Pornography is present in various media forms, including print, comics, paintings, videos, etc. Prostitution is normally described as sexual services in exchange for money. Sometimes, it can also be goods, services, or promises.
Porn stars are given money to act in videos or for pictures; prostitutes are paid for their sexual services. Performers may take part in sex as part of their character—they probably follow a script—but that doesn’t count as sex for hire. Sex in making a video or a photo is just an expression.
What is Prostitution?
Prostitution can be an interesting topic and is also considered a real taboo in today’s world. It’s just one of those things, especially as a youth, you contend with these concepts more, mainly because your testosterone is totally out of control. Moreover, engaging with them from a psychological point of view can reveal some fascinating elements of society as a whole.
It presented a really straightforward concept: a man pays a woman for the opportunity to gain pleasure through sex. The purpose, or the desire of the man, is to pleasure himself and the woman he is paying for the service.
What Is Pornography?
The word pornography covers a wide range of content from nude images to videos of sexual acts. A reasonable amount of the most general internet porn also contains physical and sexual violence. For a few people there is a slight similarity between erotica and porn. A clear distinction is that the porn industry concentrates on the commodification of sex and nude pictures or making sex into something that sells. The most available internet porn often shows people, usually women or people of marginalized groups, as objects who are abused for sexual pleasure.
Porn can be considered as all sexual material primarily to arouse the viewer. The United States Supreme Court has stated that four types of pornography are considered as illegal, which include: indecency, material damaging to minors, obscenity, and child pornography.
- Indecency – includes content on telephone, radio, or TV that contains offensive depictions of sexual content or activities. It is often referred to as “nudity” and “dirty content.”
- Content harmful to minors (HTM) – depicts nudity or sex that has lustful appeal for minors, is inappropriate for minors, and lacks value for minors.
- Obscenity – is hard core violent porn that concentrates on sex and sexual violence. It contains close-ups of graphic sex acts, improper display of the genitals, and abnormal activities such as group sex, torture, incest, and excretory operations.
- Child pornography is content that visually portrays children under the age of 18 engaged in sexual activity, including offensive exhibition of the genitals.
Defining Terms: Is Porn Prostitution?
First, we need to define our terms: porn and prostitution. Few professionals are better at defining terms than a criminal defense lawyer. That’s why we turned to legal blogs to help determine if porn is prostitution.
Porn is defined as: “the depiction of nudity or sexual behavior, which is intended to arouse sexual gratification in the viewer”.
Whereas prostitution is legally defined as this “sexual services in exchange for payment”.
Whether we’re talking about porn or prostitution, actual sexual intercourse is not included as a necessary part of the definition. The very act of soliciting sex for money is legally considered prostitution, before any sexual activity occurs.
What about a porn actor (adult performer)? If a porn actor is paid to have actual sex, isn’t this prostitution in the eyes of the law? No, not really. There are definitely some very blurry lines between porn and prostitution. We base this on first-hand accounts of what actually happens behind the scenes in the porn industry. Even the legal blogs admit this.
So, we have to be very careful how we answer the question “is porn prostitution?” Technically, in the eyes of the law, working as an adult performer in the porn industry is not considered prostitution.
But when we examine any difficult issue worth talking about, it’s important to note both sides of the story — the similarities and the differences. We can’t help but notice that there are some blatant similarities occurring in both industries: hidden money flow, abuse of power, and abuse of people.
How Porn Is Like Prostitution?
From screens to strip clubs and escort sites, streets and sets, the world’s oldest profession will be around as long as we are. Sex on film has never been more accepted. Some call porn unbridled feminism, others label it misogynist subjugation. But while we judge from afar, sex workers remain largely unheard. And the link between that work and what many of us consider harmless digital voyeurism may have dangerous consequences.
Our screen-sex addiction is rewiring the way our brains process pleasure. Intimacy and relationships have become victims of this link — it’s obvious by our window-shopping mentality on apps like Tinder. Some claim a darker connection: it’s causing men to create the fantasies they see online, a behavior forcing women into prostitution.
Women still in the industry were vehement in defending their chosen profession. But the women who’ve left — women who could have slunk away, kept their shame private, and never resurfaced — many of their stories sounded tragically similar.
