Working in porn and socializing in the pornographic milieu is always kind of weird. Especially with social media, you get to know the people who represent themselves or companies pretty well. Sometimes, that’s harder to reconcile when you don’t 100% agree with everything they do. There are all sorts of lines drawn based on respect and taste but, even as someone who considers herself to be pretty solidly “on one side”, things get blurry!
I got a little blast in my e-mail from XBIZ that Brazzers has ceased operation of a site called Pornstar Punishment… I must admit, I was relieved for several reasons. First because it’s an example of the kind of porn I just don’t get. It’s violent and has a lot of really scary overtones, which isn’t necessarily the worst part. There are lots of people who are able to take violence and even extreme fantasy and make it very clear that it’s just that – fantasy. Somehow, this site didn’t seem to achieve that, and a notable male performer (James Deen) even expressed his discomfort at how the shoots unfolded, and that’s saying a lot considering he performs for companies like Kink regularly. It has less to do with subject and more to do with tone, I suppose.
Another reason I felt relieved was because, as I mentioned before, it’s hard but not impossible to differentiate people from certain aspects of what they align themselves with. For instance, I’ve appeared on ZZInsider and I talk with a lot of Brazzers people on Twitter regularly, as do a lot of the “beautiful porn mafia” people… That’s because they’re lovely people, genuinely smart and caring. Because things are not inherently bad, just not structured correctly, because people associated with these things might not specifically believe in them… It’s hard to ever malign anything outright, so having the things we wish to malign swept away feels like quite a load off the shoulders.
Finally, and probably most interestingly, one of the main reasons that Manwin (the company owning the site) has decided to pull the plug on the site is because they’re turning their attention more to glamour porn… Softer, more artfully shot and more respectful representations. Although it may still have a mainstream sheen, the fact that this is the way that the mainstream is going says so much. I feel like I’ve always felt this coming, but it feels good to see it actually coming to fruition.
Thanks for this post Camille.
I don’t spend a whole lot of time on these sites but, as I know you’re well aware, I find the kind of porn you discuss in this post revolting, largely because I find any kind of cruelty a massive turn-off.
More and more ads for this kind of stuff are featuring on pages for “romantic” porn and they’re just vile. I wonder how long it will take the tubes and other sites to realise that marketing this type of trash to those clearly looking for something a little more artistic and sensual is a waste of time and more likely to lose them an audience rather than build one.
Women only seem to exist in this kind of porn to satisfy the fantasies of certain types of men. They’re not presented as equal partners. They’re dehumanised and debased in ways that are just awful.
I’m glad that Brazzers has pulled the plug on Pornstar Punishment. The whole idea that sex should be a form of punishment is utterly repugnant to me, much like the fact that that there’s a market for it.
I know what you mean, especially about the ads. I don’t really understand how ad targeting can yield some of the stuff it does… Haven’t we moved past that and developed more sophisticated ways to offer people something that actually pertains to what they’re currently enjoying? The internet is creepily aware of what we like and want. Can’t porn at least try to harness that potential and convert, or at least not gross people out while they’re trying to watch something?
I’m all for people enjoying whatever kind of fantasy they like, but this crossed all sorts of lines for me, specifically due to the punishent for being sexual idea… Punishing pornstars for being pornstars… Doesn’t society try to do that already?
Exactly! When you consider how much time we as westerners bang on about freedom and talk about the need to liberate vulnerable and disenfranchised people (like women) from oppressive regimes, it seems a little strange there’s an expectation that we’d enjoy seeing a woman (or anybody for that matter) being ‘punished’ with sex.
I guess that’s how the deep recesses of the brain work… It’s odd, but somehow not all that surprising.
ce que je vois dans ce porno de soumission, c’est surtout une expression de frustration, une façon d’exterioriser quelque chose d’inavouable et que l’on va trouver librement sur internet.
) pour me laisser aller à cette forme de bestialité. et je pense que 99% des gens qui regardent ce type de porno sont comme moi.
Qui n’a jamais eu le fantasme, même pendant quelques minutes, de laisser aller son envie à du sexe pour du sexe avec une domination? Franchement j’ai déjà eu ce fantasme et je m’en cache pas. Mais je ne suis jamais passé à l’acte parce que je respecte bien trop la femme (et l’homme aussi… et oui
Cependant, je dois avouer que trouver ces mises en scène sur Internet a créé une excitation chez moi parce que justement, tout en sachant que ce sont des scénarii, ils ont mis en scène un besoin, une envie ponctuelle du moment, un interdit excitant.
je n’ai rien contre les films de chez Brazzers sur les humiliations de temps en temps,ces représentations “humiliantes” existent parce qu’elles répondent à un besoin, parce qu’elles mettent en scène une vrai fantasme (dans le sens inaccessible) mais de façon ponctuelle.
Le seul problème est de les sur-afficher, de les rendre tellement visibles et faciles, qu’elles en deviennent une norme.
Mais en même temps si ces scènes deviennent tellement faciles d’accès et tellement normalisées, elles perdront toute leur subversivité et alors le porno chic ou glam prendra cette place pour notre plus grand bien à tous!
Et tu deviendras sans conteste LA reine du porno.
CQFD
bonne soirée
C’est vrai ce que tu dis. Je pense que l’issue avec une telle fantasme c’est qu’il faut bien indiquer que c’est pas la réalité…
Metaphorically, I have always envisioned you and your work as a beautiful island amidst a sea of Ugly Porn. And if you live on an island, you may have to cut a few deals with pirates.
To promote your business, you have few options but to work with sites and companies that feature some decidedly Un-Beautiful porn. I can understand why a person with your principles would feel uneasy about being associated with content that is antithetical to all your work represents. To put it more plainly, it must feel a bit icky sometimes.
So when I read this post, I was relieved for you and happy to see another small victory for the Beautiful Porn Revolution.
I like that metaphor a lot. I would be bathing in the seas surrounding that island.
And I really appreciate the kind of genuine understanding you have. It’s a wonderful thing to feel, well, understood. This blog is a great tool for me in that respect.
So true. To reach the stars, you have to travel through a lot of dark space. But at least beautiful porn is sparking bright new stars every day, and space is growing a little less dark and discouraging.
(P.S., I’m not trying to do a metaphor battle with you here, Hrothgar– I like your “sunny tropical island” image much better! Can’t you just see Camille with a parrot on her shoulder, slurping coconut milk through a straw? Oh wait, that’s not coconut milk….)
You are the cutest, Cal! All these analogies make me smile so broadly. They’re all so beautiful, too.
Metaphor Death Match. Its on…bring it Cal, bring it!
I do recall images of Camille lying naked on the shores of a “sunny tropical island” named La Reunion. Though I don’t remember seeing any parrots.
It was a true paradise… Some day, I’ll surely go back. Until then, at least I have my metaphors.
Wow Camille, I’m not sure what to say. Knowing that my “genuine understanding” makes you feel “wonderful” makes me feel rather wonderful myself. I may be your devoted admirer but that makes me no more than an anonymous fan. As such, I would never claim to have a “genuine understanding” of any aspect of your professional life. But the words are yours so I accept them as sincere. You are an amazing person in so ways but it is your intelligence, openness and integrity that has earned my admiration. So, to put it another way, I appreciate that you appreciate my appreciation!
Well, I really do like that… Just being understood and respected in that understanding can be rare sometimes.