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Mike Rugnetta: Friends, hello,
and welcome to Never Post, a

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podcast for and about the
Internet. I'm your host, Mike

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Rugnetta, and we have a
desirable show for you today.

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Senior producer Hans Buto talks
with sexual wellness educator

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Courtney Brame and cofounders of
SWR Data, Melrose Michaels, and

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Mike Stabil about the rise in
safe for work content searches

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on the very not safe for work
platform Pornhub. Why is this

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happening? What does it tell us
about the Internet at large?

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And is it really safe for work?
Before we get to Hans, who

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attempts to answer these
questions and more, some ads,

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unless you're on the member
feed, and then a quick story

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from reporter Bob Woodward in
his book, The Brethren, about

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some old men in a basement
watching body movies. It's the

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nineteen sixties in Washington.
The men are mostly in their

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seventies, and they are the
justices of the Supreme Court of

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the United States with their
younger clerks. They all gather

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once a session in the basement
or maybe a conference room of

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the Supreme Court Building.

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They make popcorn, and together
they watch a series of

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pornographic movies. Because
each movie is an exhibit in an

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obscenity case that has appealed
to the court, and the system at

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the time was that these people
had to go through them one by

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one to judge based on their own
direct experience if those films

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were, in fact, obscene. Each of
the nine judges dealt with movie

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day, as they called it, a little
differently. Judges Douglas and

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Black never attended. Nothing
should be banned, they said, and

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they dubbed it a supreme court
of censors.

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Judge Berger just didn't want to
go. Judge Harlan, who was ill

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and nearly blind by the end of
his career in 1971, would sit

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just a few feet from the screen.
He could only see shapes and

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outlines and had his clerks
describe to him what was

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happening. Famously, around this
time, his wife had to read Lady

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Chatterley's Lover to him. But
maybe most famously, in 1964,

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during this ritual, justice
Potter Stewart coined the phrase

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that would become perhaps the
most famous yardstick for

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measuring obscenity.

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He said, I know it when I see
it. Now, I know it when I see it

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is not a legal standard by any
stretch, but it has lingered for

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sixty years as a shorthand for
how we think about the nuance of

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what is and is not pornography.
Our story today is not about

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litigating obscenity, but it is
about how we know what fits into

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which categories when it comes
to the murky, the personal, and

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the private world of desire and
sex. What is and is not safe for

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work? Well, maybe we know it
when we see it.

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And we are looking for it. The
data says so. But first, around

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the world, there are cameras,
cameras, cameras. And a lot of

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those cameras are connected to
the Internet. And some of those

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cameras are on 20 fourseven,
pointed at one thing, an

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unblinking eye.

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And some of those cameras have
microphones, always listening,

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even when there isn't really
anything going on. So in our

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interstitials this episode,
quiet cams. Live streamed

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cameras with microphones in
places where really not much is

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happening at all. In order, the
Namib Desert, the North Circular

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Road in Dublin, and Lamai Beach
in Thailand.

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Hans Buetow: We love some data
here on Neverpost. Give me some

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data, and I'll give you the
world. That is a quote from

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legendary Pittsburgh Steelers
quarterback Terry Bradshaw. I

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just made it up, but we believe
in it very strongly. So I got

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very excited when last December,
as they do every December, one

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one of the biggest porn sites in
the world, Pornhub, published a

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report analyzing some of the
usage data that they had

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collected over the past years.

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Search terms, biggest
categories, visit length, top

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performers, breaking all that
stuff down by country and then

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even by state. We don't see any
data, it's only analysis. So as

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legendary Minnesota Vikings
quarterback Fran Tarkenton said,

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you can tell any story from the
data, so be careful. When I

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looked at the stats this past
December, one thing in this most

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recent report made me go like
legendary Browns quarterback

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Otto Graham did at some point in
his life. One of the top six

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trends that the data team at
Pornhub noticed for 2025 was a

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rise in safe for work content.

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It said, quote, it might be
counterintuitive to think people

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come to Pornhub for safe for
work content, but over the

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years, it has been impossible to
deny its rising popularity. Some

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of the top gaming categories of
2025, podcast up 327%, gaming up

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283%, and music up 62%, shows
users interest in creators and

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sexuality goes beyond
pornography, end quote. This

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tickled my brain as much as
legendary jets quarterback Joe

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Namath tickled his teammates in
the locker room in some of the

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internet fanfic that I found.
Why, I asked myself, would

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people be watching safe for work
content on one of the most not

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safe for work platforms? I
expected that the answer was

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gonna be a combination of a few
things.