“I was forced to do the videos,” says Jaimee Johnson, a former adult actress who now runs the Sisters of the Streets nonprofit in California.
From her experience, watching porn alters a viewer’s expectations and behavior, which can be fatal for the people serving those fantasies. “Basically, it’s a cycle of exploitation over and over.
Is Porn Just Legalized Prostitution? Expert Opinions & Controversies
The distinction is a very fine one and comes down to a string of cases finding that porn performances actually constitute acting subject to the artistic expression protections of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Thus, the distinction is that, at least in theory, porn stars are paid to act and prostitutes are paid for sex.
Performers may engage in sex as part of their roles, but that does not count as sex for hire. Sex in the course of creating a movie or a photo is an expression protected under the First Amendment. Generally, the one paying for the sex is also different than the one receiving the benefit of that act, further distancing it from a strictly sex-for-money arrangement. However, some free-speech advocates argue that even first-person movies should be afforded this protection, though no significant cases have gone to court.
Painful Truth: A Link Between Compulsive Porn Use and Using Prostitutes
Robert Weiss, PhD, LCSW, also notes in his 2020 PsychCentral article that common signs of problematic porn use (PPU) include: “Escalation from two-dimensional images to casual/anonymous sexual hookups, paid sex, affairs, etc.”
And while initially some young women or men do choose to participate in the porn industry, there are many who eventually long to get out. They’re tired of the sexual violence and physical abuse! And more importantly, they desperately need financial, physical, and emotional support to break free.
Prostitution has always been a part of human history, dating back to the earliest known biblical references in Genesis. The core reason for prostitution is often sheer survival.
What Porn Actors Say About the Industry?
Brittni De La Mora was one of the top-ranked adult actresses in the world. Her videos literally had millions of views. She wasn’t just a porn actress, she was a star. Brittni explained to me that between the lying, manipulation, and coercion — the porn industry slowly eats away at your soul.
Another example is Josh Broome. To get an idea of his story, Josh won Top Adult Male Performer of the year in 2012! He amassed 1000+ film credits and made multiple six-figures annually. Men and women around the world revered him. This guy had it made.
His agent would often ask him to push his boundaries more and more to land more gigs. Josh went further and further down the path, engaging in sexual acts that he found disturbing. Other times, it wasn’t even in the contract. Sometimes on a set, the producers would ask him to do things that were beyond what Josh had agreed to do. When he pushed back, they gave him two choices: do the act or don’t get paid.
What do Brittni & Josh think about the industry today? Well, let’s put it this way – they both successfully left and have huge global ministries that are turning thousands to Jesus on a regular basis.
Some former porn actors have actually used the word “prostitute” to describe their work in the porn industry. Why? Listen carefully to the true story of Greg (shared below). Becoming a porn actor while facing starvation due to unemployment was a survival choice for him. His “stardom” eventually made him rich, but left him lonely and very unhappy.
“I looked at women like objects. There was no emotion involved in the act of making love. What was that — making love? I had sex for money. I was a prostitute… I lost the ability to have a loving, caring relationship!” — Greg, former award-winning porn star.
FAQs on Porn and Prostitution
1] Is making porn legal but prostitution illegal?
Prostitution is legal in India, but a number of related activities including soliciting, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, prostitution in a hotel, child prostitution, pimping and pandering are illegal.
2] Do porn actors consider themselves sex workers?
A prostitute is someone who gets paid to have sex — the word usually refers to a woman, but there are male prostitutes as well. These days a prostitute is often called a sex worker, and there are many slang words, such as hooker and whore, that mean the same thing.
3] Is watching porn supporting prostitution?
Pornography impacts sexual exploitation in that it affects the minds of consumers and creates a demand that drives trafficking. Stopping the demand through action and education is a choice everyone can make.
4] What are the health risks of both industries?
Sex workers are at increased risk of getting or transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because they are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors (sex without a condom, sex with multiple partners) and substance use.
5] Can you be addicted to porn and prostitutes at the same time?
Sexual addiction which includes both porn and prostitutes is associated with attachment to oxytocin and dopamine