View source for Alt porn

{{Short description|Pornography involving members of subcultures}}
{{Fan POV|date=July 2022}}
[[File:Petit Bullet.jpg|thumb|A [[SuicideGirls]] model, representative of alt pornography style, with multiple tattoos and piercings.]]

'''Alt pornography''' (also known as '''alt porn''', or simply '''alt''' in context), a shortening of "[[Alternative culture|alternative]] [[pornography]]," is a subgenre of pornography that is centered around alternative [[subculture]]s, such as [[Goth subculture|goth]]s, [[emo]]s, [[Scene (subculture)|scenes]], [[skater subculture|skater]]s, [[Hipster subculture|hipsters]], [[Punk subculture|punks]], [[skinhead]]s, and/or [[rave]]rs, and is often produced by small and independent websites or filmmakers. It often features [[Model (person)|model]]s with [[body modification]]s such as [[tattoo]]s, [[Body piercing|piercings]], or [[scarification]]s, or temporary modifications such as [[Hair coloring|dyed hair]] or extreme makeup. The term '''indie porn''' is occasionally used, though this term is more generally used as a synonym for [[Amateur pornography|independent pornography]], regardless of affinity with any kind of alternative subculture.

== History ==
The work of [[Gregory Dark]], [[David Aaron Clark]], [[Michael Ninn]], and [[Stephen Sayadian]] are seen as the early creators of the alt porn genre. The [[Cinema of Transgression]] of [[Richard Kern]] and [[Nick Zedd]] (as well as Kern's later photographic work) can also be viewed as early examples of alt porn.<ref>[http://www.blueblood.net/2006/10/punk-art-porn-vivid-vca-eros-zine/ "Corporate Red Tape on My Mouth and the Punk Art Porn Allstars"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070603101858/http://www.blueblood.net/2006/10/punk-art-porn-vivid-vca-eros-zine/ |date=2007-06-03 }} by Amelia G, ''BlueBlood.net'', October 29th, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.blackbookmag.com/Features/2006/Issue_45/Altporn.aqf "Altporn: Just Because it Looks Punk Rock, Doesn't Mean it Is" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061202013105/http://www.blackbookmag.com/Features/2006/Issue_45/Altporn.aqf |date=2006-12-02 }} by Brandon Stosuy, ''[[BlackBook Magazine|BlackBook]]'' magazine (website) #45, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Richard+Kern/ "Richard Kern"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102042702/http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Richard+Kern/ |date=2007-01-02 }} (interview) by Daniel Robert Epstein, ''SuicideGirls'', September 1, 2004.</ref>

The first venue explicitly devoted to "subcultural erotica" was Blue Blood,<ref>[http://www.blueblood.com/about_us_blueblood.html "About Us"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823210728/http://www.blueblood.com/about_us_blueblood.html |date=2006-08-23 }}, BlueBlood.com.</ref> a glossy magazine that began in 1992 and featured models with a [[Goth subculture|goth]] or [[cyberpunk]] look. The biggest market for alt porn however has been on the Internet. Other than a few ephemeral personal websites, the earliest explicitly alt porn site was Blue Blood's GothicSluts.com, established in early 1999. This was followed shortly after by Raverporn.net, which was later renamed EroticBPM.com, in July of the same year, and later followed by NakkidNerds in December, Supercult had appeared in 2000. By late 2001, [[SuicideGirls]] had grown to become the most popular and financially lucrative alt porn site and has been since. With the success of SuicideGirls, the number of alt porn sites has grown in number since 2002.<ref name=mies>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070213221227/http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/MagArticle.cfm?SID=4595180B2F36F06B190549CC05861536&DSN=nsrc_dsn&Mode=EDIT&Article=631&ReturnURL=1 "Evolution of Alternative: History and controversies of the alt-erotica industry"] by Ginny Mies, ''[[American Sexuality]]'', September 25, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://altporn.net/2007/04/28/altporn-altporn-genre-history-timeline/ "AltPorn: AltPorn Genre History Timeline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070501170345/http://altporn.net/2007/04/28/altporn-altporn-genre-history-timeline/ |date=2007-05-01 }} (part 1) by Beeker the StatsNrrd, ''Altporn.net'', April 28, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://altporn.net/2007/05/15/altporn-altporn-genre-history-timeline-2/ "AltPorn: AltPorn Genre History Timeline"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701211720/http://altporn.net/2007/05/15/altporn-altporn-genre-history-timeline-2/ |date=2010-07-01 }} (part 2) by Beeker the StatsNrrd, ''Altporn.net'', May 15, 2007.</ref> In addition to the above-mentioned sites, well-known altporn websites in operation as of September 2008 include Lazerbunny, [[Burning Angel]], and GodsGirls.