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One, that Gen Z is in a so
called sex recession, having

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even less sex than us chaste
millennials did back in our day.

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Two, that chastity content like
anti masturbation stuff is on

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the rise, especially amongst the
manosphere boys. Three, that

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Pornhub had always been used for
weird, say, for work

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experiments. So weird comedy
pranks, full length Hollywood

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movie piracy, and just assorted
hoozy whats it for a long time.

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And four, the fact that due to
age verification laws, which

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we've covered on the show
before, causing Pornhub to be

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unavailable in half the states
in The US, half the dataset

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would be missing, and the data
would be off or at least

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different.

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And truly, some of those four
are factors in the rise of

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searches for safer work content
on Pornhub, but I still wanted

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to look into whether I was
missing something. And boy

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howdy. Spoiler? Yes, I was. So
first, let's talk about what you

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get when you search for safe for
work content on Pornhub.

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What are we talking about? Well,
not all of what you find with

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that label is really actually
safe for work. I mean, I guess

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it depends on where you work. I
don't know where you work. But

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there is a gradation of
sexualized content.

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There are very safe for work
videos like-

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Pornhub: I got this little card
right here.

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Hans Buetow: People unboxing Yu
Gi Oh card packs. There's hand

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cleaning videos. Hi there. ASMR
and video game speedrun.

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Pornhub: I was trying it. I was
looking for that jammer.

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Hans Buetow: There are people in
front of chalkboards and

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whiteboards just explaining
complicated math concepts.

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Pornhub: The sum notation, which
you might have seen as this.

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Hans Buetow: Then there are the
videos that move into talking

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about sex and sexuality.

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Pornhub: Otherwise, you're not
going to make money.

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Hans Buetow: Mhmm. So advice for
how to model in the platform.

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Sexual wellness discussions.

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Pornhub: My husband and I
decided, why don't I make, like,

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a Tinder account? And I can
start flirting with guys.

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Hans Buetow: Kink explainers and
lots.

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Pornhub: Hold on, sex. Stop
right there. Before we start,

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Hans Buetow: we have big
exciting news. And lots.

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Pornhub: That's a good question.

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Hans Buetow: Of podcast
interviews with performers.

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Pornhub: Like a threesome in a
jail or something like that.

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Hans Buetow: Yeah. So these
sometimes get not safe for work

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when the performers move into
performing sexual acts, but they

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are often conversations about
the porn industry, performers'

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sex lives, and other sexualized
topics.

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Pornhub: Does that sound like
something you might be into?

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Hans Buetow: So in the 2025
report, there are these stats

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about the trending rise in safer
work searches in the platform.

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And just below those stats,
giving some context to why those

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stats are important, there's a
quote from a guy named Courtney

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Brame.

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Courtney Brame: And I just
approach it from that lens of,

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oh, okay. Well, let me see what
stands out. Save for work.

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Right? That's not even that's
not porn.

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Right? Like, how did this make
it into a top porn category? So

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I think that was my initial
reaction.

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Hans Buetow: Courtney is the
founder of Something Positive

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for Positive People, which is a
nonprofit platform for support,

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education, and stigma reduction
for people diagnosed with

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herpes. Courtney is also the
host of the SPFPP podcast, a

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video creator, and a consultant
for Pornhub's Sexual Wellness

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Center, which is how his name
appeared on the report. So I

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decided to do like legendary St.
Louis Rams quarterback Norm Van

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Broklin might have done, and I
called up Courtney to have him

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walk me through what he had
written about why safer work was

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trending.

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Courtney Brame: I think that
porn offers us the opportunity

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to experience what we're not
experiencing. There is the talk

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about porn use being consumed
for education but I think that a

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lot of people who may become the
porn hub are looking for

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something that is different than
what they normally have access

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to.

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Hans Buetow: For Courtney, the
rise in safe for work content

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points to more people looking
for intimacy online.

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Courtney Brame: I think back to
when Mia Khalifa went to Rooster

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Teeth, the gaming platform, and
how popular that was.

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Always Open: Mia Khalifa was
listening, guys. That's awesome.

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Lovely. Mia Khalifa. So lovely.

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Hans Buetow: Mia Khalifa was a
performer who was listed as

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number one most popular on
Pornhub in 2014, despite having

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had only a three month career.
Three years after this, she

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appears on a podcast called
Always Open.

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Always Open: Hello, everyone.
Welcome to Always Open.

