# Porn Actors: Higher rate for men or women (or equal pay?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387 "2008-09-26T20:48:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/1 "2008-09-26T20:48:02Z")
So who gets paid better in the porn industry? I have read here that straight male porn actors will do gay porn because the rates are better. How about straight porn - do the men or women get paid better? ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/2 "2008-09-26T21:27:35Z")
I’ve heard similar things, and also that in straight porn women make more money than men and tend to have better careers. Google turned up [this](http://www.listaholic.com/the-5-highest-paid-pornstars.html) and [this](http://en.allexperts.com/q/Adult-Film-2706/male-porn-actors.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/3 "2008-09-26T21:33:14Z")
The actresses get paid substantially more. In porn, the women are what attract the viewers and the men are just props. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/4 "2008-09-26T21:44:52Z")
Men in straight porn don’t make much less than the women. As Little Nemo said all the focus is on the woman (assuming there’s a man involved at all). I think gay porn actors actually make more money that straight post actresses. The gay porn industry is huge considering it’s target audience is only a tenth that of straight porn. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/5 "2008-09-26T21:57:51Z")
You’re all neglecting the super-important lesbian porn actresses! What’s the straight dope there? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/6 "2008-09-26T22:09:12Z")
Porn actors, both male and female, get paid by the scene. By long tradition, the male actor’s scene has to end in orgasm with visible ejaculation - which the female actors can, and do, fake. Even the best “woodsman” in the business can’t do more than a couple of scenes a day. Thus, less money. Couple with that the desire to keep a fresh supply, they sometimes offer a premium to new actresses for their first performance of a particular act on video. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/7 "2008-09-26T22:12:00Z")
Now what of the oft ignored poop-in-a-cup-then-regurgitate-it-demographic? I have to imagine that a great deal of money is involved there. Please tell me 9 figures. Please. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/8 "2008-09-27T10:03:40Z")
> [@SuntanTigerTamer](#): > > Now what of the oft ignored poop-in-a-cup-then-regurgitate-it-demographic? I have to imagine that a great deal of money is involved there. > > Please tell me 9 figures. Please. They used ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/9 "2008-09-27T13:06:48Z")
The book _Stiffed_ by Susan Faludi, the feminist author, gives a very good look into the world of male adult stars. (And various other male professions.) It is not a man-bashing book at all and is actually extremely intelligent and very sympathetic to men’s problems. That book talks about the pressure that male porn actors are constantly under. For women, who are hot anyway, and even some who aren’t, it’s an easy business to make money in, as the book describes it anyway. You show up on time and sober, you get fucked, you treat everyone with courtesy, and you make a few thousand dollars. You can do it over and over again, and there’s _always_ a demand for new female talent. The guys, on the other hand, are little more than human dildos. They don’t get paid as much. They don’t get to choose who they work with (that’s usually up to the woman.) They have to be able to get an erection, on cue, over and over again, with hot lights and camera guys and other people all around, in a completely un-sexy environment. And even with Viagra to help them, they also have to _come_ on cue, which is not an easy thing to do at all. Far from being a glamorous profession, almost all the guys discussed in the book view their work as just that, work, and very difficult and stressful work. Many of them are deeply troubled psychologically and one of the most prolific actors of the 80s, “Cal Jammer,” husband of Jill Kelly, wound up committing suicide because he could not handle the pressure of the job anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/10 "2008-09-27T13:14:29Z")
The one advantage that the men have is that they can keep working for longer. You don’t need to be 25 and a bodybuilder to be a great porn stud, you just need to look _okay_ (the days of Ron Jeremy are over), have a good sized dick and be able to fuck long and hard, and under a lot of pressure, with a lot of stage directions and other distractions. Some of the guys in the business have been in it for decades. Peter North, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/11 "2008-09-27T14:08:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Men in straight porn don’t make much less than the women. As Little Nemo said all the focus is on the woman (assuming there’s a man involved at all). I suppose it depends on how you define “much less”. I’ve heard that the top-paid actress will usually be getting paid ten times as much as the top-paid actor. ---
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/12 "2008-09-27T14:11:30Z")
Someone who used to work at AVN told me that the average pay for women is $1,000.00 for girl/girl, $2,000.00 for straight and $2,500.00-$3,000.00 per scene for anal. He said they don’t shoot scenes for the money, they do it to build their names because the real money is in touring as a dancer and personal website memberships, so getting on the DVD cover is very important to them. Those girls only work between once a week to only a few times a year, if they’re afraid of overexposure and burning out. The ones who do scenes strictly for the money work several times per week with a lot of that being content for websites rather than DVD releases and many of them do anal in almost every scene because of the extra money, but those girls rarely stay in the business for more than 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/13 "2008-09-27T15:20:43Z")
[What’s New Pussycat] Michael: Did you get a job? Victor: Yes, I got something at the strip-tease, I help the girls dress and undress. Michael: Nice job. Victor: Twenty Francs a week. Michael: Not very much. Victor: It’s all I could afford. [/WNP] ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/14 "2008-09-27T18:54:07Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The one advantage that the men have is that they can keep working for longer. You don’t need to be 25 and a bodybuilder to be a great porn stud, you just need to look _okay_ (the days of Ron Jeremy are over), have a good sized dick and be able to fuck long and hard, and under a lot of pressure, with a lot of stage directions and other distractions. Some of the guys in the business have been in it for decades. Peter North, for one. Not so in gay porn - the standard of men in professional porn is very high. Less so in amateur, generally. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/15 "2008-09-27T19:27:00Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Not so in gay porn - the standard of men in professional porn is very high. Well sure, because the men are the attaction in gay porn, whereas the men in straight porn are more like surrogates for the viewer. It’s a whole different ballgame. So to speak. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/16 "2008-09-27T19:56:09Z")
Saw an R rated documentary on Ron Jeremy and the industry a few years ago in which he lamented how an amateur, unknown female would still make more for a scene than he, a household name, would. Can’t speak to the veracity of that. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/17 "2008-09-27T22:15:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I suppose it depends on how you define “much less”. I’ve heard that the top-paid actress will usually be getting paid ten times as much as the top-paid actor. That’s a typo.:smack: It should read “Men in straight porn make much less…” Whoops.:o ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/18 "2008-09-27T23:19:15Z")
Jenna Jameson’s “How To Make Love Like A Porn Star” has a chapter written by a guy in the business detailing what it’s like. They don’t make much money, especially compared to the women. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/19 "2008-09-27T23:57:29Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > They used ice cream. I can’t believe me of all people is doing this but… cite? Not that I don’t believe you but it seems they could have found a substitute that wouldn’t melt. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387/20 "2008-09-28T00:17:35Z")
And like **Argent Towers:** said, it is actually difficult work for the guys. The canonical example given is the 1970’s-era pr0n movie _Alice in Wonderland_ starring Kristine DeBell. They used “real” actors, not male porn stars, and you can see that sometimes, their attention … wanders. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-actors-higher-rate-for-men-or-women-or-equal-pay/465387.md?page=2)