Good Vibrations Magazine

By Allison G.

At Good Vibrations we take our porn seriously, which results in a great selection, but also leaves a lot of customers wondering why we choose to carry certain titles and not others. In order to get to the bottom of the situation I sat down with Good Vibrations Senior Buyer, Coyote Days, to find out how porn gets from the studios to our shelves.

AG: So Coyote, what does Good Vibrations look for in the porn we carry?
CD: There are a few things we look for when reviewing porn for our stores and website. Simply said we look for quality. But that is very subjective and there’s more to it than that. We want to make sure that a few criteria are met – are the performers having a good time? Are they enthusiastic? Is there chemistry? How is the filmmaking? Are people of color incorporated in a way that doesn’t just support racial stereotypes? Is there anything that stands out – a performance or performer? Soundtrack? Cinematography? Are the women enjoying themselves? Does the film include any focus on female sexuality or pleasure? Is there female ejaculation?

AG: Can you give us some examples of why certain films wouldn’t make the cut?

CD: Sure. We review all the titles that we carry and there are way more that don’t make it onto our shelves than those that do and, honestly, the reason varies. Sometimes it’s as simple as the title. We don’t want to perpetuate racism for a profit so we tend to pass on titles that are racist in nature. We totally support there being more representations of people of color in adult films but don’t believe that the only role for people of color is as a fetishized racialized character. Other reasons are more difficult to touch on - - but if there is a total lack of originality or chemistry we tend to pass. Sex is hot and porn is hot and we really want to offer our customers smoking hot porn! There is plenty of it out there but it’s not always easy to find.

AG: What do you think makes a great porn?

CD: Enthusiasm! Chemistry. Great production values – music, lighting (!), location, film techniques. Having diversity in the performers – breaking out of the cookie-cutter talent mold. Not every title has to break the bank with a huge budget and amazing location but it does help to have somebody directing who has an eye for making the entire scene hot… not just the action between the performers. There are some titles that don’t need anything more than a room and hot talent doing their best… and it works. But you need to have good lighting and other elements. Stripped down sex on a stripped down location looks just that, stripped down. Which can work for some but at times the scarcity is distracting.

AG: Why do think having such rigorous standards for porn is important?

CD: At this point I wouldn’t even consider our standards rigorous. We definitely carry more edgy titles than we did 5 years ago and I think that points to our internal growth. Even the sex-positive pioneer needs to evolve and be open to broadening our ideas of what is okay to offer. That said, we do review potential titles to make sure that the films are good. There can always be something that offends somebody (anal sex is offensive to some people) but we want to be able to stand behind every product, DVD and book that we sell. That’s what makes us unique. If a customer has a complaint about a product I have to be able to defend my decision and there are many titles out there that I wouldn’t be able to defend.

AG: Are certain genres of porn more difficult than others to find films that meet GV standards?

CD: Sure. Amateur porn tends to be something we don’t offer much of. Mainly due to there not being many titles that show the female performers enjoying themselves. It’s not across the board but this tends to be the category where you find more performers looking uncomfortable, bruised, disengaged, or actually looking like they are in pain. That’s not the sexuality we want to promote. We carry less Gonzo titles than other categories but we seem to be able to find more well-done Gonzo than we used to. Honestly I think we’d be able to find something that fit our ethos in each category but it might take a long long time.

AG: What changes have you seen in the porn industry over the past few years?

CD: I feel like the industry has moved in two directions. One is upping the ante on big-budget feature films that have amazing contract talent with big names and amazing production values. This also includes more indie titles that are able to encompass the same effect but with a much smaller budget. The other direction is focusing more on degradation, abuse titles, pumping out quantity instead of quality and continuing to rely on racist stereotypes for titles and themes.

There are so many titles put out each week – it’s overwhelming. I think studios are scrambling to try and get as many titles on stores shelves as possible without really focusing on the quality of the product. There are a lot of people who don’t care that much about the quality – they want it dirty and raw and now. But I think there is a growing population of women and couples who are looking for adult titles that they can relate to. I also think that our customer base – being sexually and racially diverse – wants to see films made for them. You have studios that offer diverse casts without having to make it a selling point. It’s not in the titles, it’s not the main theme — it’s just a film featuring a diverse cast. In the theatre world we called it blind casting – you cast for the talent and not because the role called for an actor of a certain ethnicity. So I think porn studios are starting to blind cast more - - though there continue to be compilations based on race. But even so, seeing diverse talent is so exciting! And our customers are craving it in a real, non-fetishized way. People want to see themselves represented in the videos they watch – and they want to see who they are attracted to in the videos they watch. There is always going to be an element of fantasy thrown in but there also needs to be representation. And I think we are seeing more of that now than a few years ago.

AG: Where would you like to see the porn industry 5 years from now?

CD: I think I’m an idealist but I’d love to see this industry head into the next century in terms of politics. In many ways we are constantly pushing the political envelope. There are very outspoken people in this industry and they are fighting for our rights. To make this country a place that doesn’t arrest sales associates for selling dildos, to protect our 1st amendment rights and legitimize our industry at large.

But it’s the same people who feel it’s totally valid (and a positive aspect of porn) to profit from some of the more negative aspects of our society including oppression. I would love to see people of color represented in porn and in licensed products without it having to be through the lens of racism and racial stereotypes.

I think it all boils down to sex-positivity. There are folks out there making really hot porn. And some of those directors and performers came out of Good Vibrations. A great example of this is Pink And White Productions. The porn they are making isn’t about demeaning or fetishizing people of color and sticking them in niche flicks. It’s about representing! Even now mainstream studios are beginning to take note of what these smaller indie studios are doing and they are trying to replicate, but they are going about it the wrong way. I’ve seen so many titles that are trying to capitalize on some new niches – but they are going about it after the fact. I think we’ll see more and more racially diverse directors and queer directors taking the reigns and making titles that are real and not contrived. Titles that are dripping with enthusiasm and chemistry.

Bring it on! Our customers are ready!