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Hans Buetow: In this appearance,
as a woman best known as an

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adult performer, she doesn't
talk about it. She talks about

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her dating life. She talks about
using Lyft. She talks about

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Twitch streaming video games.

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Mia Khalifa: My favorite video
game of all time is actually one

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that I just played recently. It
was called Until Dawn.

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Always Open: Okay. Yes. I've
heard of

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Yeah. And right now, I'm playing
You played that with Edward.

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Mia Khalifa: Yeah, did. I
watched it.

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Courtney Brame: When I think
about the intimacy, think about

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the the connectedness. Right?
Sometimes we can feel more like

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we know someone and someone
knows us. I think that's like

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true intimacy. But then there's
this one-sided intimacy where

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you know someone so well and
they don't even know you exist.

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So that feels like connection,
that feels like intimacy. And I

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think that what Safe for Work
does is it also gives us that.

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Right? You listen to your
favorite podcast or you might

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watch your favorite streamer or
gamer. You may hear people just

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talking about their daily life
and you kind of feel like you're

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there.

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Hans Buetow: So then why go to a
porn site for that?

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Courtney Brame: Because oh, this
is I like this question. You you

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may have your go to people
person. You see them often and,

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you know, they get the job done.
Right? So you know you see this

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person, it's gonna be a quick
session.

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Right? And I think that having
the opportunity to see them in a

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different way because when you
watch the same person, you're

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watching them in their different
roles and their different

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performances. So that kind of
gets old and you still want that

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novelty, the newness, the
excitement. So the only thing

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that you can see them in
different outside of their

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natural naked bodies might be
them in clothes or doing

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something that isn't sexual.

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Hans Buetow: There's this quote
that I love to misattribute to

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legendary Miami Dolphins
quarterback Dan Marino, which is

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and this is it's a little bit
long, so bear with me. Quote, I

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see Courtney is describing here
a desire for a type of

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relationship transition from
purely explicit relationship

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focused entirely on a
performer's body, what we might

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call a parasexual relationship,
shifting to a relationship that

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tries to see them as real
people, that they can maybe hang

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out with, or are hanging out
with as a parasocial

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relationship. Another reason
that I found Courtney's example

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of Mia Khalifa interesting is
that in between her transition

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from porn to becoming a sports
podcaster, which she eventually

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did, at that exact same time was
the launch of OnlyFans. So it

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started in 2016 in London, and
it was a new platform that at

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that time was quickly being
adopted by adult performers so

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that they could have this direct
financial and also communication

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connection with their fans?

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Courtney Brame: On OnlyFans,
there are influencers who people

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pay to watch them do dishes.
People pay to watch them just

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take the trash out or eat their
dinner, cook. Right? So the safe

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00:16:00,075 --> 00:16:03,275
for work content just gives you
more intimate access to a

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person's day to day life, and
that can be just, hey. I'm on my

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way to the gym.

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This is my workout. This is my
Spotify playlist. Connect with

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me here. These are some of my
favorite video games, and these

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are just, like, little nuggets
of opportunities for people to

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attach and connect to and feel
more connected to the person.

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Hans Buetow: This connection
makes a lot of sense to me. It's

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one of the main reasons that
people go to places like

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OnlyFans or cam sites from a
video site. You get to do more

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than just watch, and I don't
think of those sorts of sites as

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safe for work platforms. But
what people are buying on those

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sites is not really nakedness,
it's something else. So when we

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come back from the break, we
talk with some folks who can

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help us take Courtney's intimacy
ideas beyond the arena of

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Pornhub.

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MelRose Michaels: It's it's
funny. It's a huge

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misconception. I think that
everyone on platforms like

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OnlyFans or, you know, the fan
site equivalents to it are

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selling explicit content only or
that that's the bulk of what we

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do. Really, what we sell is
access to us.

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Hans Buetow: We'll be right back
after a quick detour to Dublin

245
00:17:28,415 --> 00:19:01,790
and the North Circular Road. To
put Courtney's theory about

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intimacy to the test, I wanted
to run it past two folks.

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MelRose Michaels: So I'm Melrose
Michaels. I am a veteran adult

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performer in the adult space for
about fourteen years. I also

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00:19:12,245 --> 00:19:14,885
launched a company called
SexRick CEO. It's an educational

250
00:19:14,885 --> 00:19:16,965
company that's completely free
for adult performers and

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00:19:16,965 --> 00:19:20,725
creators. And then I cofounded a
company called SWR Data with

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00:19:20,725 --> 00:19:24,325
Mike Stabil, where we survey
adult performers and creators to

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get platform data of our
industry.

