Should the legal age to be in porn be raised?

[SlaverTickler]

I have been wondering if the legal age the somebody can become an actor in pornographic films should be changed to 21. I feel that even thought an 18 year old is legal considered an adult, they are still to young to understand what the industry is about. Even to this day there are women who go into porn thinking it will lead to a career in mainstream acting, and 99.9% of the time is doesn't. You could probably count on 1 hand the number of porn stars that have gone on to do anything mainstream, and it is normally B Movies with lots of strong sexual content. Maybe in the 3 years between 18-21 those people will look into the workings of the industry and maybe even go to school. I've always felt that if a woman gets into it she should have a back up. Guys can do it forever (look at Ron Jeremy, Randy Spears, Randy West and Peter North), realestate people, realastate.

 

[ndj101982]

Um......no....18 is just fine. While we're at it why don't we argue to raise the drinking age to 25, driver's license age to 19, and buying cigarettes to 30.


Bottom Line: If you're old enough to fight and die for your country, you are old enough to see or be in a porno.

 

[SlaverTickler]

Um......no....18 is just fine. While your at it why don't we raise the drinking age to 25, driver's license age to 19, and buying cigarettes to 30.

And what do you base that opinion on?

 

[TropicThunder]

I think that at 18 years old, you have enough sense to know what you're getting into.

 

[Babbles]

21 is healthier for all the above.

I think 18 is too young to send young men (and women) over as soldiers as well.

I'd vote for 21 because three years may not seem like a huge difference
but in terms of maturity and EXPERIENCE it's enormous.

If KIDS are not allowed to view pornography or whatever until age 18
(yeah I know, too many here have been lurking since age 15 or whenever they got a computer in their room,
if their parents have their heads up their asses and allowed that or if they hacked the one in the kitchen.... 🙄 )

---- they're coming RIGHT out of older adolescence, hormones off the wall,
and going straight into Porno films?

They need a bit more perspective. They don't see the potential for damage down the line. They may not at 21 either, but it's giving them a little more space for maturity & experience.

We're all SUPPOSED to be mature enough by that age --- but not everyone is, a lot of these (girls mostly, and there is that good ole double standard but porn can kill careers on both sides)
don't yet truly see the big picture (from a distance of even a few more years)

--- that once they're on film, once this is on the Internet now especially,
it's permanent and forever, anyone can access & spread it anywhere.

And yes, hopefully they'd find other work that would be much more beneficial to them and help them find a more productive, successful path...
rather than allowing themselves to be used up & spat out by 25 or 28 or so
by what seems to be a rather abusive system.

 

[LD_Tickler]

Big, legal age lines like this are wildly imprecise and arbitrary. They only reason we have them at all is because legally, there needs to be some universal standard by which we introduce systemic/legislative protections - and inaccurately generalising is better than not being able to protect children from exploitation, for example.

However these standards are completely worthless on a case-by-case basis, as individuals are far too varied for these lines to have small scale relevance. The actual effects that moving any of these lines would have on individuals would be very small.

If you introduce me to a 17 year old and a 22 year old, I'm not going to make any guesses on who's the more mature, intelligent, worldly, etc, until I've spoken to them both.

 

[Mitchell]

I have the same view as ndj, and I've always believed this about drinking and gambling as well.

If one is old enough to be mandated to sign up for Selective Service, and to die for their country, they should be allowed to act in porno films, drink, gamble, etc. I've always thought it not right that people should have to wait until age 21 to be allowed to drink in bars, and gamble in casinos.

I say, be consistent: Either raise the Selective Service age to 21, and make drinking, gambling, and acting in porno films not allowed until 21. Or.. keep the Selective Service age 18, continue to allow people to act in porno films at 18, and allow drinking in bars and gambling in casinos at 18.

Doubtful it will ever happen this way, but this is just my view.

Mitch

 

[maniactickler]

Keep it at 18

 

[AquaFeline]

I suspect that a good part of maturity is dependent on experience dealing with the real world. How much experience someone has at a given age depends on when you let them start accumulating it.

 

[MrMacphisto]

I say lower the age limit that is recognized as adulthood. If you can be legally emancipated at 16, then why is the default age of adulthood at 18?

Also, we try people younger than 16 as adults for certain crimes.

There are so many parts of our system that have a double standard when it comes to age, and porn is just one of many.

You can buy most porn at age 18, so why shouldn't you be able to star in it at that age?

The system should be consistent about things.

And finally, if you can sign up to die for your country at age 17, then surely, you should be allowed to drink at that age or star in a porn.

 

[GQguy]

Awesome responses. I've got little to add!

 

[Amnesiac]

Age is no guarantee of maturity...there are adults who still can't handle the responsibilities of adulthood very well and some of them manage to be in charge of governing countries.

...and still believe in the Easter bunny to boot.

