music career felt like it was evaporating in front of her because "we're giving it all away for free now." This floored him. He stopped using Napster.
I've been making webcomics since I was a teenager and have payed close attention to the changing attitudes of content consumers over the last ten or so years. People began by consuming the "free" stuff (whether it was released that way by the creator or not) and feeling entitled to it. It's right there, isn't it? Why not! And then in the online comic and music worlds (and elsewhere, I'm sure, but this is where I've focused my attention) the creators began making it known that their art didn't spring from a void, that they-- real human people-- were producing it and they, as real human people do, needed to financially support themselves in order to keep making this stuff that their audiences loved so much.
Presently, it seems safe to say that most online entertainment consumers have not only accepted but EMBRACED the fact that their money supports their favorite creators. I mean, shit. I'm writing this to you on Patreon. You guys get it. PayPal donation buttons, Patreon, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and a hundred other 'fund this project or person' services are thriving because audiences DO WANT to financially support the content they love to consume, because they KNOW money ensures that the creators can continue to create.
But somehow.... this awareness and goodwill hasn't been extended to porn.
My personal theory (and I don't claim to be an expert) is that people haven't yet reached that point of realization that they did with the rest of their media, that real people make this work and those real people survive on real money for their real labor. There's many more factors, of course! (The fact that society kinda hates sex work and its workers in general plays a pretty big role, I'm sure) Way more qualified people who actually work in the sex industry have already written much more in-depthly about this subject (Links to a handful of articles are in this comic's blog post) and I fully encourage people to read them.
With today's comic, Matt and I just wanted to talk as porn consumers to our fellow porn consumers and, ideally, reach the fans who just haven't ever given any consideration to where their porn comes from. Maybe over the next decade that conscious consumerism that my creative peers and I survive on will include porn producers as well. I like to think so!
Comments
Oh yes, but then, it's not a rational fear, just a very ingrained one.
Thisfox
2016-07-08 21:11:45 +0000 UTCI think the closest I've had my bank come to questioning one of the porn entries on my CC was when they put a temporary stop on it because they flagged it as suspicious. They just did the normal "can you confirm these are valid transactions?" thing. When they got the porn one (it was Kink.com) they just went "I have no idea what this one is because it doesn't have a name, it's just a number".
Chris Crowther
2016-07-08 12:07:56 +0000 UTCMatt here! A few people keep bringing up the fear of judgment when your credit card gets wrung. I've purchased alot of porn, and never had a company come up under their actual name. They all have DBA's, just like sex toy shops. In addition if your SUPER worried, you can still support the industry in other ways, gift cards for your fav performers and/or find their amazon wishlists (they all have them)! Some studios are even using Patreon! What Im getting at is that there are alot of other methods to support the industry with, outside of a subscriptions.
Erika Moen
2016-07-08 00:52:05 +0000 UTCOne of the things Matt doesn't mention is the fear of being caught. I don't want porn on my credit card bill. I just don't. Danielle points this out as well. I don't consume porn because there is no way I can get it. Even though the porn I would be interested in is perfectly legal, I don't purchase it, because it would show up on my credit card bill. I agree with the philosophy of the comic, and always have. I buy my music, I buy my movies, I buy my books, why would I steal my porn? But I'm left in an interesting problem. I can't be a consumer of porn, because if I paid for it, I'd feel "guilty" of being "caught" if someone analysed my bills, and if I gave in to just stealing it, I'd feel dirty. And I have no one to brag to about paying for it, even if I did collect the stuff. Result? It just doesn't happen at all. I have no way to consume porn, so I never started. Doesn't stop me from feeling good about supporting OJST though.
Thisfox
2016-07-07 13:23:54 +0000 UTCI like Danielle's suggestion for a Bangtreon method of supporting sex workers who make pornography. It might help reduce the stigma for consumers and producers. And it might help avoid some of the sketchier porn content producers who abuse and rip off workers. Also some kind of verification system or guide to point toward independent and ethical creators and producers could help improve things. Unless I'm being really idealistic.
Kevin Moore
2016-07-06 23:09:07 +0000 UTCI really appreciate you & Matt tackling this topic! Supporting my sex worker friends is important to me, and sometimes that money trickles down to me, too πΈ So much of the porn around me is a one- or two-person operation, and tubes and torrents take it directly out of their pocket.
Vid Tuesday
2016-07-06 18:53:44 +0000 UTCOh yeah, that is a huuuuge problem for sure! Even from doing OJST, Matt and I have run into problems. That'd probably be a good topic for its own comic, actually... The focus of this comic is specifically on consumers who have just never considered where their porn came from and to consider using the avenues that *are* available (though more limited than mainstream fare) to help compensate their fav sexy content creators.
Erika Moen
2016-07-05 18:15:28 +0000 UTCI think a lot of this has to do with the sentence that can be stated out loud when we look at our bank statements. "I spent $X to support my favorite cartoonist, and $X to support this up-and-coming musician." You can say it out loud to your parents, your spouse, your kids. Saying "I spent $X to support my favorite porn channel" is still (in most circles) something people don't want to admit to, and if they pay for it, it's there, right in their bank statement, in writing. I suffer from this self-judgment to some extent. I can be open about my sexuality on Twitter, on Patreon, on my own website, but I live in a small town, and I bank at our small-town bank. I know the people there aren't looking at my statements, and they're not asking what everything is, but I guess I wouldn't want them to have a hunch that I might be looking at porn (which is weird, because CheapLubes.com pops up on my statements at least a few times a year!). Funny enough, this means that I just avoid looking at porn 95% of the time, which I imagine is not something people would guess about me! And, yet, for some reason... if there was some sort of X-rated Patreon (Sexy Patreon... Sextreon... Bangtreon?), I might finally pay for porn. Perhaps because it wouldn't be a solo endeavor; it would be validated by the numbers of other people doing the same thing I'm doing. I'm glad you opened up this discussion; I hadn't thoroughly considered how I view my own porn consumption. I'm always surprised to discover a place where I harbor a quiet self-shame, especially when they're places that I openly encourage people to shed their own shame!
Danielle Corsetto
2016-07-05 18:15:00 +0000 UTCThere is a really difficult interaction between creative work and money, and it leads to a lot of strange behaviors since it becomes abstract quickly. I struggle with this as a musician, because my desire to feed, clothe, and house myself can be at odds with my unwillingness to prevent any interested person from listening to my music. It's something the industry as a whole has failed to come up with a solution for, and as more and more of our society leaves meatspace IP concerns will only become more relevant, but it's just sad to me that so many creatives have to say, "I made this amazing thing but you can only enjoy it if you can afford it" As for porn specifically, I've known a lot of people who are hesitant to pay for it due to outdated taboos. Additionally, it's (most likely due to necessity) really quite expensive compared to other forms of media. For example, I've never been to a strip club, mostly because (as your awesome comic on them pointed out) I can't afford them. I truly believe our economy will develop new clever ways to compensate creative peoples, but until then this discussion will be happening quite frequently.
Skoddie
2016-07-05 18:10:41 +0000 UTCOne of the bigger problems (not mentioned) is that on-line payment processors will not agree to work with sex workers. If you can't pay with paypal or the like, how do you get the payment to them?
James Armstrong
2016-07-05 18:02:25 +0000 UTC
