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The online revolution that’s turning the porn industry on its head
NOVEMBER 9, 20154:28AM
Not only has Playboy magazine stopped publishing photographs of naked women, but the mogul behind the iconic publication, and his bevy of “bunnies”, have lost their shock value.
Now there’s a new adult entertainment boss in town, with an equally fervent appreciation for younger lovers — and she’s on a mission to revolutionise the way we view, talk about and have sex.
Her name is Cindy Gallop and, although explicit videos are her stock in trade, she’s far from being a traditional pornographer.
Through her website Makelovenotporn, the 55-year-old former advertising executive aims to make sex socially acceptable.
The site features home videos of real people having “real sex”, which Gallop says is distinct from the so-called amateur porn that proliferates on the wider internet.
Keeping it real: Colin and Gray are a real-life couple who share their sex life online.Source:Supplied
“It’s not about performing for the camera; it’s about just capturing what goes on in the real world in all its funny, accessible glory,” she said.
“All around the world, everybody wants to know what everybody else is doing in bed,” she said.
“Now, for the first time, we’re showing that.”
It all started when the self-confessed cougar noticed a disturbing trend among her younger lovers: a tendency to expect real-life sex to resemble what they’d watched online.
Gallop shared her concerns in an explicit TED talk that went viral across the globe — the YouTube version has been viewed almost 4 million times.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND ADULT THEMES
“When I have sex with younger men, I encounter very directly and personally the real ramifications of the creeping ubiquity of hardcore pornography in our culture,” Gallop said.
“There is an entire generation growing up that believes that what you see in hardcore porn is the way that you have sex. And this is particularly exacerbated because we live in a puritanical, double standards culture.”
She said the available of porn online meant children were being exposed to it at younger ages than ever before, while their parents and teachers shied away from frank conversations about sex.
“So, it’s not surprising that hardcore porn has become defacto sex education,” Gallop said.
As a result, she argued, “a re-education, rehabilitation and reorientation needs to take place”.
Let’s talk about sex.Source:Supplied
That’s the professed goal of Makelovenotporn.com, a business that answers “an untapped social need” for real life sex videos.
The site’s point of difference is its ultra-realism, which is in stark contrast with the staged and slickly-produced moan-fests of the wider internet.
Contributors must submit introductory videos providing a context to their exploits, explaining “why they decided to do this”.
“Porn is purely and simply masturbation material, but we are many things on top of that,” Gallop said.
“We celebrate real world bodies, real world flab, real world penis size and breast size — unlike porn, which is full of ludicrously aspirational body types.”
Condom mishaps and involuntary quiffes are featured in clips that she describes as “the sex version of funniest home videos”.
Thousands of viewers have emailed Gallop to express their appreciation for the site’s existence, she said.
“We showcase emotion, intimacy and romance, and people email us saying ‘I saw the way you looked at each other — it was so moving. I want to find someone I feel like that about’,” Gallop said.
“We had a wonderful email from a 24-year-old guy, saying ‘Your site makes me want to have sex in a more grow up, responsible way’.”
Professional porn stars have also come on board, submitting videos of themselves having sex in the real world, and talking about how it differs from their work.
All contributors must provide photo identification and consent forms to prove that everyone involved in making the content is a consenting adult, and submissions are manually vetted to ensure they meet the guidelines.
Gallop is at pains to emphasise that she is not anti-porn; she watches it herself.
“The issue is not porn, it’s the absence of an open conversation about sex,” she said.
“We are pro-sex, pro-porn and pro-knowing the difference.”
She wants her site’s contributors to become as famous as YouTube stars.
So far the site has about 100 couples on board — including hipster duo Colin and Gray whose quirky videos show them reading together in bed, playing chess, camping and performing dorky dance routines.
On one level, it seems like the final frontier in reality viewing and social networking — but, with sites like Facebook banning even the most innocent bare nipple, Gallop’s Utopian vision seems a long way off.
But with almost half a million members renting videos, Gallop said the channel had been generating revenue since the day it went live two-and-a-half years ago.
Contributors can earns thousands of dollars a year, but the business is yet to achieve the “critical mass” necessary to reach its potential, and Gallop works fulltime without drawing down a wage.
She is convinced that she has tapped into a burgeoning market and wants to scale up the business and hire a fulltime team of developers, but her capital-raising mission has hit a roadblock.
Determined: Gallop wants to shake-up the internet.Source:Supplied
“There’s a social stigma and fear of what other people will think — that rules out institutional investors and crowd funding,” she said.
“Successful crowd funding requires a large number of people who publicly value something. Most crowd funding platforms have a no adult content policy, and make an artificial distinction about what that means.”
The only remaining option is to hunt down high-net-worth angel investors who believe in what she is trying to do, which is why Gallop says yes to every media opportunity and speaking engagement that comes her way.
Her pitch is high-octane, enthusiastic and infecting.
“When you have a truly world-changing start-up, you have to change the world to fit, not the other way around,” Gallop said.
“It’s a huge opportunity — and, boy oh boy, there’s money to be made.”
dana.mccauley@news.com.au
@Dana_Adele
NOVEMBER 9, 20154:28AM
Forget the Playboy Mansion.
