5 Ways to Be a Fan-fucking-tastic Porn Consumer

Porn. It's the most lucrative industry on Planet Earth: One in four Google searches is for adult content. During any given second of any given day, more than 28,000 people are watching some kind of pornographic content on the Web. Porn is prolific and expansive, and yet still, in 2016, it remains taboo enough that it's yet to garner the respect or thoughtful discussion many other forms of entertainment get, like movies and music and books.

It's a huge problem. 

Here's the thing: Even though you may not be able to check out your favorite IR vid on the train ride home or watch an epic blow job clip during your lunch break at your desk, you're still watching porn. I'm watching porn. Your neighbor, your boss, probably your grandma (sorry), and most of your friends are spending time watching—and familiarizing yourself—with performers, production companies, and websites. You've been initiated into a fandom, whether you know it or not. That means it's just as important to support the porn industry and the people who work inside it as it is to support your favorite bands and actors. In fact, considering how integral sexuality is to being human, I'd argue that doing your part to support a creative, ethical adult industry is even more important than it is in other industries.

You, dear Fleshling, probably already know these things, but you might not know how to do that, especially if you've been raised to hide your porn stash and were never taught to curate your collection of clips, scenes, and videos. Fear not: I, in combination with my brilliant staff and the beautiful, talented Missy Martinez have devised a guide to help you be a better porn consumer, from sourcing your jerk-off material in an ethical way to using it to make your sex life even better. 

In an age of digital saturation, it's tough. But with great broadband comes great responsibility. 

(Image via felluciablow.com)

1. Buy it 

This one is probably the most obvious, but paying for your porn is incredibly important in terms of supporting your favorite stars and porn production companies—which is crucial to the existence of the industry. Danny Wylde didn't write an essay and produce a short film about how impossible it is to make it in the industry putting yourself in compromising positions for nothing, after all. The good news is that paying for your porn doesn't have to entail purchasing a royal shitload of DVDs; subscribing to your favorite sites is pretty comparable to a Netflix or Hulu subscription, actually, and allows for unlimited viewing. 

Think about it this way: When you buy vinyl on Amazon, you're usually given the full album digitally and shipped the record with the always-amazing album art to boot. The porn you purchase will always be immensely more comprehensive than whatever short clip you'd watch otherwise. Behind-the-scenes footage, galleries, performer interviews, and production credits are all part of the package, plus performer's sites frequently feature their own videos and cam footage. It's pretty amazing when you think about it, and usually offers you an opportunity to connect with them on a deeper level. 

That said, watching for free is useful when you're surfing for new performers, producers, or genres to watch. When you find something (or someone) that tickles your fancy though, it's time to pony up. Unless, of course, you're complacent to jerk off at home alone staring at your wall after the industry has crumbled because you didn't.

Your choice.  

2. Watch where you watch it  

Next up: Making sure what you're watching you're watching is legit. (It's a mouthful, I know.) By legit, I mean ethically produced. Generally speaking, ethical porn compensates its performers, pays attention to their personal consent policies, doesn't employ anyone under the legal age, and provides rock solid working conditions. The good news? Determining whether your favorite site is ethical or not is easier than operating a sex toy. Here's what you can do:

• Google whatever company produced the video. Porn stars will frequently laud their favorite places to work, and it will have, you know, a legit site. 
• Is the director listed? It's always a good sign when people are proud of their work. 
• Watch the production credits. These give you immense amounts of background info pertaining to the scene, just like they do in mainstream movies.

I understand reading a consent policy probably isn't at the top of your list when you're going at it with JILL, but a brief glance usually provides you with some pretty quick, valuable info. It's harder to make sure homemade videos aren't revenge porn, but ones submitted by people who list a username and anything at www.makelovenotporn.tv (which, I might add, is a pro-porn site, despite its name). 

3. Show a little love   

This is where it gets fun. Are you ready to stalk your favorite porn stars? (No, not literally.) OK, good. Porn stars predominately promote themselves through social media channels, but you can do more than just follow them on Twitter and Instagram. This is when I turned to Missy to get her input. She is, after all, a social media QUEEN. 

"Fans can help by retweeting my new releases, requesting me to their favorite companies they want to see me shoot for, and of course, purchasing my DVDs and joining my website! I always make it a point to interact with my fans/followers via social media," Missy said. Part of that is for feedback and emotional support, of course, but it makes a large impact on their careers as well. The farther you can spread their message, the more successful they are; and in turn, the more of them you get to see. Yay!

In the event you don't already follow your favorite performers and production companies, though, I give you this:  

I get all my sex toys at Home Depot.

— Missy Martinez (@MissyXMartinez) January 27, 2016

I mean . . . need I say more? 

Isn't she a beaut? (Image via Brazzers) 

4. Go outside your comfort zone 

Alright, so you started purchasing some excellent porn, you're interacting with your favorite stars on Twitter, and your eyes are open to some of the sketchy stuff that's out there as well as all the fucking rad stuff you can find. Now what? 

"The beauty of watching porn is that it is FANTASY. It allows you to dip a toe in the pool of sexual appetites. It is a safe way to explore desires while maintaining full control," Missy said. "There is a genre, scenario, kink, and performer for every possible mood you might be into sexually." (Coincidentally, this is why I started the ABCs of Amateur series.) This means that it's a great way to peruse stuff you're already into, but it's also an important medium for trying new things and learning more about your own unique sexuality. 

The point is this: Don't knock it 'til you try it, and don't get too comfortable with what you normally watch. Mix it up, try a new genre, watch a new performer—it's all an important part of expanding your sexual boundaries. As useful as porn might be when it comes to getting off, it can do so much more if you let it. 

5.  Explore it with your partner 

While this is all fine and good for getting off solo, porn isn't utilized nearly enough in one of its most powerful spaces: The Relationship. Listen, y'all, I feel this subject so hard I even once wrote an article about incorporating porn into your sex life with your partner. Missy echoed my sentiments on the subject: "Porn is a wonderful tool to be used in relationships. Partners shouldn't view it as a threat, but as an aid. It helps spark creativity, shows new positions, and is a good way to get your engines revved up!" If you're not accustomed to firing up your favorite porn site when you're in bed with your S.O., it might seem odd, but trust me—you will learn so much about what your partner is into and find so many new things to explore—things you might never have discussed or considered before. 

(Image via Tumblr)

So now you have a place to start on your long and winding journey through porn. As the industry (and sex) become more mainstream, it's more likely that porn will become a part of the entertainment conversation, but until then, pioneers like us must lead. And with that, I'll leave you with this: