Alt porn

Altporn (or alternaporn) is a contraction of "alternative pornography". Altporn tends to involve members of such subcultures as goths, punks, or ravers and is often produced by small and independent studios or managers. It often features models with body modifications such as tattoos, piercings, or scarifications, or temporary modifications such as dyed hair. While "alternative" or "subcultural" models have made occasional appearances in pornography as far back as the 1970s, the first venue explicitly devoted to "subcultural erotica" was Blue Blood, a glossy magazine that began in 1992 and featured models with a goth or cyberpunk look. The films and photography of Richard Kern can also be viewed as early examples of altporn, though his work was typically publicized as sexually explicit art rather than pornography.

The biggest market for altporn, however, has been on the Internet. Other than a few ephemeral personal websites, the earliest explicitly altporn site was NakkidNerds.com [1], which began in 1997. This was followed in early 1999 with Blue Blood's GothicSluts.com [2], followed shortly after by Raverporn.net (later renamed eroticBPM.com) [3] in July of the same year. SuicideGirls [4] began in late 2001, and has grown to become the most popular and financially lucrative altporn site. SuicideGirls is generally credited with coining the phrase altporn; longer-standing sites, such as Blue Blood's, generally use terms such as "counterculture erotica" or "subcultural erotica".

Altporn websites are often distinguished by their use of message boards, blogs, social networking, and other features of online community, encouraging participation by both models and viewers. While these features are not exclusive to altporn sites, more typical porn sites tend to feature more or less anonymous models who are viewed by anonymous visitors.

Altporn-themed videos are also become a growing niche in the adult video market. The work of directors Stephen Sayadian and Gregory Dark during the 1980s and early 1990s had many of the features of later altporn and are often cited as an influence on current altporn video. In 2001, two amateur videos under the title Technosex were produced, featuring women involved in the rave scene and a techno music soundtrack. Since 2004, director Eon Mckai [5] has been producing altporn-themed videos for VCA, an otherwise mainstream adult video studio, and in 2006 was signed by Vivid Entertainment to produce altporn-themed videos under the Vivid-Alt imprint. [6]

Many members of the altporn community disagree on the definition of altporn. Some consider it mostly an aesthetic quality while others see it as having a more ideological definition. This includes controversies over whether altporn sites and videos should restrict themselves to softcore pin-up photography or include more sexually explicit hardcore content, whether altporn need be explicitly feminist or not, and whether altporn venues should present models of both sexes and a range of body types rather than just conventionally attractive young women. Since every pornography company conducts its business and treats its models differently, it is hard to define it on an ideological basis, although the models' freedom to speak their mind both about the industry, their employers, and political agendas is considered by some to be a vital part of the altporn community. SuicideGirls have been criticized for restricting their employees' ability to make public comments of this nature. [7] [8]

Some also consider political pornography, such as Vegporn.com [9], to be altporn. Joanna Angel of Burning Angel has described altporn simply as "Porn that comes from the heart".

See also

• Amateur pornography

External links

• About Altporn
• ALTHotCouples.com