My Porn Industry Roots and Adventures 2: the Centuries Turn.

Porn Survived Y2K, John Ashcroft, and a Multi-Tech Evolution.

Anyone who’s spent any real amount of time online knows that the internet was made for porn. To be fair, pretty much every medium that humans have ever created for self-expression has been made for porn. Or was almost immediately adopted for the porn equivalent of the time. Hominids, we be horny and hard to shut up. It’s our heritage. As the 20^th century came to an end and was kicked to the curb by the 21^st century, porn found itself facing some of its fiercest challenges.

As we approached the global doom of Y2K, a new format for watching pre-recorded audio-video entertainment began to nudge the beloved VHS tape out of the market. DVDs were lighter, easier to store, possessed higher quality audio-visuals, lasted longer, and could be interactive. Sounds like the perfect date, right? This list of tech and convenience upgrades made a strong argument for the DVD side, so we got used to it and learned to love it. The ability to jump from scene to scene, easily replay, freeze frame, and other conveniences was welcome, especially by those bad boys and girls who frantically took notes while watching a multitude of X-rated titles as part of their work.

But why stop at bigger screens like those for televisions, desktops, or laptops when the land of smaller, mobile possibilities was so alluring? As we rapidly moved into The Future, there was constant buzz about porn landing on mobile devices in the not-too-distant future. Given how small the screens were at the time, how expensive minutes were, and how few flying cars were being produced, that seemed optimistic.

All of this would depend, of course, on whether the world’s computers survived the impending apocalypse we’d all been promised or warned about, depending on our school of thought and favorite news channel. With visions of Escape from L.A., Mad Max, A Boy and His Dog, and Tank Girl dancing through our heads, we fretted that the internal clocks of every computer on the planet would try to click from the year 1999 to 2000 and be unable to do so.

One of two things would then promptly happen. Either the computers would fall forever silent, and we would be plunged into a brutal and potentially exterminating technological darkness, or they would gain sentience and launch a violent overthrow of their long-time tormentors, which was and is us. Digital storage hoarders who were probably undiagnosed autistic or had ADHD were suddenly “archivists” of a genuinely stunning collection of mainstream and niche content.

Nerdy porndogs who planned for an optimistic future took advantage of the archival services. And yes, in addition to whatever was found in what was left of Usenet and beginning to pop up on dating sites, very little anyone had on their writable devices had been paid for. In those days, information wanted to be free, so, many an otherwise mostly honest citizen prepared for a dystopian future hoisted the Jolly Roger and filled their virtual coffers.

As is my tradition, I was skeptical about this whole Chicken Little / End of the World obsession with January 1, 2000. The idea that the best-ish minds would create the amazing computers and network of computers that existed then, and somehow allow a stupid calendar glitch to let it all come crashing to the ground seemed unlikely. There was too much money riding on the grid still working at midnight plus one minute on New Year’s Day.

Praise be all that is precious to geekdom, which includes porn, I was right! It did not happen! The world did not end, and porn only became more popular as the speeds at which you could broadcast, view, share, and download it increased. Those of us who enjoy frank and accurate sexuality-related education and writings, as well as saucy photos, videos, and online “radio” shows/podcasts, were thrilled to not rely on solar power, our Iomega Zip Disks, and our CD Re-Writables to relive the good old days of shared online content.

Alas, not everyone was as excited that the liberating message of adult entertainment and sex education was becoming so accessible. What about the children was the battle cry, as it always is. Leading the charge was Attorney General John Ashcroft, who championed many an online censorship proposal designed to keep children ignorant, and adults neutered. In 2001, I was recruited for, but deemed “too dangerous” to be a plaintiff in a National Coalition for Sexual Freedom First Amendment case against the government, specifically Ashcroft.

New York fetish and porn photographer Barbara Nitke, who is an amazing person and professional, replaced me. With the NCSF, she challenged the last remaining censorship provisions of the Communications Decency Act. The case was ultimately rejected by a federal court and then by the Supreme Court because of course it was, but they got out there and fought the good fight.

As for me, I’ve remained “dangerous.” Anyone who pops their head up and expresses an opinion is dangerous, especially if it challenges whatever has been declared “traditional.” Add sexuality to the mix and the bloody battle between autonomy and heteronomy is even more intense. If you really want to be dangerous, communicate your message well, do more with your message than just talk about it, assess yourself and your motives until you’re raw, and live in such a way as to positively influence the way other people interact with the world.