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Pornhub: So I'm Mike Stabil. I
am a twenty plus year veteran of

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00:19:30,890 --> 00:19:35,770
the industry, cofounder of SWR
Data along with with Melrose,

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which we built to try to better
understand the industry and and

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00:19:39,905 --> 00:19:42,385
understand the way that the
industry is changing.

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Hans Buetow: As folks who run a
study about the adult industry,

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00:19:45,585 --> 00:19:49,265
Mike and Melrose were familiar
with the data from Pornhub. So I

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00:19:49,265 --> 00:19:51,985
ran them through Courtney's
logic about increased safe for

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00:19:51,985 --> 00:19:55,320
work searches pointing towards
this growing desire for

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00:19:55,320 --> 00:20:00,920
intimacy, Melrose immediately
agreed. She sells access because

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that's what she sees people
asking for.

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MelRose Michaels: We live in a
world right now where parasocial

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00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,785
connection is one of the only
connections most people have on

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a day to day basis. And so I
think really what we're selling

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is just an intimate look at who
we are as people and what we're

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really like. And you're not
gonna get to know me as a person

269
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through explicit content. So in
order to have connection, you

270
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need access to me, and access is
the ability to see what I'm

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eating for lunch in a photo.
It's the ability to see me on a

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00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:30,840
lot, like, a livestream.

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It's the ability to DM me and
have me DM back. It's the real

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00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,415
day to day of what your life
looks like. You know, me on a

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00:20:36,415 --> 00:20:39,295
farm wrangling cows out of my
front yard because they all got

276
00:20:39,295 --> 00:20:41,775
out. Like, you're not gonna see
that on social. It's not

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00:20:41,775 --> 00:20:43,055
something I'm posting about.

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Hans Buetow: I would love if you
could I'm gonna put something in

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00:20:46,095 --> 00:20:49,950
the chat here. So this is from
12/06/2025. This is your your

280
00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:52,430
account on X. And if you could
just read me what you wrote

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00:20:52,430 --> 00:20:52,990
there.

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00:20:53,470 --> 00:20:56,350
MelRose Michaels: Okay. So it
says, if you ever catch feelings

283
00:20:56,350 --> 00:21:01,150
for me, tip one one one, which
is a $111, and I'll give you the

284
00:21:01,150 --> 00:21:03,950
underqualified therapist
experience and teach you about

285
00:21:03,950 --> 00:21:07,635
parasocial relationships or how
they work. And, yeah, I think

286
00:21:07,635 --> 00:21:10,835
that's a this is something
because, you know, it doesn't

287
00:21:10,835 --> 00:21:12,995
get talked about enough, but a
lot of adult creators and

288
00:21:12,995 --> 00:21:16,675
performers end up being
underqualified and overpaid

289
00:21:16,675 --> 00:21:19,475
therapists for a lot of their
fans. You know, they come to you

290
00:21:19,475 --> 00:21:24,650
about challenges they're facing,
losses they've had, really

291
00:21:24,650 --> 00:21:28,890
intimate details of their lives.
And a lot of it, especially for

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00:21:28,890 --> 00:21:31,290
a male demographic, they just
want someone to talk to.

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Hans Buetow: Okay. That's why I
did not expect that answer from

294
00:21:34,425 --> 00:21:36,425
you. I thought that you were
gonna be like, oh, no. It's

295
00:21:36,425 --> 00:21:38,745
totally a joke of things. But
this is you're being like, no.

296
00:21:38,745 --> 00:21:41,225
Actually, this is what No. Part
of just my work is.

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00:21:41,225 --> 00:21:43,625
MelRose Michaels: Absolutely.
Yeah. Absolutely. It's not just

298
00:21:43,625 --> 00:21:47,760
here's a nude topless photo of
me. It's actually getting to

299
00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:49,760
know these people and treating
them like people and helping

300
00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:51,600
them navigate their lives a lot
of the time.

301
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That's a part of what it's
become this in this day and age.

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00:22:00,035 --> 00:22:03,795
Hans Buetow: Melrose shares
content and access to her on

303
00:22:03,795 --> 00:22:07,155
several different platforms. And
the annual study that she does

304
00:22:07,155 --> 00:22:11,715
with Mike at SWR Data called the
state of creator study that

305
00:22:11,715 --> 00:22:15,710
covers a lot of those same
platforms. So it's fan sites,

306
00:22:16,030 --> 00:22:20,110
like loyal fans, fansly, sext
panther. Those are the biggest

307
00:22:20,110 --> 00:22:23,390
ones that are in the dataset
that they collect. But there are

308
00:22:23,390 --> 00:22:27,150
also cam sites like Chatterbait
or any of the streaming

309
00:22:27,150 --> 00:22:27,550
services.

