* * * * *

Porn Biz OK at Erotica LA
By Xeni Jardin
Exclusive for Fleshbot

"You could be worse," Christian anti-porn demonstrators shouted to attendees filing into the Erotica LA trade show this weekend.  Though the cryptic admonition was intended to steer souls away from smut, it also fits the state of the porn business in general.

Despite challenges — a sluggish economy, a conservative legal crackdown against obscenity online, and a recent HIV outbreak that inspired lawmakers to call for sweeping new government regulation of porn production — the state of the adult industry could be worse. And the industry may owe some of its relatively good fortune to the increasingly significant role of technology.

Unlike other adult trade shows, Erotica LA is aimed at the people who buy porn, rather than those who make, sell, or distribute it. Organizers say this year's edition was the largest yet, with 200 exhibitors — up 14% from last year — and approximately 30,000 attendees, a boost of more than 30% over 2003.

Technology's presence in the adult business was evidenced by a wide array of exhibitors at the three-day convention: nestled between lines of fans queued up for autographs from on-screen stars like Ron Jeremy, Tera Patrick, and onetime California gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey were exhibits from a wide array of businesses delivering sex through tech.

Among those exhibitors were numerous online adult media companies that distribute video, audio, and still content via the web or mobile devices. Also present were a wide and diverse assortment of electronic sex gadget displays.

Beneath hanging banners for the Paris Hilton sex DVD "One Night in Paris," the Taiwan-based manufacturer of MagicRing promoted their tiny, single-use electronic pleasure device described by a company representative as a "vicon," or vibrating condom. Each battery-powered unit lasts approximately 12-17 minutes, and bears a recommendation to dispose of used devices "in a safe and thoughtful manner."

Creepily lifelike RealDolls were on display -- human-sized sex dolls touted as the world's most realistic. A row of bodiless heads molded from synthetic material hung on a wall between two complete units who stood behind glass, beckoning showgoers with a zombie-like come-hither gaze.

On the other side of the exhibit hall, SuperBabes — the love doll derisively described by some as RealDoll's working-class cousin — lounged in a seated lineup as if posed for a clothing-optional talk show.

Flanked by young women in half-open kimonos, the Joychair booth featured adjustable ergonomic "sexercize" furniture with built-in infrared heating.

A few rows over, a Japanese company promoted a Windows CE-based porn delivery product called the JOYBox. The multifunctional device offers video-on-demand, the ability to download adult films off the Internet, and a point-and-click interface for shopping and web surfing.

Among the adult industry luminaries in attendance was Adam Glasser, aka Seymore Butts — gonzo porn director and star of Showtime Network's porn-themed reality TV show Family Business." Mr. Glasser, who made headlines earler this year for voluntarily adopting a condoms-only policy on his film sets in the wake of an HIV outbreak in the adult film community, was promoting his company's growing video-on-demand business.

Online revenue accounts for roughly 40% of revenue for Glasser's Seymore Inc. company, which also earns revenue from online ads, web retail sales and membership sites that offer chat with film stars and members-only video and photo content.

"Enhanced interactivity, virtual sex, high-tech sex toys — obviously, it's the way of the future," says Glasser. "Years ago I thought, 'Geez, if they could only invent a pill to ensure that adult male porn actors could get an erection when you need it' — now, we have Viagra. They put men on the moon, they made an instant erection pill, and I know that within a few years, someone's going figure out how to simulate sex close to 100% accuracy, and deliver it to consumers at a reasonable price.

"And that's a scary thing. When they do, why would any of us need to leave the house?"
 
* * * * *

See also: Ian Haig: Futurotica, Erocktavision