Pornography in Small-town Canada: Unusual Insights into the Collective Psyche of a Sub-Culture in a Southern Ontario Society

Caveat: There is much in society that lies hidden to us. And there are those who will care little for the information I am about to divulge. But I can say in all confidence that many readers will find what I am about to say disturbing, perhaps repellent, but undeniably, interesting. At this time, I must forewarn the reader with the single caveat that though illuminating, the material discussed in this article is extremely graphic.

Introduction
   To begin, let me cite a little background information. During the early to mid- nineties, when I was a doctoral student in philosophy and, when departmental funding and scholarships began drying up it was necessary to seek part-time employment. I needed a job which would allow me some time to finish writing my dissertation while still maintaining full-time status in graduate school. I had thought of applying for jobs such as security guard, gas-bar attendant, etc., when our local adult video store put up a help wanted sign in its window. I applied and got the job. Not only did the job allow me to carry on my academic work relatively undisturbed, it had given me considerable insight into one of my fringe interests in the field of social and political philosophy: pornography and censorship. Over a period of a few years, I logged many hours 'in the trenches' so to speak and have come to understand some facets of the adult movie industry that I never could have imagined or experienced in the halls of academia. What follows are a few observations of some lesser known aspects of this industry.

I
   First, pornography (or erotica--depending on your definition, tolerance, etc.) is, above all, visual, and is intended to sexually arouse its consumers. This extremely simple formula of marrying sexual excitation and economic prosperity has been around for a very long time. The term 'pornography' comes from the Greek porne and graphien which translates into the writings (or depictions) of the prostitutes. It was often the case that in brothels in ancient Greece and Rome, the waiting rooms were adorned with images depicting various sexual acts. The purpose of such depictions was bifold: not only would they sexually arouse the customer but such preparatory measures often decreased the amount of time each John would take with a prostitute thereby allowing for greater volume of customers and increased economic prosperity. But removed from this context, there is an aspect of the human condition which pornographers generally exploit: it is our voyeuristic nature. Though we all differ in our degree of sexual curiosity and tolerance, we will admit (sometimes only to ourselves or lovers) that we possess such voyeuristic tendencies. It may be of some interest to note that many of the first-time customers who came into the adult video store did so with great moral trepidations. Some worried about being seen by friends or family as they entered or left the establishment. Others, however, found it quite liberating to cross the store's threshold. To them, such an act was a symbolic gesture of liberty and, in some cases, thumb-nosing at the nay-sayers. The interesting point to note, here, is that the actual visiting customers represented only a small number of liberated voyeurs. I can assure you that a very large chunk of the market are still 'closet voyeurs' who have no intention of letting anyone know about this aspect of their lives. And so the urge of voyeuristic liberation remains repressed until such a time or occasion when this can be exercised with absolute discretion and privacy.

II
   Although there are many various depictions of sexual acts in adult films in varying contexts, e.g. couples appeal scenes, unusual sexual positions, fetishes, group sex, etc., in order to exhaust the capitalization of our voyeuristic appetite, directors of adult movies exploit an aspect of the sexual act usually unseen by either participants or spectators--male ejaculation (or, what is referred to in the industry as 'the money shot'1 ). Since the early 70's, the capitalization of human voyeurism (henceforth, the V-Principle) in adult movies necessitates visual depiction of male ejaculation (henceforth, the C-Shot or, in pornese, the 'cumshot'). Now, biologically, male ejaculate has a specific destination and function. But pornographically, the V-Principle precludes any such Darwinian motives. The C-Shot is proof positive of a male climax which (literally) consummates every sexual act in every sexual scene. The C-Shot, then, is the 'end-game' of pornography. Playing on our voyeuristic nature, the C-Shot gives us some form of closure to each pornographic scene. This may seem quite sexist and, in some ways, it is. Although there are many XXX films geared towards a 'couples appeal' and there are several female directors who cater to the more romantic aspects of human sexuality, in the mainstream porn industry, the C-Shot is always the final scene. This may be due to both biological and economic factors. That is, we must recognize that a male orgasm is considerably more empirically (i.e. visually) verifiable than that of a female (without the use of special effects, it would well be worth the price of admission to see a male fake an orgasm). In accordance with this pornographic verification principle, the directors of XXX films are simply capitalizing on this culminating biological event (the proof, they say, is in the...).

   As in most forms of art or entertainment, there are degrees of excellence and there are criteria for measuring those degrees of excellence which gradually emerge from both creators and consumers. Assuming that a male porn star can attain an erection (a major occupational hazard in the industry itself), in the adult movie business, the measure of excellence of (a) male orgasm is measured by two, and only two features: distance and volume. (Subsequently, these criteria make Peter North the undisputed champion of male orgasms on both counts; you will just have to trust me on this one--or you can compile your own independent study if you like). It is unclear which feature has the greater importance but it is undeniably clear that if your orgasm has neither distance nor volume, you will not be a male porn star for very long (despite your good looks, endowment, endurance, etc.).

