SEXIS WRONG

to defuse their explosive power, and thus to restore the power
structures of the status quo. That argument has weight,
if only because we recognize one of culture’s imperatives,
which is continuously to stabilize itself. A bleaker version of
cultural survival suggests that the introduction of new ideas
and information is imperative lest the institutions, customs,
and values that make up the culture succumb to rigidity, and
go entropic. Max Weber’s process of rationalization and charisma,
for example, is a sociological version of the Second
Law of Thermodynamics. According to this formulation, new
ideas tend to emerge on the margins or fringes of a culture,
where they are anathematized until their growing strength
coalesces into charismatic, irresistible energy. Thus, pariah
entrepreneurs become captains of industry. That the voices
of young, black ghetto males (an economic underclass) rapping
urban porn could become a multibillion-dollar industry in
the space of a few years lends credence to such views.
Nobody knows the exact revenues of the American market for
pornography, let alone those of other countries. Back in 2001
Forbes magazine challenged the New York Times’ estimate
of a domestic market of between $10 and $14 billion, saying
that the total was too high, and the argument continues. Dispute
arises in part over what to include. Women’s romance
novels (Regency Romances, bodice-rippers, Gothics, and so
on) sell a billion dollars’ worth a year and account for half of
all the paperbacks annually purchased in the United States. 21
Should those figures be part of the total? Some estimates
compare apples and oranges, as in the claim
that annual revenues from X-rated videos and
DVDs exceed the annual box-office receipts
of the mainstream Hollywood industry, and
so they do, but pale when measured against
the sales and rentals of Hollywood videos and
DVDs. One irony is that producers of adult
materials may inflate revenues to make their
industry seem more important in an economy that excuses
almost anything if it makes a profit. My own best guess is
that the Times is closer to the mark, and that the domestic
totals are higher in 2005, probably closer to $16 billion. Given
US dominance of adult industries, the global total is probably
roughly double that. Precision is less important than acknowledging
that these are impressive numbers, although here are
some more apples and oranges: Americans spend about $30
billion on gardening, more than $40 billion on hamburgers at
McDonald’s, Burger King, and other fast food chains, 22 and
$130 billion a year on weddings. 23
Much to the ire of fundamentalists, corporate America is assisting
with the required capitalization. Time Warner, Marriott
International, Hilton, and News Corporation market hardcore
video directly to hotel rooms and homes, and General Motors
and AT&T did the same until the early part of this decade. 24
The effect has been to stabilize the finances of porn production
houses, which rely on cable, satellite, and foreign sales to
remain profitable. Foreign demand for pornography, especially
for videotapes and DVDs, is increasing steadily. Since European
companies turn out fewer than 2,000 porn videos per year,
French, German, Italian, and Spanish distributors program Europe’s
television channels with American product.
As they mature, some pornographic industries expand while
others contract or consolidate, and thus replicate the patterns
of conventional corporations. In the 1970s, more than 50
adult book publishers controlled three-quarters of the market
for erotic paperbacks; now only seven firms control roughly
the same percentage. 25 The adult video industry is consolidating
as the sheer volume of annual production threatens
to lower profits. Companies vertically integrating production,
post-production, packaging, and distribution in Chatsworth,
California (picture hillsides dotted with studios) turn out over
11,000 pornographic videos each year. But five or six companies
(Metro, Vivid, VCA, Evil Angel, etc.) now dominate the
distribution of pornographic videos in this country, much as
the big six Hollywood studios dominate the distribution of
legitimate movies; the porn majors claim most of the shelves
in video rental outlets, just as the Hollywood majors sew up
the screens at the cineplexes in middle America.
But not all genres have done so well. Once robust traffic in
telephone sex—800/900-number calls—has been declining
Five or six companies now dominate
the distribution of pornographic
videos in this country, much as the
big six Hollywood studios dominate
the distribution of legitimate movies.
since 1992. 26 The Internet is swiftly putting older forms, especially
magazines, out of business. Penthouse, one of the
leading men’s magazines, teeters on the verge of bankruptcy.
At the same time, while the number of websites devoted to
sexual expression has steadily increased, the growing number
is reducing profits for all. The Internet is no place for porn amateurs
while it is undergoing consolidation; most photos now
flow through only a half-dozen distributors. In the near-future,
however, assuming adequate bandwidth, streaming video
will transform the video porn industry, which is why Vivid
Video and other big companies are staking their claims now.
The dotcom industry could learn a lot from Chatsworth.
Culture as Information Processor
Obviously, explaining the margins-to-mainstream dynamic
MARGINS TO MAINSTREAM 145