310
00:22:28,305 --> 00:22:31,585
And there are also clip sites
like clips for sale, and those

311
00:22:31,585 --> 00:22:34,225
allow content creators to earn
money while they sleep. They're

312
00:22:34,225 --> 00:22:39,745
just video clip aggregates. Mike
and Melrose have put out the

313
00:22:39,745 --> 00:22:43,250
state of Creator every year
since 2022 so that they can

314
00:22:43,250 --> 00:22:47,330
better understand this ecosystem
and the creators that work in

315
00:22:47,330 --> 00:22:47,810
it.

316
00:22:48,770 --> 00:22:51,170
Mike Stabile: How do we figure
out what this community looks

317
00:22:51,170 --> 00:22:54,130
like? Because finding out what
they look like helps us find out

318
00:22:54,130 --> 00:22:58,495
what they need, right, and helps
us report on them in a a more

319
00:22:58,495 --> 00:23:00,895
realistic way. So over the
years, we've talked about things

320
00:23:00,895 --> 00:23:03,855
like banking access. Right?
We've talked about things like

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00:23:03,855 --> 00:23:06,015
what types of content are you
making?

322
00:23:06,015 --> 00:23:08,575
Where are you located? You know,
how much money do you make? What

323
00:23:08,575 --> 00:23:11,520
platforms are you on? And I
don't know that we have, you

324
00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,400
know, an exact map. I know that
we don't at this point, but

325
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,480
we're getting contours of what
this looks like.

326
00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,040
And what we've seen in the past
couple of years is a couple of

327
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,560
things. Okay. You know, one is
there were a lot of people got

328
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:27,245
into this industry in 2020. The
lockdown Yeah. People did not

329
00:23:27,245 --> 00:23:28,765
have another way to connect.

330
00:23:28,925 --> 00:23:31,725
And this type of content really
filled that gap, and I think

331
00:23:31,725 --> 00:23:34,925
that it fill still fills that
gap. Right? Where people who are

332
00:23:35,165 --> 00:23:39,120
they may not have a social life
the way that you might imagine

333
00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,160
historically. You know, I think
there are a lot of people who do

334
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,080
seek out that connection. I
think that this industry

335
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:47,920
provides that connection to be
able to talk about desires that

336
00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:52,565
they have in a nonjudgmental way
is not accessible to most people

337
00:23:52,565 --> 00:23:53,365
anywhere else.

338
00:23:53,365 --> 00:23:56,245
Right? And our sexualities are
valid. So one of the things that

339
00:23:56,245 --> 00:24:00,725
we we've seen is a huge jump in
things like kink and fetish.

340
00:24:00,725 --> 00:24:05,090
Right? People who are trying to,
you know, explore their

341
00:24:05,090 --> 00:24:06,290
sexuality and then do it.

342
00:24:06,290 --> 00:24:09,650
And a lot of that is safe for
work. You think about things

343
00:24:09,650 --> 00:24:14,450
like ASMR. Right? Yeah. That is
sexuality adjacent.

344
00:24:14,450 --> 00:24:18,850
And so there is a lot of vanilla
content out there, and a lot of

345
00:24:18,850 --> 00:24:22,165
it is free. So the stuff that
makes money often is the stuff

346
00:24:22,165 --> 00:24:25,685
that is more tailored to
someone's specific desires.

347
00:24:26,325 --> 00:24:29,525
Hans Buetow: Mike called these
sites, these sites like Pornhub,

348
00:24:29,525 --> 00:24:34,450
the the tube sites, Mike called
them a launch pad. You go there

349
00:24:34,450 --> 00:24:37,410
because it's what comes up when
you feel a desire, but you don't

350
00:24:37,410 --> 00:24:42,130
know where to go except Google.
In the first two years of the

351
00:24:42,130 --> 00:24:46,530
study, they found that on fan
and cam sites, the number of

352
00:24:46,530 --> 00:24:52,895
folks offering kink and fetish
content increased by 70%. So if

353
00:24:52,895 --> 00:24:57,615
we're seeing more safe for work
searches on the Launchpad

354
00:24:57,615 --> 00:25:02,730
platform, maybe, like Courtney
is saying, maybe that reflects a

355
00:25:02,730 --> 00:25:06,970
growing desire by more users for
something more.

