# Why aren't porn stars considered prostitutes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702 "2005-01-08T03:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/1 "2005-01-08T03:56:00Z")
I don’t mean in the moral sense, but in the legal sense. I mean aren’t they having sex for money? And does it mean that if a “client” solicited a prostitute for sex, but filmed it, he could argue that he was paying her for - i dont know what you’d call it - “porn work”, not prostitution, and she could likewise argue the same? I’ll need a quick answer on this, as my court date looms. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/2 "2005-01-08T04:00:41Z")
Just a guess but maybe because a prostitute accepts money from a client whereas someone in pornography is contracted? Would be the same as amateur vs. professional. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/3 "2005-01-08T04:07:34Z")
IIRC, it isn’t deemed prostitution because both parties are being paid to perform on camera, e.g. act, as opposed to the john paying a hooker for irrespecial sex act. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/4 "2005-01-08T04:08:59Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > I don’t mean in the moral sense, but in the legal sense. I mean aren’t they having sex for money? > > And does it mean that if a “client” solicited a prostitute for sex, but filmed it, he could argue that he was paying her for - i dont know what you’d call it - “porn work”, not prostitution, and she could likewise argue the same? > > I’ll need a quick answer on this, as my court date looms. And all this time I thought you worked in a hospital. 😉 ---
**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:** [January 8, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/5 "2005-01-08T04:11:57Z")
One of our most popular questions: > **[Why is porn production legal but prostitution illegal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=261556)** > > I don’t understand why it’s legal for a pornography industry in which people are paid, by producers and directors, to have sex, is legal, but it is against the law in most of the United States for women to prostitute themselves. Aren’t all porn... > **[Where is prostitution legal and illegal? One time as a teenager we took a...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=253214)** > > to Montreal (Quebec province) and were “solicited” by about ten different girls while walking around the downtown city streets. Being an inquisitive block head always out to spoil a good thing, I asked a couple of policemen on foot patrol what the... > **[Porn Stars & Prostitution](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=171970)** > > All right, porn stars are paid to have sex, use their bodies, yadda, yadda, yadda… What is their loophole that makes this not considered prostitution? > **[Why can't I start a porn movie company as a front for prostitution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=165867)** > > It’s legal in California to make porn movies, but prostitution is still illegal there. So, what’s stopping someone from setting up a legit business where customers pay to be an actor/actress for a day? The “crew” would be salaried employees of the... > **[Why is prostitution illegal but making a porn movie is legal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=162039)** > > Why is prostitution illegal but it’s legal to make a porn video? Would prostitution be legal if the two parties videotaped it? Remember, some porn producers, like Max Hardcore, have sex with the women they pay to be in their movies. > **[Can you avoid prostitution charges by filming the proceedings?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=54608)** > > Not that I’d do such a thing. Here’s the premise: prostitution is illegal, but filming an X-rated film (and paying the actors to have sex on camera) isn’t. So, can you avoid being charged with soliciting (is that what johns are charged with?) if you... > **[Legality of adult films](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=16003)** > > Are the things shown in adult films for real? Are they really having intercourse? Is the, um, bodily fluids shown actually real? And if porno actors are getting paid to have sex on film, why aren’t they guilty of the crime of prostitution? > **[A Clever Way Around Prostitution Laws?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=12646)** > > Not that I’d ever do this, BUT… Seems to me that I can hire a prostitute as a “model,” make meticulous copies of her DL and Social Security Card to prove she’s over 18, and then film the act. If I get caught, hey - I was making a porn movie, and the... > **[Why Aren't Porn Performers Arrested for Prostitution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=3935)** > > If getting paid to have sex is considered prostitution, why aren’t porn stars routinely arrested? Don’t they get paid to have sex? Tim “My hovercraft is full of eels.” ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/6 "2005-01-08T04:16:14Z")
ianal/p/p (lawyer, prostitute, nor pornographer) but i think it may have something to do with prostitutes being paid for sexual acts, while porn stars are paid for “acting” also, i believe it is usually the case that porn stars are paid by someone other than the other porn star(s) they appear on film with. this might be one of the mechanisms by which the law distinguishes pron from prostitution. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/7 "2005-01-08T04:23:24Z")
It could be because the person paying the actress is not the one being gratified. The Paying person is not receiving sex, so he or she is not soliciting sex from a pro in return for $$$. The producer is simply trying to make a profit from the sale of the film. A fine point, but such distinctions are the fulcrum upon which laws balance. The other actor did not pay to have sex with the actress, so HE isn’t soliciting anything from her either. This raises the question of self-produced porn. If a guy pays a porn star to screw him on film, is it then prostitution? Like in the OP, a john could set up a camera and claim he was making a film. This is the kind of legal question I’d love to ask a prosecutor but know better than to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/8 "2005-01-08T04:25:07Z")
I was too slow in my post and EVERYBODY beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/9 "2005-01-08T04:32:53Z")