The terms "alternative porn" or "alt porn" were coined in the early 2000s in reference to SuicideGirls, RaverPorn, and similar sites. Longer-standing projects, such as Blue Blood, generally used terms such as "subcultural [[erotica]]".<ref>[http://community.livejournal.com/altporn/673.html untitled comment by Forrest Black], ''altporn [[LiveJournal]] community'', February 11, 2003. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313135009/http://community.livejournal.com/altporn/673.html |date=March 13, 2007 }}</ref>

Alt porn websites are often distinguished by their use of [[message boards]], [[blogs]], [[social networking]], and other features of [[online community]], encouraging participation by both models and viewers. While these features are not exclusive to alt porn sites, their inclusion stands in stark contrast to the standard operating procedures adopted by more typical [[porn sites]] which tend to feature more or less anonymous models who are viewed by anonymous visitors.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}

Alt porn-themed videos are also becoming a growing niche in the [[adult video]] market. The work of directors [[Stephen Sayadian]] and [[Gregory Dark]] during the 1980s and early 1990s had many of the features of later alt porn, and are often cited as being key contributing influences on current alt porn video. In 2001, two [[Amateur pornography|amateur]] videos under the title ''Technosex'' were produced, featuring women involved in the [[rave]] scene along with a [[techno]] music soundtrack. Since 2004, director [[Eon McKai]] has been producing alt porn-themed videos for [[VCA Pictures]] (an otherwise mainstream adult video studio)<ref>[http://www.villagevoice.com/people/0546,taormino,69982,24.html "The Prince of Alt-Porn"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515052305/http://www.villagevoice.com/people/0546%2Ctaormino%2C69982%2C24.html |date=2007-05-15 }} by [[Tristan Taormino]], ''[[Village Voice]]'', November 11th, 2005.</ref> and, in 2006, was signed by [[Vivid Entertainment]] to produce alt porn-themed videos under the Vivid-ALT imprint. In 2006, McKai remade Gregory Dark's seminal punk porno film ''[[New Wave Hookers]]'', using some of the original script with a different twist and calling the film ''Neu Wave Hookers''. Vivid-ALT had also signed noted fetish photographers [[Dave Naz]] and Octavio "Winkytiki" Arizala.<ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20060303082437/http://ainews.com/story/10106/ "Vivid Forms Vivid-Alt To Distribute Eon Mckai"]}} press release by Vivid PR, ''Adult Industry News'' (website), February 17, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.gramponante.com/2006/05/vivid-wins-alt-war-without-shot-being.html "Vivid wins Alt war without shot being fired"]; {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614014408/http://www.gramponante.com/2006/05/vivid-wins-alt-war-without-shot-being.html |date=2006-06-14 }} by Gram Ponante, ''Porn Valley Observed'' (website), May 10, 2006.</ref>