356
00:25:10,410 --> 00:25:14,890
Mike Stabile: People really want
something that feels authentic

357
00:25:14,890 --> 00:25:18,325
to them, that resonates with,
you know, their body. Things

358
00:25:18,325 --> 00:25:21,845
like kissing fetishes, right,
have risen dramatically. Like,

359
00:25:21,845 --> 00:25:27,285
all of this stuff that is
produced outside of the notion

360
00:25:27,285 --> 00:25:29,365
of, like, oh, everything is
going to be hardcore sex. Most

361
00:25:29,365 --> 00:25:31,445
people what we found in our
survey is most people are

362
00:25:31,445 --> 00:25:35,660
producing solo content. 70% of
creators are not doing anything

363
00:25:35,660 --> 00:25:36,620
with a partner.

364
00:25:36,940 --> 00:25:41,420
You can't make explicit content
day after day after day. It's

365
00:25:41,420 --> 00:25:44,540
really wearing. And so people
come up with ways to how do I

366
00:25:44,540 --> 00:25:46,540
fill this? How do I do this?
What do I look like in this

367
00:25:46,540 --> 00:25:46,860
dress?

368
00:25:46,860 --> 00:25:49,635
What do you think of this? And I
think you see that on social as

369
00:25:49,635 --> 00:25:53,475
well as in in the chats. People
wanting to engage with their

370
00:25:53,475 --> 00:25:56,515
creators because it's not always
about just making a sale. It's

371
00:25:56,515 --> 00:25:57,875
about building a relationship.

372
00:25:58,195 --> 00:26:01,155
Hans Buetow: Right. Well, the
gaze is a really interesting way

373
00:26:01,155 --> 00:26:04,880
to to think about that. Like, a
solo performer in front of the

374
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:07,520
camera is going to have a
different relationship with the

375
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,120
camera gaze, and especially if
they're aware that there are

376
00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:14,240
literally other people on the
other side of that camera in

377
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,680
real time and that there's a
venue for communication back and

378
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,265
forth between the two of them.
It's more like interdiegetic or

379
00:26:21,265 --> 00:26:26,145
like like a documentary style
way of looking at gaze than it

380
00:26:26,145 --> 00:26:31,940
is a theatrical performative way
of looking at gaze. And, Naraj,

381
00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:33,780
do you think about that
differently when you when you

382
00:26:33,780 --> 00:26:35,060
are in different spaces?

383
00:26:35,460 --> 00:26:37,780
MelRose Michaels: Yeah. No. I
find that to be true completely.

384
00:26:37,780 --> 00:26:40,820
And the thing about it is is,
like, we've had this huge

385
00:26:40,820 --> 00:26:43,620
pendulum swing. Everything was
super pretty, super polished,

386
00:26:43,620 --> 00:26:45,940
super edited, super, like,
unachievable.

387
00:26:46,345 --> 00:26:48,905
And we had that pendulum swing
way back where it's like, I want

388
00:26:48,905 --> 00:26:52,585
people I relate to. I wanna see
you, you know, looking silly. I

389
00:26:52,585 --> 00:26:55,145
wanna see you being silly. I
wanna feel like you might be my

390
00:26:55,145 --> 00:26:59,400
friend. And that's why like even
the the super, you know, crazy

391
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,120
beautiful performers that are
like really conventionally

392
00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:05,320
attractive also tend to not do
as well as like the girl next

393
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,440
door types that are crushing it
on these platforms because they

394
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,520
seem more attainable, they seem
more relatable.

395
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,475
And that's just obviously for
the female creator lens, but but

396
00:27:13,475 --> 00:27:17,315
that this swing towards less
polished, more real, more

397
00:27:17,315 --> 00:27:20,595
authentic has been huge. And and
I think that speaks to why fan

398
00:27:20,595 --> 00:27:21,795
sites have done so well.

399
00:27:22,755 --> 00:27:25,555
Hans Buetow: Relatable is not
just physical. As soon as

400
00:27:25,555 --> 00:27:28,035
someone is more than just a body
on your screen, you're gonna

401
00:27:28,035 --> 00:27:32,610
start looking for commonalities.
Right? Like, when we can express

402
00:27:32,610 --> 00:27:37,010
our affection, we want to. Love
language is not a phrase that I

403
00:27:37,010 --> 00:27:39,410
like using because it's it's
pretty restrictive, it's

404
00:27:39,410 --> 00:27:42,050
ultimately the love languages
are pretty random.

