# Where do all these porn actors come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135 "2010-08-04T12:30:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/81 "2019-05-20T15:31:47Z")
I researched porn for the chapter on sexbots in my forthcoming robot book. One, _2040_, released in 2009, has a fully-fledged plot about a future world in which diseases has limited porn to artificial beings. 2016’s _Sexbots: Programmed for Pleasure_ has a five-minute opening explanation before getting down to wall-to-wall sex, though. Stormy Daniels is in it. Both are entirely vanilla, and I remember no choking or slapping, for those who are squeamish. There’s also a huge industry in parody porn, everything from Star Trek XXX to the Beverly Hillbillies XXX. They are plotted, at least as much as a sitcom is. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/82 "2019-05-20T18:43:36Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Yeah, porn is supposed to be fantasy and nothing more. It, for sure, should not be viewed as a ‘how to’ guide, but I think it is too often. I wouldn’t know, but people aren’t idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/83 "2019-05-20T18:47:34Z")
I would be willing to bet that a lot less than 1% of women are willing to do porn. While I’m sure there are a lot of girls that have done one-offs for some extra money, the amount of bankable porn stars with a name behind them is pretty small. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/84 "2019-05-20T18:51:29Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > As a single person just recently back into dating I have been a little shocked as to how many women are asking for rough sex, spitting, slapping, choking etc. It is a total turn off for me. I guess watching porn is where they are getting this from. Romantic lovemaking and foreplay seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur. I am starting to think porn may be the reason behind this to a large extent. Or, alternatively, since rough sex has become much more mainstream (that seems indisputable), they feel freer to ask for things they wouldn’t have dared to mention in the past. On BDSM pages, one of the most common question is “I’m really turned on by X or Y, but my boyfriend/husband is the romantic/vanilla type and I don’t dare to mention it” (almost only asked by women). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/85 "2019-05-20T18:55:25Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I don’t know from experience but if you’re interested I’ve heard a tip: > > Get a reasonably attractive girl (she doesn’t even have to be _that_ attractive) who wants to do porn. Have her go to a producer and tell them she will only work with you. > > Voila. You’re now a male porn star. At least, you’ve broken in and can try to network for gigs with other actresses if you’re good enough. You don’t even need to know any women, you just buy a camera, move to the San Fernando Valley, get on your computer and visit any number of online “adult model” directories, hire a girl (or whatever you’re into), do your shoot, edit (though not really even necessary from a lot of what I’ve seen, I mean heard about), and upload to any number of free porn sites, or create your own. You’re now a male porn star, AND potentially, an entrepreneur. Most of the money is on the producer/ownership side anyways. On-screen male talent gets paid almost nothing. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/86 "2019-05-20T20:54:42Z")
> [@fkbugaboo](#): > > The moral of this story is that prostitution is only legal when we all get to watch. Not at all. Film your session with a prostitute and tell the cops who busted you that you’re making a porn, and you just turned your misdemeanor into a serious felony. Porn is only legal in some locations, and there are onerous requirements which must be met. Fail to meet those requirements, and the consequences are much worse than being busted for visiting a prostitute. Also, I think people in this thread are missing the key truism of porn: _All porn is niche_. There _is_ no mainstream porn. The spitting and slapping porn is for people who like spitting and slapping. The step sibling porn is for people who like step siblings. The painful anal porn is for people who like painful anal. And you can find plenty of loving and gentle porn, too. And a whole category for “popular with women”, whatever that means. With pornhub and redtube and the like, it’s very easy to search for your niche. There’s no need to watch people abuse each other if you aren’t into that sort of thing. Sure, it might take some practice and a little time to figure out what you’re into and the appropriate search terms. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/87 "2019-05-20T21:08:21Z")