HUGH Hefner is so passé.
HUGH Hefner is so passé.
Not only has Playboy magazine stopped publishing photographs of naked women, but the mogul behind the iconic publication, and his bevy of “bunnies”, have lost their shock value.
Now there’s a new adult entertainment boss in town, with an equally fervent appreciation for younger lovers — and she’s on a mission to revolutionise the way we view, talk about and have sex.
Her name is Cindy Gallop and, although explicit videos are her stock in trade, she’s far from being a traditional pornographer.
Through her website Makelovenotporn, the 55-year-old former advertising executive aims to make sex socially acceptable.
The site features home videos of real people having “real sex”, which Gallop says is distinct from the so-called amateur porn that proliferates on the wider internet.
Keeping it real: Colin and Gray are a real-life couple who share their sex life online.Source:Supplied
“It’s not about performing for the camera; it’s about just capturing what goes on in the real world in all its funny, accessible glory,” she said.
“All around the world, everybody wants to know what everybody else is doing in bed,” she said.
“Now, for the first time, we’re showing that.”
It all started when the self-confessed cougar noticed a disturbing trend among her younger lovers: a tendency to expect real-life sex to resemble what they’d watched online.
Gallop shared her concerns in an explicit TED talk that went viral across the globe — the YouTube version has been viewed almost 4 million times.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND ADULT THEMES
“When I have sex with younger men, I encounter very directly and personally the real ramifications of the creeping ubiquity of hardcore pornography in our culture,” Gallop said.
“There is an entire generation growing up that believes that what you see in hardcore porn is the way that you have sex. And this is particularly exacerbated because we live in a puritanical, double standards culture.”
She said the available of porn online meant children were being exposed to it at younger ages than ever before, while their parents and teachers shied away from frank conversations about sex.
“So, it’s not surprising that hardcore porn has become defacto sex education,” Gallop said.
As a result, she argued, “a re-education, rehabilitation and reorientation needs to take place”.
Let’s talk about sex.Source:Supplied
That’s the professed goal of Makelovenotporn.com, a business that answers “an untapped social need” for real life sex videos.
The site’s point of difference is its ultra-realism, which is in stark contrast with the staged and slickly-produced moan-fests of the wider internet.
Contributors must submit introductory videos providing a context to their exploits, explaining “why they decided to do this”.
“Porn is purely and simply masturbation material, but we are many things on top of that,” Gallop said.
“We celebrate real world bodies, real world flab, real world penis size and breast size — unlike porn, which is full of ludicrously aspirational body types.”
Condom mishaps and involuntary quiffes are featured in clips that she describes as “the sex version of funniest home videos”.
Thousands of viewers have emailed Gallop to express their appreciation for the site’s existence, she said.
“We showcase emotion, intimacy and romance, and people email us saying ‘I saw the way you looked at each other — it was so moving. I want to find someone I feel like that about’,” Gallop said.
“We had a wonderful email from a 24-year-old guy, saying ‘Your site makes me want to have sex in a more grow up, responsible way’.”
Professional porn stars have also come on board, submitting videos of themselves having sex in the real world, and talking about how it differs from their work.
All contributors must provide photo identification and consent forms to prove that everyone involved in making the content is a consenting adult, and submissions are manually vetted to ensure they meet the guidelines.
Gallop is at pains to emphasise that she is not anti-porn; she watches it herself.
“The issue is not porn, it’s the absence of an open conversation about sex,” she said.
“We are pro-sex, pro-porn and pro-knowing the difference.”
She wants her site’s contributors to become as famous as YouTube stars.
So far the site has about 100 couples on board — including hipster duo Colin and Gray whose quirky videos show them reading together in bed, playing chess, camping and performing dorky dance routines.
On one level, it seems like the final frontier in reality viewing and social networking — but, with sites like Facebook banning even the most innocent bare nipple, Gallop’s Utopian vision seems a long way off.
But with almost half a million members renting videos, Gallop said the channel had been generating revenue since the day it went live two-and-a-half years ago.
Contributors can earns thousands of dollars a year, but the business is yet to achieve the “critical mass” necessary to reach its potential, and Gallop works fulltime without drawing down a wage.
She is convinced that she has tapped into a burgeoning market and wants to scale up the business and hire a fulltime team of developers, but her capital-raising mission has hit a roadblock.
Determined: Gallop wants to shake-up the internet.Source:Supplied
“There’s a social stigma and fear of what other people will think — that rules out institutional investors and crowd funding,” she said.
“Successful crowd funding requires a large number of people who publicly value something. Most crowd funding platforms have a no adult content policy, and make an artificial distinction about what that means.”
The only remaining option is to hunt down high-net-worth angel investors who believe in what she is trying to do, which is why Gallop says yes to every media opportunity and speaking engagement that comes her way.
Her pitch is high-octane, enthusiastic and infecting.
“When you have a truly world-changing start-up, you have to change the world to fit, not the other way around,” Gallop said.
“It’s a huge opportunity — and, boy oh boy, there’s money to be made.”
dana.mccauley@news.com.au
@Dana_Adele