US Sex Sells News

A traveller to the distinctly unfriendly Texas town of Crockett (which bills itself as The Cleanest, Friendliest City in Texas) fell victim to an unfriendly ban on sex toys.

For some reason the guy was targeted by county police, who asked if they could search his hotel room. The man, apparently being under the impression that he'd committed no crime, consented to the search.

They found a laptop bag containing 11 sex toys -- so they promptly busted him under Texas' Obscene Device Law which states, A person who possesses six or more obscene devices or identical or similar obscene articles is presumed to possess them with intent to promote the same.

Now, many people are under the impression that the legality of sex toys in Texas was settled back in February of 2008, when a US appeals court ruled that a ban on sex toys was unconstitutional. However, the promotion of obscene devices would remain illegal in 20 counties.

So while Alabama is now the only state with an official prohibition on selling or possessing sex toys, those planning to travel to Texas with their dildos or strokers might want to limit the selection they bring.

An era of adult television has come to an and, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times , which reported that the Time-Warner owned, pay cable network HBO has spent the summer, quietly and without fanfare, removing its once-prodigious library of erotic documentaries and entertainment programs from the network and the HBO streaming platforms, HBO Go and HBO Now.

Since the 1990s, HBO has produced and broadcast such series as the influential Real Sex , the Las Vegas brothel reality series Cathouse , and recurring instructional sex specials hosted by adult performer Katie Morgan.

But HBO has not produced new adult late night programs for several years, and now the network will no longer offer repeats or archived shows from its adult category either.

While HBO's new owner, the telecom giant AT&T, informed HBO employees earlier this year that it planned big changes for the network, the elimination of HBO's erotic fare, network execs told the Times , was not mandated by AT&T and in fact began well before the telecom conglomerate took over. The reason that HBO is ditching their late night lineup, according to what one spokesperson told the Times , is simply that HBO viewers have lost interest, most likely due to the proliferation of adult content online.

Update: Never enough

3rd September 2018. See article from w2.parentstv.org

US moralists always want more. The Parents Television Council writes:

The Parents Television Council applauds HBO and its corporate parent, AT&T, for removing the pornographic content from its platform -- but urges AT&T to make the same move by removing X-rated pornographic content from DirecTV. PTC President Tim Winter whinged:

AT&T's HBO made a wise decision to remove pornographic content, even citing that 'there wasn't strong demand for this kind of adult programming.' While that is a huge positive step forward, the same logic should also extend to AT&T-owned DirecTV, which still offers hardcore pornographic content to subscribers.

How can a company that says it is built on responsibility continue to deliver and profit from pornography? How much does DirecTV porn really increase the earnings per share? Is this a reasonable tradeoff for a so-called responsible company?

Given that AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson was the 36th National President of the Boy Scouts, it's hard to reconcile that role with the DirecTV pornographic lineup. Are the explicit pornographic titles on DirecTV about grandmothers, mothers, or stepsisters what he wants his scouts to be thinking of?

The winners of the 2018 XRCO Awards have been announced.

The two biggest winners, by little surprise, were Angela White and Greg Lansky, who picked up three trophies each including Female Performer of the Year for White and Best Director (Non-Features) for Lansky.

...And the winning videos were:

• BEST RELEASE The Submission of Emma Marx: Evolved , New Sensations Erotic Stories
• BEST PARODY Justice League XXX: An Axel Braun Parody , Axel Braun/Wicked
• BEST COMEDY Bad Babes Inc , Adam & Eve Pictures
• BEST GONZO MOVIE Angela 3 , AGW/Girlfriends
• BEST GONZO SERIES Angela Loves ... , AGW/Girlfriends
• BEST GIRL/GIRL SERIES Women Seeking Women , Girlfriends Films
• BEST POV SERIES Bang POV , BangBros/Girlfriends
• BEST ETHNIC SERIES Interracial Icon , Blacked/Jules Jordan
• BEST ACTRESS Jill Kassidy, Half His Age: A Teenage Tragedy , Pure Taboo/Pulse
• BEST ACTOR Tommy Pistol, Ingenue , Wicked Pictures

See full list of winners from avn.com

A new Gallop poll has been published surveying the opinions of Americans on the subject of pornography.

For the first time, a majority of Democrats do not have moral qualms about pornography. The poll found that 53%t of Democrats see pornography as morally acceptable, an 11 point spike from last year and the biggest jump since Gallup began taking the survey in 2011.

Across a number of issues related to sexuality and sex, Americans have been adopting a more permissive viewpoint.

The percentage of all Americans who view pornography as morally acceptable jumped 7% this year to 43%. Previously the supportive fraction has risen only one or two percentage points each year.

