Some Porn Performers Seeing Way Through Coronavirus Shutdown

The coronavirus pandemic has left no sector of society unaffected, including the porn industry, which is in the midst of a voluntary shutdown of new production, in order to help slow the spread of the deadly virus and protect performers’ own health. But according to a report by the entertainment industry news site The Wrap, porn performers may be better equipped than mainstream Hollywood actors and actresses to weather the coronavirus shutdown.  Even as studio-style porn productions are halted, porn performers can easily create their own content for a variety online platforms, using technology they probably alredady own. “All you would need is some decent light, a decent cell phone and a good personality,” Sarah Vandella (pictured above) told the publication. “I’ve seen upticks in some of my income because people are home and they want entertainment and they want to get away from all the corona stuff,” added Maitland Ward, a former mainstream actress turned AVN Award-winning adult performer. “Also I’m stuck at home, too, so I’m doing a lot more content just to fill time as well.” Bella French, a former performer who is now CEO of the camming site ManyVids, expects to see a “spike” in business for her site, even though the company’s Montreal offices are now closed as part of the effort to control the spread of coronavirus, according to the site Brinkwire.  “The thing within the adult space is that we’ve never been affected by things like the economy or anything else in current affairs so I’m excited to see the effect of this,” French said. At the same time, however, porn performers are in a vulnerable position, as “indpendent contractors” who generally lack health insurance, or even a steady income that does not depend on actually showing up to work. Adult star Stoya, a veteran of past shutdowns, wrote a piece for Slate.com titled “What Porn Can Teach Us About Self-Quarantines.” In the article she quotes performer and director Kimberly Kane, who says, “Most people don’t know porn production, and sex work, in general, is a blue-collar job. In the porn industry, we don’t have a union, paid overtime, matched 401(k), or anything that comes with an entry-level corporate job. Porn performing is a gig-economy job.” When porn work dries up, Kane said, performers find themselves with no “safety net.”  Nonetheless, porn performers who choose to continue producing solo content independently could find themselves fulfilling a demand on the part of a general population that suddenly finds itself shut indoors. Also quoted in Stoya's article is Shine Louise Houston, co-founder of Pink and White Productions, who says, “Adult creators are largely independent artists and laborers. Watching adult films online can be a safe way to enjoy sexuality during times of social distancing.” Photos by Jeff Koga/@KogaFoto on the 2020 AVN Awards red carpet