# Prostitution vs. Porno Film

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prostitution-vs-porno-film/271528>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 27, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prostitution-vs-porno-film/271528 "2004-10-27T20:01:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![deviation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@deviation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deviation)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prostitution-vs-porno-film/271528/1 "2004-10-27T20:01:45Z")

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I was wondering why it’s perfectly legal to pay a person to have sex with you for the purposes of making a pornographic movie, but not so when no camera is involved… Any insight into this?

Thanks

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prostitution-vs-porno-film/271528/2 "2004-10-27T20:09:08Z")

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This was done in here sometime in the past few months, but I’m having a hard time finding the old thread.

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prostitution-vs-porno-film/271528/3 "2004-10-27T20:12:27Z")

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Ah, [there ya go](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=261556&highlight=Pornography).

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**Author:** ![Hadrian0117](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Hadrian0117](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian0117)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prostitution-vs-porno-film/271528/4 "2004-10-27T20:13:22Z")

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> [@deviation](#):
>
> I was wondering why it’s perfectly legal to pay a person to have sex with you for the purposes of making a pornographic movie, but not so when no camera is involved… Any insight into this?
> 
> Thanks

California tried to use anti-prositution laws to prosecute adult film actors in the 1970s and lost. The court ruled that it’s legal because in a porn film all participants are _performing_ for finacial gain. _Legally_ they don’t derive any pleasure. You could pay a person (18+) to have sex with you as long as you sell the tape in order to make a profit. Technically it’s a form of artistic expression.

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prostitution-vs-porno-film/271528/5 "2004-10-27T20:18:54Z")

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If we had a FAQ for GQ, this one would definitely be in there. Perhaps Cecil could write a column…