Republican acceptance of pornographic material has also increased but remains relatively low at 27%.

Instagram has censored the hashtag #stripper and several related keywords that dancers use to find each other and organize online. Now, sex workers are taking to social media to spread the word, decry censorship, and suggest workarounds.

Currently, when you search Instagram for #stripper or #strippers, you are given a preview of just a couple top posts in the category. But if you click through to view the entire hashtag, the following message appears:

Recent posts from #strippers are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram's community guidelines.

The same thing was reportedly happening until very recently with a handful of related hashtags, including #yesastripper, #stripperstyle, and #stripperlife--but those appear to be back in action, demonstrating how quickly the sex work community has to adapt and change.

Instagram has yet to comment about the censorship, but is surely because of the recent US internet censorship law FOSTA. This would make Instagram responsible should any posts to #stripper be used to facilitate sex trafficking. As Instagram is unable to vet all such postings for possible traffcking then the only practical option is to ban all posts about sex work.

Update: Unbanned

1st June 2018. See article from avn.com

By Thursday morning, Instagram had apparently backed down, telling Jezebel that, the hashtag #stripper can again be used and seen by the community in the spirit in which they are intended.

Instagram sent a statement on Thursday effectively rescinding the ban:

The safety of our community is our number one priority and we spend a lot of time thinking about how we can create a safe and open environment for everyone, Instagram said in the statement. This includes constantly monitoring hashtag behavior by using a variety of different signals, including community member reports. Access to recent posts and following hashtags are sometimes restricted based on content being posted with those hashtags. The hashtag #stripper can again be used and seen by the community in the spirit in which they are intended.

A Missouri state Senate committee is considering a resolution that would declare pornography a public health threat. The Republican-backed resolution declares that pornography perpetuates a sexually toxic environment.

The resolution argues that pornography can contribute to emotional and medical illnesses, shape deviant sexual arousal and has negatively affected the family unit.

GOP state Senator Ed Emery, whinged:

In my opinion, what is unveiled by a personal moral failure may be a reflection of a disturbing and invasive social evil -- that of the proliferation of pornography and modern culture's ambivalence toward it.

Far too often, such behavior grows out of an exposure to pornography, he added. Where is the outcry against the evil of pornography?

As the sun sets on online freedoms, sex workers of all kinds are quietly and swiftly being silenced on social media. Rightfully they're fed up, and are fighting back with a new website Switter, a play on 'sex workers' and 'Twitter', which is an alternative social network that's created by, and for, sex workers.

Switter's creation was initially in response to sites like Twitter, where those in the sex industry have been finding themselves "shadow banned", ie banned by the internet company acting on its own motivations rather than banned by the laws of the land.

Sex workers have always been more or less banned by Facebook but since the new Sosta law, major companies are setting out to censor all sex content as th emores practical or cost effective way of addressing the Sosta requirement to censor sex trafficking content.

Even Skype, the platform that many independent sex workers use to run their private shows, has specified in their latest Code of Conduct that the services not be used for "inappropriate content or material" like "nudity" and "pornography."

The new social network obviously can't be US based so the mantle has fallen to an Australian company, Assembly Four. The software is based on the open source Mastodon and does not have any built-in tracking, doesn't enforce real name policies, and doesn't' ask for any personal information for profiles.

Its early days yet, but the fledging social network says it already has about 8,000 members.

Kentucky is joining the list of states that claim that porn is somehow a threat to public health.

A Kentucky lawmaker, state Senator David Givens, has introduced a resolution in his state that would recognize porn as a public health crisis.

So far, five states -- Florida, Utah, Kansas, Tennessee and Virginia -- have voted on passing such resolutions. And others, like Idaho, are considering to vote on such a proposal.

Resolution SR170 moves to recognize pornography as a public health crisis, acknowledge the need for education on the harmful effects of pornography, encourage prosecution of obscenity and exploitation offenses, and commend law enforcement efforts to fight Internet crimes against children.

Jerry Butler, a Golden Age porn actor who appeared in more than 500 adult movies in a career that spanned from 1981 to 1993, has died at the age of 58.

Butler entered the world of adult in 1981 after he answered an ad in Backstage magazine. Initially he auditioned for a non-sex role, but landed a sex role in the 1981 film Young, Wild and Wonderful . After being featured in the big-budget films Roommates in 1981 and In Love in 1983 for Chuck Vincent, he relocated to Los Angeles to act and perform full-time in adult pictures. His performance in In Love won him Hustler's Best Actor Award that year.

Butler created a stir in the industry when he published his autobiography Raw Talent in 1989. The title came from one of his best-known films, which told the story of a talented but struggling actor who gets sucked into making porn, winning the fame he craved, but losing himself along the way. His life story, as told to Robert Rimmer and Catherine Tavel, contained some unflattering details about his colleagues, and claimed there was widespread drug abuse in the industry.