== Controversies ==
{{Original research|section|date=February 2015}}

Many members of the alt porn community disagree on the definition of alt porn. Some consider it mostly an [[aesthetic]] quality while others see it as having a more [[Ideology|ideological]] definition. This includes controversies over whether alt porn sites and videos should restrict themselves to [[Softcore pornography|softcore]] [[pin-up]] photography or include more sexually explicit [[Hardcore pornography|hardcore]] content, whether alt porn need be explicitly [[feminist]] or not, and whether alt porn venues should present models of all [[gender]]s and a range of [[body types]] rather than just [[Physical attractiveness|conventionally attractive]] young women.<ref name=mies/> Since every pornography company conducts its business and treats their models differently, it is hard to define it on an ideological basis, although the models' freedom to speak their mind both about the industry, their employers, and [[political agenda]]s is considered by some to be a vital part of the alt porn community. [[SuicideGirls]] have been criticized for restricting their employees' ability to make public comments of this nature. This led to a public falling out between the owners of SuicideGirls and a number of their former models,<ref name=mies/><ref>[http://www.portlandphoenix.com/features/other_stories/documents/05018238.asp "SuicideGirls revolt"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214124337/http://www.portlandphoenix.com/features/other_stories/documents/05018238.asp |date=2008-02-14 }} by Deirdre Fulton, ''[[Portland Phoenix]]'', October 7, 2005.</ref><ref>[http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/01.04.06/suicidegirls-0601.html "Obscene But Not Heard"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607035415/http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/01.04.06/suicidegirls-0601.html |date=2011-06-07 }} by Peter Koht, ''[[Metro Silicon Valley|Metroactive]]'', January 4, 2006.</ref> and larger debates as to whether alternative porn was inherently any more [[Empowerment|empowering]] than mainstream porn.

== See also ==
* {{Portal-inline|Pornography}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
* Bakst, Alex (October 20, 2006). [http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,443834,00.html "The Berlin Porn Festival: Alternative Smut for the Silver Screen"]. ''[[Der Spiegel]] Online''.
* Bateman, Jessica (January 3, 2007). [https://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2007/01/alternative "A Real Alternative?"]. ''The F-Word''.
* Diehl, Matt (2007). Chapter 8: "Sex and the Single (Suicide) Girl: Are You Ready to be Liberated?" ''My So-Called Punk''. St. Martin's Griffin pp. 207–234.. {{ISBN|0-312-33781-7}}.
* Hockenson, Lauren; Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Boris (August 31, 2012). [https://thenextweb.com/news/issue-v0-8-the-rise-alt-porn "Issue v0.8: The Rise of Alt Porn"]. ''TNW Magazine''.
* Jacobs, Katrien (2007). ''Netporn: DIY Web Culture and Sexual Politics''. [[Rowman & Littlefield|Rowman & Littlefield Pubs]]. {{ISBN|0-7425-5432-5}}.
* Mayberry, Lauren (July 30, 2009). [https://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/46362-from-barbie-doll-to-razordoll-the-sexual-shift-in-porn "From Barbie Doll to Razordoll: The Sexual Shift in Porn"]. ''[[The Skinny (magazine)|The Skinny]]''.
* Nelson, Sean (February 5, 2003). [https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=13226 "Maximum Tits 'N' Ass"]. ''[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]]''.
* Stokes, Peter (November 2005). [https://web.archive.org/web/20051103012000/http://www.adultvideonews.com/cover/cover1105_01.html "We Want Our Porn and We Want It Now!"]. ''[[AVN (magazine)|AVN]]''.
* Thorne, Chris (September 2006). [https://www.xcritic.com/columns/column.php?columnID=147 "Behind The Scenes at Vivid-Alt"]. ''XCritic''. 
* Tomlin, Annie (December 2002). [https://web.archive.org/web/20060724105124/http://www.bitchmagazine.com/archives/12_02sg/sg.shtml "Sex, Dreads, and Rock 'n' Roll"]. ''[[Bitch (magazine)|Bitch]]''.
* Watson, Paul (February 29, 2004). [http://www.lazaruscorporation.co.uk/articles/alternaporn "Alternaporn: We Sing the Body Politic"]. ''The Lazarus Corporation''.
* Ziegler, Chris (January 23, 2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20061027192742/http://www.ocweekly.com/features/features/orgasm-addict/21235/ "Orgasm Addict: Punk Porn Gets Off on the Internet"]. ''[[OC Weekly]]''.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://fullxcinema.org/the-rise-of-alt-porn-alternative-adult-entertainment-in-the-digital-era/ The Rise of Alt Porn – FullXCinema]{{Dead link|date=October 2025}} – In-depth article about the evolution and cultural impact of alternative adult entertainment.

{{Pornography}}
{{Emo}}
{{Goth subculture}}
{{Punk}}
{{Skateboarding}}

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[[Category:Alt porn| ]]
[[Category:DIY culture]]
[[Category:Emo]]
[[Category:Goth subculture]]
[[Category:Hipster (contemporary subculture)]]
[[Category:Pornography]]
[[Category:Punk]]
[[Category:Subcultures]]