The pron industry back in the 80s was given to understand by its lawyers that if they did penetration and bondage, they’d get prosecuted. They could do penetration OR bondage, but not both. So lots of lesbian bondage, lots of whipping and flogging, no actual sex while bound. It was perverse, I tell you, perverse! Fears were raised anew early in the Bush Administration, with good reason as the Justice Dept. head, John Ashcroft, was building up a major anti-porn initiative between oil anointings. Then 911 happened and the Justice Department had to go investigate actual criminals. (What a downer for the religious conservatives!) After Ashcroft came Gonzalez, and he wasn’t all that into suppressing the pron, instead being intent on helping Karl Rove corrupt the Justice Department for political purposes. Now we have a Dem administration coming in, and they typically don’t care to suppress the pron. Sucks to be a cultural conservative lately. Well, it sucks to be a cultural conservative all the time since they’re assholes and all, but especially over the last few years cause they can’t get no satisfaction.
I understand that these varieties haven’t gone away. I just don’t see them over cable anymore. I wonder if this is due to some kind of self censorship by the cable distributors, or is based strictly on marketplace forces.