And just a few examples from his filmography:

1993 Savannah Superstar (Video)
1992 Another Dirty Western (Video)
1992 Best Butte in the West (Video)
1989 Simply Irresistible (Video)
1988 Raw Talent III (Video)
1986 Hot Gun (Video)
1986 The Ginger Effect (Video)
1985 Wet, Wild & Wicked (Video)
1985 Cream Puff (Video)
1985 The Best Little Whorehouse in San Francisco (Video)
1984 Space Virgins (Video)
1984 Return to Alpha Blue (Video)
1983 Once Upon a Secretary (Video)
1983 Vixens in Heat (Video)

The winners were announced at the 2018 AVN Awards Show. Angela White and Harli Lotts hosted the 35th annual ceremony with comedian Aries Spears and musical guest Lil Wayne.

Here is the list of winners related to films, videos and toys:

• All-Girl Performer of the Year Jenna Sativa
• Best Action/Thriller Vampires , Girlsway/Girlfriends
• Best Actor Tommy Pistol, Ingenue, Wicked Pictures
• Best Actress Sara Luvv, The Faces of Alice , Girlsway/Girlfriends
• Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene Best New Starlets 2017, Elegant Angel Productions; Melissa Moore, Elsa Jean & Adria Rae
• Best All-Girl Movie Angela Loves Women 3 , AGW/Girlfriends
• Best All-Girl Series Women Seeking Women , Girlfriends Films
• Best Amateur/Pro-Am Movie Amateur Introductions 24 , Amateur Allure/Jules Jordan
• Best Anal Movie Anal Savages 3 , Jules Jordan Video
• Best Anal Series Anal Savages , Jules Jordan Video
• Best Anal Sex Scene Anal Savages 3 , Jules Jordan Video; Lana Rhoades & Markus Dupree
• Best Anthology Movie Sacrosanct , Trenchcoatx/Jules Jordan
• Best Art Direction Justice League XXX: An Axel Braun Parody, Axel Braun/Wicked
• Best BDSM Movie Cybill Troy Is Vicious, Severe Sex/Exile
• Best Boy/Girl Sex Scene Angela 3 , AGW/Girlfriends; Angela White & Manuel Ferrara
• Best Cinematography Sacrosanct , Trenchcoatx/Jules Jordan; Winston Henry
• Best Comedy Jews Love Black Cock , BurningAngel/Exile
• Best Continuing Series Angela Loves ..., AGW/Girlfriends
• Best Director - Feature Justice League XXX: An Axel Braun Parody , Axel Braun/Wicked; Axel Braun
• Best Director -- Foreign Feature Revenge of a Daughter, Marc Dorcel/Wicked; Hervé Bodilis & Pascal Lucas
• Best Director -- Foreign Non-Feature Megan Escort Deluxe, Marc Dorcel/Wicked; Hervé Bodilis
• Best Director -- Non-Feature Sacrosanct , Trenchcoatx/Jules Jordan; Kayden Kross
• Best Double-Penetration Sex Scene Angela 3 , AGW/Girlfriends; Angela White, Markus Dupree & Mick Blue
• Best Drama Half His Age: A Teenage Tragedy , Pure Taboo/Pulse
• Best Editing Angela 3 , AGW/Girlfriends; Angela White
• Best Ethnic Movie Asian Anal , Hard X/O.L. Entertainment
• Best Ethnic/Interracial Series Black & White, Blacked/Jules Jordan
• Best Foreign Feature Bulldogs , Digital Playground/Pulse
• Best Foreign Non-Feature Anissa the Tenniswoman , Marc Dorcel/Wicked
• Best Foreign Series Rocco's Psycho Teens , Rocco Siffredi/Evil Angel
• Best Girl/Girl Sex Scene I Am Katrina, Evil Angel Films; Katrina Jade & Kissa Sins
• Best Gonzo Movie Manuel's Fucking POV 7 , Jules Jordan Video
• Best Group Sex Scene Angela 3 , AGW/Girlfriends; Angela White, Mick Blue, Xander Corvus, Markus Dupree, Toni Ribas & John Strong
• Best Ingénue Movie Young Fantasies 2 , Vixen/Jules Jordan
• Best Interracial Movie Interracial Icon 4 , Blacked/Jules Jordan
• Best Lewd Propositions Movie Babysitter Auditions , BurningAngel/Exile
• Best Makeup Justice League XXX: An Axel Braun Parody , Axel Braun/Wicked; Dusty, May Kup & Cammy Ellis
• Best Male Newcomer Juan "El Caballo" Loco
• Best MILF Movie MILF Performers of the Year , Elegant Angel Productions
• Best New Imprint Pure Taboo
• Best New Series Young & Beautiful , Vixen/Jules Jordan
• Best New Starlet Jill Kassidy
