This is a “fact” I heard today. It had something to do with male insecurities and then listed this fact. Since I know NOTHING about the number of male astronauts and male porn stars I thought I would pose the question to you. What do you think?
I really find this doubtful, especially when you considered that there’s a LOT of really cheap, crappy porn out there. Then there’s the fact that porn is made in just about every country in the world, while astronauts come from only, what, two, three countries?
I guess, ultimately, it depends on how you define “porn star”. If it’s “someone who’s very well known for his work in porno movies”, then, yeah, there probably aren’t that many male porn stars. But if you define it as “someone who’s starred in a porno movie, no matter how low-budget, crappy, or obscure it is”, then the number of male porn stars probably ranges in the multi-thousands.
This “fact” may arise from mainstream media coverage given to pornography. In every single article or segment on the subject, I read/hear the same thing; roughly paraphrased it is, “there are many female porn actresses, but only a very small handful of men are able to endure the pressures of pornography, and these men must have complete control over their penises. It’s not about the sex, it’s about the control the mind has over the body”.
Obviously this argument, however diffuse, is bunk. I don’t know how it got started or why it keeps being perpetuated, but I would look at the male porn stars themselves. While it is a lot more difficult for a man to perform in front of cameras and other people than in privacy, the overwhelming quantity of amateur pornography indicates that a large number of people can do it if they want. Certainly the top-notch professionals may perform better than others, but that is not what the “fact” asserts.
There is also a large male gay porn industry. I’m willing to bet that just the gay porn guys alone vastly outnumber all the astronauts trained by the dozen or so countries that have space programs.
Luke Ford’s website lists 337 male porn actors. Some of them have multiple (and highly amusing) noms de film, so YMMV.
Also, not all of them are currently active, ie John Holmes.
The list also does not go back very far. It looks like he’s got a few ‘Stars’ from the 70’s and more complete coverage from the 80’s on.
Are we specifying a timeframe or is the question 'all astronauts ever Vs. all male porn actors ever?
Shiva, I seriously doubt Luke Ford’s data. I probably have close to that number of actors in my private porn collection alone, nevermind in the hundreds of thousands of titles available all over the planet.
Not all astronauts are currently active, either.