# Why are all porn actors referred to as "stars"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583 "2018-03-15T03:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/1 "2018-03-15T03:11:48Z")
Whenever a porn actor is in the news, the media always refer to a porn “star.” You wold think there are no actors, only stars. Are all these people really stars and I just don’t watch enough porn to know them, or is this some sort of tongue-in-cheek hyperbole? ---
**Author:** ![Potestas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Potestas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Potestas)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/2 "2018-03-15T03:12:35Z")
Its self-promotion within a fairly small industry ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/3 "2018-03-15T03:18:35Z")
It’s not actually all that inaccurate to call them stars, since porn movies don’t typically have large casts and each scene usually doesn’t have more than two or three performers. It’s not like there’s any “supporting roles” in porn, pretty much every performer is the main subject of their particular scene. Basically if you’ve been in a porn movie, you’ve starred in a porn movie, and if you’ve starred in a porn movie, you’re a porn star. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/4 "2018-03-15T03:24:35Z")
Stanislavski supposedly said, “There are no small parts, only small actors.” Except in porn. In porn, they all have monster cocks. That’s what makes them _stars_. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/5 "2018-03-15T03:30:41Z")
Are the male actors also referred to as porn stars? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/6 "2018-03-15T04:27:03Z")
Questions on show biz go in Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/7 "2018-03-15T04:49:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Stanislavski supposedly said, “There are no small parts, only small actors.” Except in porn. In porn, they all have monster cocks. That’s what makes them _stars_. I beg to differ. The female people in porn only occasionally have monster cocks. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/8 "2018-03-15T04:50:57Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > It’s not actually all that inaccurate to call them stars, since porn movies don’t typically have large casts and each scene usually doesn’t have more than two or three performers. It’s not like there’s any “supporting roles” in porn, pretty much every performer is the main subject of their particular scene. Basically if you’ve been in a porn movie, you’ve starred in a porn movie, and if you’ve starred in a porn movie, you’re a porn star. You know what? That seems like a total legit loophole they have taken advantage of. There are supporting roles though. Sometimes all a guy does is hand over the motel keys. Or so I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/9 "2018-03-15T05:23:52Z")
I’ve seen plenty of (badly written) articles refer to mainstream actors as “movie stars” almost exclusively. This isn’t a trope unique to the porn industry. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/10 "2018-03-15T06:05:27Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > It’s not like there’s any “supporting roles” in porn … There are plenty, in which the lady is supported in the air, sometimes upside down even, by the male while he pounds away. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/11 "2018-03-15T06:26:59Z")
You’ve got it backwards - it’s because no-one wants to compliment them by referring to them as actors. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/12 "2018-03-15T09:26:44Z")
“pornstar” sounds like “rockstar” “pornstar” is easier to say and doesn’t make you giggle like when you say “porn actress” “pornstar” has evolved into its own descriptor. If a person is in porn but has crossed-over enough to warrant reference in mainstream media, go with pornstar. Same thing happened with supermodel. And rockstar, for that matter, although that has gotten even more diluted and applied as an adjective - rockstar chef, rockstar entrepreneur, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/13 "2018-03-15T10:42:14Z")
Inflation over time and not restricted to porn. Remember when there were about about 5 supermodels in the world, and about the same number of celebrity chefs? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/14 "2018-03-15T10:55:28Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sometimes all a guy does is hand over the motel keys. Or so I’ve heard. But nobody would ever call that guy a porn star, thats just a guy who had a bit part in a porn movie. The only people who get called porn stars are the people having the sex. The people fucking are the stars of the porn movie. They are pornstars. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/15 "2018-03-15T11:26:53Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sometimes all a guy does is hand over the motel keys. Never considered stars, but unsung heroes. I mean, if nobody made the pizzas, none of the rest would ever happen. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/16 "2018-03-15T12:27:56Z")
I read somewhere that male porn “stars” get paid more on the grounds that it’s harder for them to perform. In these days, with chemical assistance being available, is that still true and are we likely to see an equality claim anytime soon? ---
**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:** [March 15, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/17 "2018-03-15T12:40:48Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I read somewhere that male porn “stars” get paid more on the grounds that it’s harder for them to perform. In these days, with chemical assistance being available, is that still true and are we likely to see an equality claim anytime soon? That’s never been true. Male porn stars are little more than props, and paid accordingly. Not to mention there’s no shortage of guys willing to take the part. “Known” male stars get more, but run-of-the-mill stunt dicks get paid about the same as the crew. > **[Porn's dirtiest secret: What everyone gets paid](https://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/20/porns-dirtiest-secret-what-everyone-gets-paid.html)** > > Money is shrouded in mystery in porn. While it's widely presumed to be a multibillion dollar industry, there's no real accounting to back that up. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2018, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/18 "2018-03-15T12:45:55Z")
Yeah - I guess a little research… > [@](#): > > In a world where the gender pay gap is pervasive in a plethora of industries, porn is an exception. Hay says it is “universally known that women get paid a lot more” but said successful male actors are paid “what most people would think is a lot” and suggested they have an advantage in being able to work more than women. > > [How much porn stars really get paid, according to leading agent for adult actors | The Independent | The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/porn-stars-income-how-much-get-paid-for-what-adult-film-actor-agent-derek-hay-pornography-a7569746.html) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/19 "2018-03-15T13:00:14Z")
_National Lampoon_ once had a cartoon which showed an orgy scene, with an arrow pointing at an anonymous female derriere, and the caption, “As Ethel aged, she no longer commanded star billing, and was relegated to character roles”. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583/20 "2018-03-15T13:04:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In porn, they all have monster cocks. That’s what makes them _stars_. Stanislavski said that? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-all-porn-actors-referred-to-as-stars/810583.md?page=2)