Uglybeech, you didn’t mention what state you’re in, so YMMV. For Florida (the state I’m most familiar with), the law states (FSS 796.07): > [@](#): > > “Prostitution” means the giving or receiving of the body for sexual activity for hire but excludes sexual activity between spouses. It pretty much sounds like acting in a porn film would fit. And I think the arguments about the pleasee not being the one paying wouldn’t make a difference; it if did, then everyone could get around prostitution laws by having a third-party (the John’s buddy, for example) make the payment. IANAL, but very experienced in an aspect of the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/10 "2005-01-08T04:38:22Z")
Well done, **Exapno**. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/11 "2005-01-08T04:57:08Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > One of our most popular questions: OK OK two or three threads would have sufficed. By the 9th link you were just rubbing it in. Still I’m sure noone objects to revisiting the admittedly dry topic of prostitutes and pornography. > [@Starving Artist](#): > > And all this time I thought you worked in a hospital. Yup it’s the best little hospital in Massachusetts 😃 (to answer Raza’s question). I’ll have to review the _9_ previous threads on the issue but in the meantime I’m guessing the producer isn’t barred from acting in porn from what I’ve seen…cough…I mean heard. ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/12 "2005-01-08T06:17:25Z")
Just make sure you don’t post to one of those threads - next rub it in will be the standard who revived this old thread :o ---
**Author:** ![fc1114](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@fc1114](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fc1114)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/13 "2005-01-08T06:35:51Z")
Good timing… this weekend in Las Vegas is the Adult Video Entertainment convention (same time as the Consumer Electronics Show)… maybe I can ask this question of the ladies myself… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SkinnyMinnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@SkinnyMinnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkinnyMinnie)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/14 "2005-01-09T23:34:07Z")
Because the state and federal government recieve taxes for porn whoring, while pimps take the cash from the street whores. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/15 "2005-01-09T23:47:08Z")
What if my friend paid a girl to have sex with me while my friend taped it? ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/16 "2005-01-10T00:47:37Z")
Because porn stars are famous. Whores are not. Therefore porn stars are glamorous, whereas prostitutes are low and degraded. Huge difference, right? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/17 "2005-01-10T00:57:59Z")
WAG: Acting in a porn movie may well be regarded as prostitution (as a matter of law), but in many jurisdictions prostitution, as such, is not a crime. What is criminalised is much of the associated activity; soliciting, streetwalking, brothel-keeping, pimping, etc. So long as the porn industry chooses its production locations carefully and organises itself so as to avoid activity which _is_ criminalised, the fact that it involves prostitution may not be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/18 "2005-01-10T01:08:34Z")
> [@bob\_loblaw](#): > > ianal/p/p (lawyer, prostitute, nor pornographer) but i think it may have something to do with prostitutes being paid for sexual acts, while porn stars are paid for “acting” They’re paid to for acting, not “acting”. Check the linked threads. For as often as this question comes up, I sent it off to Cecil. Dex responded as such: > [@](#): > > Cecil gets around a hundred questions each week, and only answers one in his column. We just don’t have the resources to respond to all of them. Interestingly, the porn professional vs prostitute question has come up twice (independently) in the last two days. Hence, I’m gonna put it into the short list of eight or ten questions that Cecil looks at. > > Cecil could decide to answer in his weekly STRAIGHT DOPE column. Or, he could give your question to the Straight Dope Science Advisory Staff to answer at our website ([www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com)) as a “Staff Report.” Frankly, whether or when this might happen is anybody’s guess. Patience is a virtue, they say. And it’s only fair to note that not all questions get answered. We do our best. So with any luck, we’ll eventually have a column to link to when this question pops up again. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/19 "2005-01-10T01:19:09Z")
Porn kicked into high gear in California after the conviction in the case of California vs. Freeman was overturned in the State’s highest Court, and the appeal rejected for consideration at the Supreme Court level by Justice O’Connor. The first link **Exapno Mapcase** provided contains a lengthy quote of O’Connor’s official decision. In a nutshell: Freeman was charged with five counts of pandering for hiring five actors for a porn film. However, he was not hit with any obscenity charges. Under California Law, prostution the the performance of lewd acts for money. A lewd act is one in which various predictable body parts are placed in contact with the body of another person for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification for either the customer or the prostitute. The State Supreme Court ruled the payments to be “acting fees”, paid for performing in a film rather than committing lewd acts for money, and decided that declaring that you can not pay someone to appear in a non-obscene film would be a violation of the First Amendment. O’Connor more or less concurred with the SSC’s opinion, and the matter was closed. And the floodgates opened. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Deschain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@Roland\_Deschain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Deschain)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702/20 "2005-01-10T05:44:56Z")
So if I live in California and I hire five “actors” to have sex (possibly with me or my wife) and then film the whole thing (throwing in a few bad lines and some corny music) I can pay them right? Maybe, this could be turned into a business (just for extra security all of the “actors” would pay the fee and fill out the paperwork to join the screen actors guild). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-porn-stars-considered-prostitutes/283702.md?page=2)