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You know the saying, “Sex sells.” Just go into a lingerie store or turn on your television or radio. Sex is everywhere and doesn’t it seem as if everyone, everywhere wants and needs it? Adult entertainment is now viewed around the clock with no separation between night and day. No matter where you live or your background, adults have a love affair with adult entertainment. It consistently ranks in the top ten topics for Internet searches and Business Insider claims there are more than 26 million adult rated web sites with 40 million regular consumers of online adult entertainment in the U.S. alone. The sex industry is estimated to gross $12 billion in the United States and more than $57 billion worldwide. When the VCR made it possible for everyone to watch adult entertainment in the privacy of their own home, the industry exploded. Now with the Internet, it is out of control.
Here are 12 surprising facts the general public doesn't know about the p*rn industry.
13. Do women like adult rated films?
A lot of women watch adult rated films, even though most claim to hate it. According to Nielsen ratings, 1 in 3 adults surfing p*rn sites are women, and more than 13 million watch online adult rated films on a monthly basis. This is where it gets tricky, watching adult films is much more embarrassing for women to admit to, as this next study contradicts what we just read. According to a recent Pew research center survey, only 8 percent of women admit to watching p*rn. So which is it? Many studies assume that women are quite interested in online adult entertainment but the majority just don't pay for it and don't discuss it. Fun fact; group sex videos are more popular for women than they are with men, bet you didn't know that!
12. Online adult entertainment subscribers
A Harvard study found that the state of Utah had the most online adult entertainment subscribers per every 1,000 broadband users. Benjamin Edelman, who reported his findings writes, "Subscriptions are slightly more prevalent in states that have enacted conservative legislation on sexuality.” The ironic thing is that approximately 63% of people who live in Utah are reported to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Idaho and Montana have the lowest rate of adult entertainment subscriptions per thousand broadband users.
11. Body parts we focus on
In a recent study, heterosexual male and female participants viewed a series of sexually explicit videos downloaded off of the Internet. The reason for the study was to measure what first captured people’s attention. Eyes and lips win out over breasts for the body part that men focus on.
The reason men focus on the face is to gauge how turned on the women are. The more the women were turned on, the more likely the men watching adult entertainment seek out pleasure. Females were put into two categories; those on the pill and those off the pill. Birth control pills keeps a woman's hormone levels relatively constant, whereas naturally cycling women experience natural fluctuations. With that said, those women who were not on the pill focused more on men's bodies and private parts then those who were on the pill.
10. Billions of dollars on sex
The combined revenues of pay-per-view movies on cable and satellite, Internet websites, in-room hotel movies, phone sex, sex toys, and adult magazines in the United States is no less than $10 billion.
Yes, the adult entertainment industry is booming! And because it is booming, a survey was done at the Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Sheraton and Holiday Inn hotels and the results are in: If you stay at a hotel, don’t be bashful, 70% of room service revenue comes from ordering adult entertainment. Here's how it works: The hotels share the revenue with the in-room entertainment companies that provide the content. The more adult content that is provided and bought by customers, the more money the hotels are given.
9. Couples who watch adult films together
A 2011 study found that couples who watched adult entertainment together, reported being more committed and sexually satisfied than couples where one partner watched it alone. The study though, depended on how much adult entertainment was watched and if the partners watched it alone more than watching it together. Men and women had a different take on watching adult material.
As reported by Psychology Today, women who watched adult entertainment regularly thought less of their partners and developed jealousy and anxiety. Women also saw it more of a threat to the stability of their relationship. On the other hand, men tend to think that watching adult entertainment has only positive consequences. Studies have shown that more men than women think that watching adult material can help them explore their sexuality and also adds “spice” to what goes on in the bedroom.
8. Nearly 2.5 billion emails per day are adult rated, which is 8% of all emails
Explicit Internet material was the first big internet safety topic to make news. Even though the press seems to ignore it today, it's still a major problem that society is facing. If you think about the emails you receive, “Jane X can't wait to see you tonight,” and then those that actually click the link sent in the email, that means that 12% of the websites on the Internet are of the adult rated kind. That’s almost 25 million sites.