405
00:27:42,655 --> 00:27:45,375
But it is a helpful rubric
because it is true that we wanna

406
00:27:45,375 --> 00:27:48,015
share affection in a way that's
meaningful to us.

407
00:27:48,415 --> 00:27:50,335
Mike Stabile: There are lots of
relationships, especially in

408
00:27:50,335 --> 00:27:53,215
heterosexual relationships,
where men are used to get

409
00:27:53,215 --> 00:27:56,175
pleasure from buying things for
women, right, or giving them

410
00:27:56,175 --> 00:27:59,560
things or, you know, feeling
seen by them. And I think that,

411
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,040
you know, looking at some of the
stuff that does really well,

412
00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:04,600
clothes may not come off at all.
Right? It's something like

413
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,360
financial domination, right,
where, you know, someone may

414
00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,245
just ask, listen. You know,
you're my sub.

415
00:28:11,245 --> 00:28:14,525
I want you to pay me a $100. I'm
going to brunch. Who's gonna buy

416
00:28:14,525 --> 00:28:17,645
this for me? Or I want a new
pair of new shoes. They send a

417
00:28:17,645 --> 00:28:19,805
pair of new shoes, and then they
send a picture of them on.

418
00:28:19,805 --> 00:28:23,485
So it's women taking charge.
It's men feeling like, hey.

419
00:28:23,485 --> 00:28:26,750
Listen. I this is an
uncomfortable situation for me.

420
00:28:26,910 --> 00:28:28,830
I would like to have some of the
pressure off me.

421
00:28:28,830 --> 00:28:30,110
You tell me what to do.

422
00:28:30,190 --> 00:28:32,350
MelRose Michaels: Yeah. And then
to that point too, with that

423
00:28:32,350 --> 00:28:36,030
kink specifically, financial
domination, a lot of that is a a

424
00:28:36,030 --> 00:28:39,605
fan coming to you asking you to
help them make a budget so that

425
00:28:39,605 --> 00:28:43,445
they can spend on you in a way
that is reliable and consistent

426
00:28:43,445 --> 00:28:46,725
for you. So you actually help
them budget their finances,

427
00:28:46,725 --> 00:28:49,765
which actually helps them.
People like to think financial

428
00:28:49,765 --> 00:28:51,925
domination as like you're just
draining someone's wallet and

429
00:28:51,925 --> 00:28:55,230
like using them. But a lot of it
comes with a lot of care and a

430
00:28:55,230 --> 00:28:58,190
lot of kindness and also helps
them get on track in their own

431
00:28:58,190 --> 00:28:58,590
lives.

432
00:28:58,590 --> 00:29:01,790
So there's two sides to a lot of
a lot of kink and fetish

433
00:29:01,790 --> 00:29:02,750
specifically.

434
00:29:03,310 --> 00:29:05,950
Hans Buetow: Do you find that
that, like, if you expand that

435
00:29:05,950 --> 00:29:09,475
dynamic out of that specific
fetish into some of the other

436
00:29:09,475 --> 00:29:13,475
ones, that that sort of pattern
repeats itself in some of the

437
00:29:13,475 --> 00:29:14,435
other spaces?

438
00:29:14,915 --> 00:29:16,915
MelRose Michaels: I think to
some degree, yeah. Like, another

439
00:29:16,915 --> 00:29:20,840
really big one is jerk off
instruction. Suggesting or

440
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,720
instructing a fan on how to
pleasure themselves. You can

441
00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,400
also maybe suggest or say things
that they haven't done before,

442
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,440
which lets them be exploratory
with themselves and kinda grants

443
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,400
them this permission because
they're just following the

444
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,400
instruction, then that takes a
little bit of the pressure off

445
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,095
too. I think that there's a lot
of common themes like that.

446
00:29:38,415 --> 00:29:40,495
Mike Stabile: Yeah. You look at,
like, a lot of things like make

447
00:29:40,495 --> 00:29:44,095
me buy, and it gives you the
permission to say, oh, I didn't

448
00:29:44,095 --> 00:29:47,375
come up with that. I'm not doing
that. Goddess has asked me to do

449
00:29:47,375 --> 00:29:50,710
that. And often, they're
entirely clothed.

450
00:29:50,950 --> 00:29:53,830
They are just giving you
permission to explore.