The whole step-incest thing is disturbing to me. I know it’s fake, but it’s still disturbing: same with spitting and BDSM. No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/88 "2019-05-20T21:39:03Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The whole step-incest thing is disturbing to me. I know it’s fake, but it’s still disturbing: same with spitting and BDSM. > No thanks. No step-incest… Only full on incest then? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/89 "2019-05-20T21:42:21Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > No step-incest… Only full on incest then? Haven’t seen that. Don’t want to. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/90 "2019-05-20T21:46:26Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Haven’t seen that. Don’t want to. It’s a puzzle why the “step” taboo is all the rage but actual (fake) incest is still a bridge too far. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/91 "2019-05-20T23:31:18Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Or, alternatively, since rough sex has become much more mainstream (that seems indisputable), they feel freer to ask for things they wouldn’t have dared to mention in the past. > > On BDSM pages, one of the most common question is “I’m really turned on by X or Y, but my boyfriend/husband is the romantic/vanilla type and I don’t dare to mention it” (almost only asked by women). I can understand the manly take charge aspect of rough sex but I can’t get behind just inflicting pain or degradation for it’s own merit. Does nothing for me. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/92 "2019-05-20T23:43:37Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > It’s a puzzle why the “step” taboo is all the rage but actual (fake) incest is still a bridge too far. Incest is illegal. In a lot of places, illegal sex (rape, incest, bestiality, pedophillia) is illegal in porn too. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/93 "2019-05-20T23:44:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > It’s a puzzle why the “step” taboo is all the rage but actual (fake) incest is still a bridge too far. My guess is that it’s easy for people who aren’t into banging their stepsister to ignore it. If you skip over the first few seconds where they talk about “what if Mom finds out?”, it’s just regular straight porn. Whereas it’s much harder to ignore anal if you’re not into anal. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/94 "2019-05-21T01:40:24Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I wouldn’t know, but people aren’t idiots. Boy, do I wish that was true. But many people are, most certainly, idiots. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/95 "2019-05-21T01:59:16Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > It’s a puzzle why the “step” taboo is all the rage but actual (fake) incest is still a bridge too far. The weird thing is there was period back in the nineties when incest-themed porn had a wave of popularity. And in these movies the characters were supposed to be actual relatives. But nowadays, any porn with an incest theme will almost always define the characters as step-siblings. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/96 "2019-05-21T04:57:32Z")
Japanese porn has a lot of in-laws involved. Father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, or brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They also have their share of step-mother and son although not as much step-father and daughter, but this isn’t really by cup of tea so I could be wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/97 "2019-05-21T14:42:15Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Not at all. Film your session with a prostitute and tell the cops who busted you that you’re making a porn, and you just turned your misdemeanor into a serious felony. Porn is only legal in some locations, and there are onerous requirements which must be met. Fail to meet those requirements, and the consequences are much worse than being busted for visiting a prostitute. Huh? In the US or worldwide? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/98 "2019-05-21T14:47:30Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Incest is illegal. In a lot of places, illegal sex (rape, incest, bestiality, pedophillia) is illegal in porn too. That could be it. It would be illegal for a father to have sex with his 19 year old daughter, but not a 19 year old step daughter. Okay, I just looked it up for Washington State. Among other things, a person can’t have sex with a descendant, defined to include “stepchildren and adopted children under eighteen years of age.” So, does “under eighteen years of age” apply just to adopted children or to stepchildren too? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/99 "2019-05-21T15:32:41Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Incest is illegal. In a lot of places, illegal sex (rape, incest, bestiality, pedophillia) is illegal in porn too. That may be. Just for the record, that’s not true in the U.S. Depictions of crimes are not in themselves crimes. Rape can easily be faked, just as it is in non-porn. Incest can legally be part of a creative work, assuming the actors are not closely related in real life. Pedophilia, assuming that prepubescents aren’t involved, can be easily faked by using a young-looking 18 year old. There are at least five states with no bestiality laws. All of them are quite legal in written work, BTW, protected by the First Amendment. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135/100 "2019-05-21T15:43:53Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I wouldn’t know, but people aren’t idiots. Sure they are. And if you happen to find someone who has only known people who learned from the internet, then the bar for being The World’s Greatest Lover is pretty low. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-all-these-porn-actors-come-from/549135.md?page=6)