People not only email or watch online content when work is done, 2 out of 3 HR employees have found adult rated materials on employees' work computers.
7. The truth about men and adult entertainment
Researchers have had a hard time trying find out how watching p*rn affects relationships. One of the main reasons they can't come to a conclusion is because it is nearly impossible to find a grown man who doesn't watch p*rn. To add to that, the University of Montreal searched for men who had never watched adult films, for their study but the problem was they couldn't find any. So instead they asked this group of male University students about the first time they began watching adult rated films and the average age was shockingly 10.
6. The most popular day for searches
Data reveals that people log on after certain holidays that require them to be with family or friends for extended periods of time but not on those exact holidays. People tend to log on after the fact that a holiday has happened, which explains itself. For instance, another day that people don't watch adult films, is New Year's Day. One word: hungover.
There are other days though, that have huge traffic on these types of sites. A big day for men to log on to adult entertainment sites was the Monday after the Superbowl but one of the biggest days that people watch p*rn is actually the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Finally, when logged onto the adult sites, the average site visit lasts up to 6 minutes.
5. The industry is highly regulated
In the 1980s, an HIV outbreak led to the death of several film actors, including Al Parker, Marc Stevens, Wade Nichols, and John Holmes. There have been 22 reported HIV cases in the adult entertainment industry in the United States. This prompted the industry to come up with, The Adult Industry Medical Associates P.C. (formally Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation), also known simply as AIM or AIM Medical, was an organization that tested adult entertainment stars for HIV and other STIs on a regulated basis.
4. Who makes more money?
According to Business Insider, for the select few females who make it to the top of the industry, paychecks can be "upward of $350,000 a year, while top male performers can make more than $100,000 annually.
A popular girl is going to work a minimum of 10 times per month, performing different scenes, unless there is only one type of scene she will do. And 80% of an actress' annual revenue is derived from movies, and the remaining 20% could be generated from exotic dancing to sex-toy sales and personal website subscriptions. The average pay for a male adult star is $500-600 for straight sex only. Same sex adult film stars make 3x times more.
3. Court cases
The 1988, People vs. Freeman court cases stated that adult film production, as long as it does not “hurt” others, was protected as free speech under the First Amendment. As a result, the making of h*rdc*re adult entertainment was effectively legalized in California. But first Harold Freeman, was convicted of pandering- procurement of persons "for the purpose of prostitution" which was the prosecution's attempt by California to shut down the adult film industry. The case was overturned.
In other words, if it involves consenting adults, it is protected by law because any performance of a live play comes within the same First Amendment protection as motion pictures.
2. Adult films and feminists
According to feminists, adult entertainment is an expression of male culture through which women are exploited and seen as sex objects. Most true feminists see adult entertainment as violence against women. Look at the movie, 50 Shades of Grey and how feminists reacted to it. Feminists hold the view that adult films and videos add to sexism, arguing that women are for sexual use and abuse by men. They argue that adult entertainment is traditionally created around men's pleasure as the only goal of sexual activity, and that the women are shown in a subordinate role. There are though some feminists who believe that adult entertainment is an expression of a women's right to show her sexuality and feel that it is empowering as well. But overall feminism is against women taking part in any and all acts in the adult film productions.
1. Lisa Ann
For those of you who don't know her, Lisa Ann is among the most popular adult film stars today. As P*rnHub reports, Lisa Anne was the most searched adult actress in 2014, coming in at number one for the United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, Canada, Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Egypt and Romania. Funny enough, Kim Kardashian ( not a p*rn star but has a sex tape) was the top search for those living in Australia. One more fact, in almost all of the countries listed above, 'mom' was among most of their top searches.
Sources: people.hbs.edu, kickassfacts.com, 1points.com, damnlol.com, ebaumsworld.com, businessinsider.com, telegraph.co.uk, huffingtonpost.com, dailymail.co.ukl, alternet.org, buzzfeed.com, huffingtonpost.com