Porn Star or Illustrious Amateur: Who Really Takes the Lead in American Porn💦

This is how America watches porn, and who they are watching.
Step into the real-life statistics and data behind the contenders of adult film.
While the term is often used interchangeably by most people whose lives exist outside of the industry itself— there is a pretty big difference between pornstars and amateaur models.
Particularly when it comes to American porn, as it’s one of the most popular and biggest industries on the global stage. While the difference between the two labels actually has less to do with what the actor themselves is doing, and more about how they are sourced and what production companies they work for, possibly the biggest divergence between the two involves how they are treated, and how they get paid.

As explained in a YouTube video by the amateur model MissMewchy, one of the most striking differences between big title porn actors and those considered amateurs is the support system. Amateurs are required to produce, edit, film, and distribute their films, where pornstars show up and get to work. On the upside however, amateaur porn models are allowed to collect royalties on the films they make, whereas professional porn models (or what we think of as “porn stars”) only get paid for the scenes they shoot, reportedly not continuing to make money off of these films.
While there are still marketing royalties that pro porn models are privy to— things like specific sex toys, endorsements, or public performances and event features— most of them still have to have a side gig. For many,means getting further into the porn industry by
reinvesting in themselves or becoming producers. The average career lifespan of a male performer is about 16 film appearances, where for females that number sits around 19, with anywhere from 10–30% of performers quitting the business after just one film.
Amateur American Porn is Thriving

Within the sphere of American porn, amateur porn is not only on the rise, but the popularity of it has been steadily changing the industry at its’ core. The terms “authenticity” and “personalization” have been incredibly popular buzzwords since 2018. With consumers
demanding a more personable and realistic touch from the products, goods, and services they consume. Yes, even in porn.
Spurred largely by the popularity of social media platforms becoming business hubs and connections to our favourite makers, the idea of transparency is something that we each search for in the new world consumerist landscape. The porn industry, never to be left behind and always ready to set a trend, is no stranger tonew “real life” packaging. With titles like ‘amateur’ and ‘feminist’ quickly finding their way up the ranks. Particularly beyond the normal scape of just the occasional sex tape video, performers are expected to pay close attention to fans, using platforms like Snapchat and various video conferencing services to provided tailored and live content.

Which has consumers looking for more detailed personal experiences and connections that don’t just translate on their social media platforms, but also into the work they produce. No longer vying for the over produced, poorly scripted, cinematic masterpieces of yesteryear, and instead looking for something a bit rawer and more genuine. An industry defining pivot that might be heralded by the fact that more women than ever are watching porn, and to get the healthy dose of realism they deserve, are seeking out alternatives to mainstream pornography— like bisexual, ethical, and gay porn, despite their own sexual orientations.
Pornstars Still Exist

However, despite the notable uptick in the popularity of amateur productions and roles, porn stars still exist and in good number. But their creed seems to be dwindling. Pay scales are incredibly thin compared to those that a porn model could expect in the ‘90s. Whiledoes have something to do with the way porn is distributed and how the internet has thrived with free streaming services, it also is a reflection on changing values— particularly among Americans that are watching porn and what they want to be seeing.
For most porn stars however, their career in films is incredibly short, no matter their popularity. This is largely because they are required to ever expand their sphere of influence and occupations, as porn just doesn’t pay what it used to. This is because what we consider porn stars get paid a lump sum for a scene, and that amount depends largely on what they look like and what they are expected to do. With certain sexual acts paying more than others. Which leads many to glean additional income from a variety of roles and occupations that have nothing to do with the porn industry itself. Making it ever more difficult to reach the household name status of former stars like Tracey Lords or Jenna Jamison.
What Does the Average Porn Performer Look Like?

According to a massive analysis of 10,000 American porn performers— the average porn Star actually looks almost exactly like the average American. Well, in terms of hair color, ethnicity, and height. Believe it or not, and setting aside the very real discriminatory practices of America’s porn industry, porn performer demographics look eerily similar to the demographics of the country itself.
While it’s pretty standard to assume that just about any female porn star is blonde, with a massive rack— the stats don’t agree. With the average hair color actually being brown, taking up 39.1% of female performers, although it is quickly followed by the blonde bombshells at 32.7%. With redheads the clear underdog, composing only 5.3% of all performer hair colors. Respectively, a 34B is the most common cup size for a performer to tote, with a DD being the next most common. So, while ‘busty’ may not take the top spot in averages, it’s still absolutely a defining genre.

As far as ethnicity goes, of the 10,000 porn stars that were analyzed, the major ethnic groups almost perfectly mimicked statistics from the US at large, within the porn industry over 70% being White, 14% Black, 9.3% Latin and 5.2% Asian. Where national averages are 76.3% White, 13.4% Black, 18.5% Latin, and 5.9% Asian. With only those of the Latin community seeing a notable difference in representation when compared to the major ethnic groups living in the US. So, while we continue to ask for real world representation, it turns out that the bodies represented in mainstream pornography aren’t really all that different from national averages. However, when giving consideration for the ‘per capita’ size of the samples, the porn industry is far from being inclusive, and pay gaps for minority groups are just as disappointing as they are institutionally. Which means that while we ask our sex performers to mimic real life, we should strongly consider treating them better for it.