VLVL2 "...like a porno star" ? (237)

[Paul Mackin]

On Mon, 2004-02-09 at 02:42, jbor wrote:
> > No problem anymore with talk of "taking out" Weed
> > Atman, as he'd gone turning into a character in a
> > movie, one who as a bunus happened to fuck like a
> > porno star...(237, Penguin)
> > 
> > This little offhand reference is one of the more important lines in the
> > novel. It stems from the narrator, who in this scene is sitting in Frenesi's
> > head. Such a comparison by Frenesi, herself, would have been slightly
> > anachronistic.
> 
> Why so? Frenesi's a film student (and promiscuous), and she runs a film
> collective: she'd be aware of underground stag films and porn from overseas,
> and probably quite a bit passed through the 24fps studios. John Holmes began
> his career in 1965, and was definitely considered a "porn star" by 1969.
> 


Has anyone yet mentioned what was really driving the supply and demand
for porno in the seventies? I wouldn't want to discount completely the
technological input. Film- and video-making become cheaper and easier.
But more important there had been a profound change in sexual behavior
and mores only part of which was due to new technology. The incidence of
sexual promiscuity materially took off in the seventies. You almost had
to have been there to appreciate the change. It's hard to quite realize
now that having sex with a reasonably desirable person one had been
introduced to  became almost like shaking hands. The change was due to a
number of factors that had gradually been building up and which at last
converged and formed a critical mass at about the beginning of the
decade. Chief among these was that promiscuous sex became much less
dangerous. There were now fewer undesirable side effects. It was a
regular window of opportunity for the licentious. The term safe sex of
course had not yet needed to be invented. The herpes scare did not
appear until late in the decade. Aids was years away. Birth control
methods had become easier. Abortion was for the first time readily 
available and legal. Of great importance was the fact that being married
was now significantly less vital to a woman's economic well being. She
could support herself and her children on her own. Single women might
decide why bother getting tied down. Married women reveled in the fact
that it was no longer necessary to stick with the inert clod they had
gotten stuck with in their youth. It would  be so much more exciting out
in the world. And so it went. And it was great. Great while it lasted.
Only thing was, after a while, another factor clicked into play. The old
Orwellian idea that whatever is not forbidden is mandatory kicked in.
Suddenly there was almost too much free sex available. The supply
exceeded the demand as it were. And people naturally enough they began
to ask themselves whether they were taking full advantage of the
situation. Were they getting as much as they should? A lot of people
came under a strain. Things weren't as exciting anymore for them and
interest tended to flag. They began asking what was wrong with
themselves.  And lo and behold in keeping with the great American way
yet another unsatisfied need was felt and exploited. People would pay
good money for something that would provide a bit of stimulation to
their libidos. Something to renew the old sex urge to a state resembling
that of the teen-ager. The porno business boomed.