• Best Niche Movie Cum Inside Me 3, Blacked/Jules Jordan
• Best Niche Series Squirt for Me , Hard X/O.L. Entertainment
• Best Older Woman/Younger Girl Movie The Art of Older Women, Girlsway/Girlfriends
• Best Oral Movie Facialized 4 , Hard X/O.L. Entertainment
• Best Oral Sex Scene Facialized 4 , Hard X/O.L. Entertainment; Aidra Fox, Jason Katana, Donny Sins, Filthy Rich, Hunter, Mark Zane, Brad Hart, Robby Echo, Wrex Oliver, Rob Banks & Chad Alva
• Best Orgy/Gangbang Movie My First Gangbang , New Sensations
• Best Parody Justice League XXX: An Axel Braun Parody , Axel Braun/Wicked
• Best Polyamory Movie Adventures With the Baumgartners , Adam & Eve Pictures
• Best Screenplay Bad Babes Inc., Adam & Eve Pictures; Will Ryder
• Best Sex Scene in a Foreign-Shot Production Claire Desires of Submission, Marc Dorcel/Wicked; Claire Castel, Kristof Cale, Math & Ricky Mancini
• Best Solo/Tease Performance Angela White, Angela 3 , AGW/Girlfriends
• Best Star Showcase Angela 3 , AGW/Girlfriends
• Best Supporting Actor Small Hands, Half His Age: A Teenage Tragedy , Pure Taboo/Pulse
• Best Supporting Actress Kristen Scott, Half His Age: A Teenage Tragedy , Pure Taboo/Pulse
• Best Taboo Relations Movie Dysfucktional: Blood Is Thicker Than Cum , Kelly Madison/Juicy
• Best Three-Way Sex Scene -- Boy/Boy/Girl Kendra's Obsession, Blacked/Jules Jordan; Kendra Sunderland, Jason Brown & Ricky Johnson
• Best Three-Way Sex Scene -- Girl/Girl/Boy Young & Beautiful , Vixen/Jules Jordan; Riley Reid, Megan Rain & Mick Blue
• Best Transsexual Movie [tie] All My Mother's Lovers, Grooby/Exquisite & Buck Angel Superstar, TransSensual/Mile High
• Best Transsexual Series Hot for Transsexuals, Aiden Starr/Evil Angel
• Best Transsexual Sex Scene Adriana Chechik Is the Squirt Queen, Toni Ribas/Evil Angel; Adriana Chechik & Aubrey Kate
• Director of the Year Greg Lansky
• Female Foreign Performer of the Year Jasmine Jae
• Female Performer of the Year Angela White
• Mainstream Star of the Year Asa Akira
• Male Foreign Performer of the Year Ryan Ryder
• Male Performer of the Year Markus Dupree
• MILF Performer of the Year Cherie DeVille
• Most Outrageous Sex Scene Viking Girls Gone Horny, Desire/Girlfriends; Leya Falcon & Ophelia Rain in "Well There's ONE Place You Can Put an AVN Award"
• Movie of the Year Half His Age: A Teenage Tragedy , Pure Taboo/Pulse
• Niche Performer of the Year Cybill Troy
• Transsexual Performer of the Year Aubrey Kate

PLEASURE PRODUCTS

• Best Condom Manufacturer Paradise Lubricated Condom
• Best Enhancement Manufacturer Bedroom Products
• Best Fetish Manufacturer XR Brands
• Best Lingerie or Apparel Manufacturer Fantasy Lingerie
• Best Lubricant Manufacturer Wicked Sensual Care
• Best Pleasure Product Manufacturer -- Small Clandestine Devices
• Best Pleasure Product Manufacturer -- Medium We-Vibe
• Best Pleasure Product Manufacturer -- Large Topco Sales

Utah's porn czar, the butt of many a national joke, is a role that is set for the scrap heap.

The state's House voted unanimously on Thursday to pass HB50 , which formally removes from state code the obscenity and pornography complaints ombudsman. The measure now goes to the Senate.

The Legislature created the position in 2000, saying it would provide resources for residents to curb pornography in their neighborhoods and online. Attorney Paula Houston was hired and given a budget of $150,000 a year, and became the nation's first and only porn czar in 2001.

The role of porn czar made Utah the laughingstock of the nation, it attracted news stories by media from around the world and jokes by late-night comedians. However hen the attorney general's office had to cut its budget, the ombudsman post was among items axed in 2003 -- although language allowing an ombudsman remained on the books.