As for the long-term effects of a porn career, most of that is mainstream prejudice. The mainstream consumes billions of dollars in porn, yet still has NO APPRECIATION for the people who produce and provide them with virtual companionship. Porn actors come in all types of personalities, and some of them are indeed despicable, but others are a hell of a lot more stable then they're given credit for. And while they spend their money on them, they still denigrate, insult, and shun them, making it harder to transition back into the mainstream when they want to leave.

Then again, mainstream also has trouble believing that actors are not the characters they play in movies so it's not limited to porn.

Just ask THIS guy.

However, as to whether 18 is too young to make an informed decision about a life in porn? Well, age does tend to be arbitrary in certain situations, but most of the time it doesn't matter, for the following argument:

"I think that porn is a gateway for people without true skill to make a decent living and in my opinion is keeping a lot of people off the welfare lines. So for those of you who don't like pornography I suggest you GET to like it or your taxes will go up when we all go on the dole, baby."
- Mike Quasar, cinematographer for Zero Tolerance Pictures

Until you find a bona-fide cure for stupid, you will never be able to deny that porn can provide a better paycheck than most of the careers some people could ever qualify for. Some of the girls I've seen in porn can barely string together a coherent sentence, let alone graduate from high school, and some of them haven't even done that. Considering how idiotic they are (Stephanie Cane, Katie Morgan to name two), I scarcely believe they can tie their own shoes let alone live independently. Porn is a step UP for some of them considering the sex-for-drugs/street prostitution jobs they've had in the past.

The going rate for a (unrepresented) blowjob is about $500; the minimum wage is $7.25-$8/hr. Rent for a studio apartment outside of Hobo-Stabville in CA averages about $900/month. One job provides over half the rent in a few hours, the other would take six 8-hour shifts a week for 3 weeks straight to meet...this excludes car & medical insurance, groceries, internet, and taxes. Considering that college graduates with masters degrees struggle to juggle with these things, what job do you think is best for a high school dropout who probably has the reading skills of a 4th grader?

Porn has no educational requirement to join; the only other jobs with that leniency are unskilled labor positions, some of which can be quite dangerous. The country by and large exploits the dim-witted, uneducated, unskilled and talentless in dehumanizing and dangerous jobs all the time; the difference here is that porn pays better and has less overt danger.

Question #4. Which of the pictured men has the nickname "Stumpy"?

P.S. And before anyone mentions that "STDs ARE dangerous", keep in mind you would comparing an STD to crippling injury like a severed appendage.

 

[NonConTickler]

Where would that leave guys like me who like girls who are just barely legal?? Its bad enough that I can't have them in real life but if I can't even have them in porn?? That's just not right, seriously!!

 

[TicklesXXX]

It should be lowered to 16, even 15.

 

[chicago]

Wow 15? Some girls don't even have their period by then.

Honestly, I don't care if it's raised or stays the same, but I don't really think that most 18 year old girls could really grasp how being in a porn / fetish vid could affect them / their lives / their future.

 

[AlexEmpire]

I would definitely agree with NOT lowering it.

Raising it or leaving it the same I'm not sold on either. I DO agree that the upper age limit should be equal across the board. It should be the same age to drink, gamble, buy or be in porn, join the military, sign a contract, etc. I don't think it is any more mature of a choice to decide to be in porn than it is to sign up to fight and possibly die for your country.

 

[Brock Samson]

Lowering it is absurd. Raising it probably wouldn't be a bad idea, but then we open a can of worms. First porn, then voting, enlisting in the military, smoking, etc.

 

[Cavum]

18 = adult! That's my awnser.

 

[Alliekat]

18 is a fine age...seriously. To Annie's point, sure they might not be able to grasp the effects it can have on them later in life, but they are adults who are supposed to start making decisions for themselves

 

[chicago]

18 is a fine age...seriously. To Annie's point, sure they might not be able to grasp the effects it can have on them later in life, but they are adults who are supposed to start making decisions for themselves

That's a good point. Didn't think of it like that.

 

[milagros317]

I would definitely agree with NOT lowering it.

Raising it or leaving it the same I'm not sold on either. I DO agree that the upper age limit should be equal across the board. It should be the same age to drink, gamble, buy or be in porn, join the military, sign a contract, etc. I don't think it is any more mature of a choice to decide to be in porn than it is to sign up to fight and possibly die for your country.

I agree that there should be one age to be able to do anything that an adult is allowed to do. I have no problem with that age being 18.

 

[AlexEmpire]

I agree that there should be one age to be able to do anything that an adult is allowed to do. I have no problem with that age being 18.

-nod nod- I feel like raising the age that one is considered an adult to 21 will just cause people to see 21-year-olds as barely old enough to make adult decisions and then people will start talking about raising it to 23 or something.

 

[PhoenixRising]

Leave it the way it is. I don't want to have to get rid of my Tawnee Stone collection because of a technicality.