A recent article (December 31st) in the New York Times titled “The Graying of Naughty” chronicles the entry of several older women, i.e. 40-50, into the pornography business. Yes, even the porn industry is responding to the aging baby boomer population, offering all kinds of stories that include older women and younger men, apparently an easily marketable niche.
The upside of the story is that it reflects an important change in the desirability of older women. It has become so popular that the industry leaders have just created a new category of mature women which will be reviewed at the upcoming awards. Actually the older woman fantasy is not new, it is probably one that most young men entertain sometime during their adolescence and early adulthood. Additionally, the market for beautiful airbrushed women is over-saturated which is making room for all kinds of niches- everything from old women to hairy women and fat women.
This, of course begs the question again of who is watching all this pornography and driving this industry to such a diverse population of actors and actresses. According to the article, and industry statistics in general- a lot of people- conservatively one out of four people you know, are watching porn and now more and more people are opting to making it.
Many of the older porn actors and actresses choose their work over building a long-term relationship. And many are returning to this work after a hiatus where their age was once a factor. But several of the new actresses interviewed have been married for over 25 years. Her husband is fully supportive-“She’s doing it for the right reasons.” He did not list these, maybe to liberate older women to have more sex (and be public about it).
While I am all for freeing ourselves to enjoy our sexuality throughout a life span, I am lost on how making pornography fits into a long term relationship. Is having paid sex on screen not really an affair of sorts. Do the fidelity issues that define long-term relationships not really apply when it comes to porn- either making it or watching it. Several studies have demonstrated the shift in allegiance that can occur with on-line sexual relationships in marriage. Considering the prevalence of pornography in all its forms and the ways in which it is expanding, the pertinent discussion concerns the vacuum of intimacy that looms so large in so many people’s lives that this is the preferred method of filling it.
