Pornographic actor
A
pornographic actor or a
porn star is somebody who appears in
pornographic movies,
live sex shows or
peep shows. Many
actors and
actresses may appear
nude in films (usually filmed in explicit sexual
genres). Most genres have specialists who achieve most of their recognition in a specific niche market such as
bondage or
strap-on sex.
The first porn star with name recognition was
Linda Lovelace who starred in the
1972 feature,
Deep Throat. The success of this movie, which grossed hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide, spawned a slew of other films and pornographic film stars such as
Marilyn Chambers (
Behind the Green Door),
Gloria Leonard (
The Opening of Misty Beethoven),
Georgina Spelvin (
The Devil in Miss Jones), Jeremy Cohen ("the Speed Demon Of Porn"), and
Bambi Woods (
Debbie Does Dallas). This was followed by what is called
The Golden Age of Porn in the mid to late seventies. Such legendary performers as
John Holmes,
Ginger Lynn Allen,
Christy Canyon,
Veronica Hart,
Nina Hartley,
Seka, and
Hyapatia Lee became well known in this era. In the
DVD-dominated late
1990s,
Jenna Jameson,
Tera Patrick,
Briana Banks,
Ariana Jollee,
Stacy Valentine,
Asia Carrera and
Silvia Saint emerged as megapornstars. Gay pornstars have also grown more mainstream, with such stars as
Michael Lucas garnering media attention.
Attempts in the
1970s to outlaw pornography in the
United States by prosecuting porn stars for
prostitution failed, as the courts made a distinction between someone who took part in a sexual relationship for money, and the act of
portraying a sexual relationship as a performance for money.
The ability for people to view adult movies in the privacy of their own homes, owing to the popularity of the
VCR (and now
DVD) created a new adult market that could not be ignored. The production values of adult films declined dramatically in the attempt to create new films for ever increasing demand. As a result of this, there are hundreds of adult film companies today, releasing tens of thousands of shot-on-video titles annually. As a result, there are thousands of people working as pornographic actors to meet the demand for these films.
Male performers in heterosexual pornography are generally selected less for their looks than for their sexual prowess. This is not necessarily true of male porn stars performing in gay porn. Desirable traits include the ability to maintain an
erection for a long period on a crowded movie set, as well as the ability to
ejaculate on demand with maximum lateral trajectory.
Ron Jeremy and
Peter North are probably the most famous male performers. North is known for his ability to launch prodigious loads of
semen and Jeremy is known for his 9.75 inch penis and an appearance very unusual for a porn star (he is overweight and balding with copious body hair). Adding to his fame, Ron Jeremy has been a staple in the industry since the 70's and has become something of a cultural icon.On the whole, male performers in straight porn are paid less than their female counterparts. Because gay male porn generally pays men much more than heterosexual porn, a number of male performers appear in both heterosexual and gay pornography. Ostensibly, men who perform in gay pornography but identify themselves as heterosexual are said to do
gay-for-pay; that is, perform in gay movies only for the paycheck, not because of any attraction they have to other men. Many female performers perform in both straight and lesbian porn, which have similar pay rates. The primary audience for lesbian pornography (commonly known as girl-on-girl) is heterosexual men.
While some pornographic actors perform in a wide range of
genres, most genres have specialists who achieve most of their recognition in a specific niche market such as
bondage or
strap-on sex. With over 20,000 feature length films produced each year in the U.S. alone, many well known actors complete a film every one or two weeks.
Because of the nature of their work, usually involving sex without
condoms, pornographic actors are particularly vulnerable to
AIDS and other
sexually transmitted diseases.
In the
1980s, an outbreak of AIDS led to a number of deaths of erotic actors, including
John Holmes. This led to the creation of the
Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, which helped set up a system in the U.S. adult film industry where erotic actors are tested for
HIV every 30 days. All sexual contact is logged, and positive test results lead to all sexual contacts for the last three to six months being contacted and re-tested.
This resulted in low rates of HIV transmission, and hence low rates of infection among erotic actors: it has been reported that not a single HIV test was positive in the four year period prior to
2004.
In 2004, a male performer,
Darren James, tested positive for HIV. One fellow porn star,
Lara Roxx, was identified and tested positive for HIV. James apparently had contact with 12 other women since his previous negative HIV test, though some suspect that Lara Roxx is truly "Patient Zero," and started the epidemic, as she was previously working as a street prostitute (where she had sex without a condom) in Canada before coming to LA, it is also believed by some that James contracted it during a film he made in Brazil and was himself "patient zero" which is more likely seeing as when performers enter the porn industry HIV tests are done. Following the release of this information the heterosexual porn industry voluntarily reduced their workload for the next 30 days, as various contacts with both individuals, as well as others within the industry, re-evaluated and expanded upon their original programs dealing with this possibility.
However, accurate information about the extent of infection among those in the adult industry is unknown because no organization has ever done rigorous studies. The existing data suggest that pornographic actors have a much higher rate of STDs than the general American population. The Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation administered voluntary tests to a group consisting primarily of adult film workers. Of 483 people tested between October
2001 and March
2002, about 40% had at least one disease. Nearly 17% tested positive for
chlamydia, 13% for
gonorrhea and 10% for
hepatitis B and/or
hepatitis C.
Famed researcher
Dr. Robert Hare claimed in his 1993 book
Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us that many, if not most people in the adult film industry are clinical
psychopaths (he also included prisons, stock markets, and even politics as areas with above normal psychopath populations). He describes psychopaths as "intraspecies predators who use charm, manipulation, intimidation, and violence to control others and to satisfy their own selfish needs. Lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they cold-bloodedly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret." According to Hare, people in the adult film industry, including producers, frequently exhibit traits common to psychopaths, including superficial charm, constant need for stimulation and instant gratification, sexual promiscuity, lack of anxiety, lack of remorse or guilt, short term marriages, inability to sustain relationships, impulsivity, irresponsibility, and substance abuse.
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Pornographic movie*
Glamour photography*
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List of big-bust models and performers*
Sex worker*
List of Erotic Internet Models*
List of porn stars**
List of bisexual porn stars**
List of transsexual porn stars**
List of male porn stars***
List of gay porn stars**
List of female porn stars***
List of female porn stars by decade***
List of porn stars who are lesbians**
List of black porn stars**
List of hispanic porn stars*
AIDS and the porn industry*
Pornography*
Internet Adult Film Database*
Anna Span's
Advice on Becoming a Pornstar: warning, sidebar images contain nudity
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Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation: Frequently asked questions
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Male Porn Stars Groups*
A Real Pornstar's Personal Blog