III
   At this point one may be wondering where, exactly, the male porn star ejaculates? In heterosexual adult movies, the male ejaculates on various parts of the female's body e.g. stomach, thighs, breasts, buttocks, etc. But there is no place favoured more by market demand than ejaculation on the female's face. In the business, these scenes are known as 'facials'. Prior to August of 1995, no video store in the province of Ontario was allowed to rent or sell any XXX movie containing scenes involving facial ejaculation--that is to say, of a male ejaculating on a woman's face. This was considered by the Ontario Film Review Board to be morally degrading to women (according to 'community standards'). The story in homosexual pornography was a little different, however. Quite often, gay customers would inform me that the movies they had watched prior to August of 1995 contained scenes of men ejaculating on the faces of other men. Yet these scenes were often not censored. (Was it genuinely believed by those at the OFRB that only women can be degraded in such a way? And therefore must be protected through censorship?) As of August of 1995, due to public demand and a provincial-wide act of civil disobedience, illegal dealings of uncensored adult movies rapidly grew in Ontario. It should be noted that for years prior to August/95, most western provinces as well as Quebec were lisenced to distribute uncensored adult movies; Ontario was among the last province to finally allow scenes containing facial ejaculations. And the change came about because the public demand for uncensored XXX films was so great that corner variety stores, small video stores, etc., began defying such distribution laws. Realizing that so many stores could not be policed province-wide, the representatives from various organizations in the video retail industry (CAVT, OAVP, VSDA, AAVP) sat down with representatives from the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Affairs, the Theatres Branch, and the OFRB and worked out a secure labelling system which, as of August/95, allowed XXX movies to contain scenes of facial ejaculation (as well as what is called 'double penetration' i.e. simultaneous anal and vaginal intercourse from two men on one woman). Although the new classification system standardized adult movies--something much needed in the industry--we should acknowledge that the underlying motivation for this change was due to the public demand for less censored material--specifically containing scenes of facial ejaculation. What does this tell us about this sub-culture? To think that the change in legislation came about not by the inalienable right for consumer freedom of choice in the exercise of liberty (J.S. Mill must be spinning in his grave), but for the desire to see men ejaculate on the faces of women.

   To better understand the causal factors behind this unusual social phenomenon, we must consider why such an act has such far-reaching appeal? What is it about scenes of facial ejaculation that has created such interest? Such demand? Generally speaking, the act itself is in demand because it sexually stimulates heterosexual men (and perhaps some women--though the majority of consumers are heterosexual men). But why does this act stimulate more than other sexual acts? In discussing this aspect with customers while working at the store, I have developed three hypotheses which may provide some insight into this phenomenon.

IV
   First, one may consider that such an act as facial ejaculation is an act of empowerment by the male over the female. The act empowers the man by belittling or degrading the woman. (We all remember how we felt to see Major League Baseball's Roberto Alomar spit on an umpire; how much more belittling is it for a man to ejaculate on a woman's face?). It is easy to accept this theory based on an aspect of a sexual act taken entirely out of context and divorced from a setting where a woman actively participates, anticipates and celebrates the joy of the male orgasm in this fashion. That is to say, in most of the scenes involving facial ejaculation, the recipients (either women or men) do not visibly appear to be degraded or belittled in any way. To determine intent is to understand context. And to understand context is to appreciate the evolution of such final scenes which end a formulistic-styled pattern. But we have now raised the chicken-and-egg problem of which came first: the desire of women for such an act and the film depiction of such an act; or the desire by men for such an act and the creation of a job-expectation for women in the industry? According to Susan Faludi, most of the XXX movie industry is now controlled (i.e. produced) by women who decide what they will do and what they will not. It is conceivable, then, that this facet of the porn industry was already deeply entrenched (i.e. in the early 70's) by the time women began controlling productivity.

   My second hypothesis is an extension of the first. It may simply be the case that the depiction of facials in adult movies is purely a market response to public demand. The public demand is based on sexual desires, fantasies, etc., and the industry capitalizes on this. And so the market (e.g. heterosexual males), wants to see facials depicted in adult movies because the market enjoys, wants, desires such acts themselves. But this only explains the economic motivation for such scenes; it does not tell us why the market developed this demand in the first place.

    This leads to my third hypothesis, that the 'facial' capitalizes on the V-Principle. But unlike a scene of a male ejaculating on an innocuous part of the female anatomy, the face differs because it represents identity, it has visible sensation--in short, it can react. The mouth can do to the penis what other bodily orifices cannot. It is connected with an identity. To psychologist Desmond Morris, the lips of a woman's face represent or appear similar to the inner lips of the labia minora. And this, according to Morris, is one reason why women of varying cultures colour or tint their lips red i.e. to resemble the vaginal lips which become engorged in blood during sexual stimulation. Since in the act of procreation, male ejaculation takes place inside the vagina, in order to capitalize on the V-Principle, the adult movie industry uses the face as the predominant culminating receptacle. And since the face can react, it can show signs of pleasure, enjoyment, etc., which has higher erotic value for evocation and, in turn, greater market value.

    These are but a few of the observations I have made while working in an adult movie store in small-town Canada. And it was only by working in the store, itself, that I gained insight not only into a unique industry but into the sexual psyche of a sub-culture within a Southern Ontario society.


1 See Susan Faludi's article "The Money Shot" in the New Yorker, October 30, 1995).