The American pornography industry is worth over $97 billion and is steadily taking over the online world, having been cited as larger than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined. Porn can be a way for performers to express themselves and exercise their sexuality. For viewers, watching porn is a form of expression within itself— it can allow them to identify their sexual identities and can be used as an act of self-care.
In this massive, semi-anonymous industry, it is so important to make sure you are watching ethical porn. Performers deserve a safe workplace where they can work to their enjoyment. Ethical porn involves consent surrounding partners, pay, conditions, time, health, and the acts themselves.
To ensure you’re enjoying ethical porn, make sure you know the production companies and where they’re based. In America, all studios have to follow regulations and compliances to report the ages of their performers and most also make performer consent policies and contracts public for viewers to reference. Some companies also post behind-the-scenes footage that can be very revealing about the conditions and moods of the actors and actresses, as well as the overall environment.
It’s always fun to find the performers and production companies on social media to support them and keep up to date on the scenes they’re proud of and the ones that may have been problematic. This is also a good step at showing your support of the studios and actors that you love. To further this support, most performers have ways to “tip” or otherwise show financial support via their social media. In addition, paying for porn directly from the performer or the company is almost always a sign that porn is ethical and is a sure way to show support.
Overall, this is the most important aspect of ethical porn: support. Performers need to be supported in their careers and their safety. Each and every viewer has a responsibility to show this support by actively seeking ethical options and avoiding clips and films that were not ethically sourced or produced. This is a crucial time to encourage the healthy side of pornography to grow and flourish in this rapidly developing industry.