451
00:29:55,030 --> 00:29:56,950
Hans Buetow: When I start
thinking about permission to

452
00:29:56,950 --> 00:30:01,915
explore and mapping that against
the idea of intimacy and

453
00:30:01,915 --> 00:30:06,475
parasocial authenticity, it
starts to make sense to me that

454
00:30:06,475 --> 00:30:09,995
folks often find a need for
those to be hand in glove. It's

455
00:30:09,995 --> 00:30:14,475
a building of trust, not just in
the performer, but in yourself.

456
00:30:15,115 --> 00:30:18,960
And I don't know, but I don't
think that trust is as easily

457
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:23,200
accessible through impersonal
mass broadcast content.

458
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,200
Mike Stabile: People want
something that is a little bit

459
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,760
more custom. Right? They want
custom content. They want clips

460
00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:30,480
that speak to them. And so
that's really where we we sort

461
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:35,585
of see the growth is in this
really specific articulations of

462
00:30:35,585 --> 00:30:37,185
sexuality that resonate with
you.

463
00:30:37,185 --> 00:30:40,145
It's not just about playboy, and
it's not just about one body

464
00:30:40,145 --> 00:30:43,825
type. Right? They have this idea
that the adult industry is a

465
00:30:43,825 --> 00:30:47,130
monolith and that everybody
looks like Jenna Jameson did in

466
00:30:47,130 --> 00:30:51,610
1990. And because, you know, in
those days, you had to sell to

467
00:30:51,690 --> 00:30:53,850
the greatest common denominator.
Right?

468
00:30:53,850 --> 00:30:56,730
What was the easiest thing to
sell to the most people? Now

469
00:30:57,050 --> 00:31:00,570
that doesn't sell nearly as well
as things that are specific to,

470
00:31:00,945 --> 00:31:03,345
you know, an individual, and
that's lots of different body

471
00:31:03,345 --> 00:31:05,185
types. That's lots of different
genders. That's lots of

472
00:31:05,185 --> 00:31:06,465
different sexualities.

473
00:31:10,945 --> 00:31:13,825
Hans Buetow: With a lot of
individual denominators and

474
00:31:13,825 --> 00:31:18,100
everyone looking for the one
that speaks to them, one of the

475
00:31:18,100 --> 00:31:21,700
markers that becomes important
in differentiating them is

476
00:31:22,180 --> 00:31:26,980
authenticity. Courtney Melrose
and Mike all talked about being

477
00:31:26,980 --> 00:31:32,815
real and authentic, But I was
hearing them use those words and

478
00:31:32,815 --> 00:31:36,815
those concepts differently than
I had previously heard. Because

479
00:31:36,815 --> 00:31:39,055
the conversation about
authenticity has been a part of

480
00:31:39,055 --> 00:31:44,610
the porn literature for literal
decades, But that conversation

481
00:31:44,770 --> 00:31:49,650
has mostly revolved around the
realness of the performance. Was

482
00:31:49,650 --> 00:31:52,130
she faking it? Can he really go
that long?

483
00:31:52,130 --> 00:31:57,105
Is she always that ready to go?
The number of books and papers

484
00:31:57,105 --> 00:32:01,265
that I looked through that were
dicing, scrutinizing, analyzing

485
00:32:01,265 --> 00:32:06,385
the quivers and moans and eye
rolls and trying to hold frankly

486
00:32:06,385 --> 00:32:10,500
mostly women accountable for
being real while performing a

487
00:32:10,500 --> 00:32:13,700
sexual act, most of it was
focused on mainstream

488
00:32:13,700 --> 00:32:17,220
heterosexual porn produced by
production companies and the

489
00:32:17,220 --> 00:32:24,805
authenticity of the performer's
physical desire. I did not see

490
00:32:24,805 --> 00:32:28,325
any of that performative
authenticity from Melrose. She

491
00:32:28,325 --> 00:32:30,885
never, when we were talking,
gave me the impression that she

492
00:32:30,885 --> 00:32:35,890
was cultivating an aura of
always on or hypersexuality. And

493
00:32:35,890 --> 00:32:37,250
in fact, she was doing the
opposite.

494
00:32:37,250 --> 00:32:40,930
When I asked her directly about
how she thinks about

495
00:32:40,930 --> 00:32:44,690
authenticity, her answer had
nothing to do with explicit

496
00:32:44,690 --> 00:32:47,010
performance. It was all values
based.

497
00:32:47,090 --> 00:32:48,610
MelRose Michaels: I don't ever
want to give someone advice

498
00:32:48,610 --> 00:32:51,305
that's going to harm them. I
don't want to ever mislead

499
00:32:51,305 --> 00:32:55,145
someone. I don't wanna ever
betray someone's confidence.

500
00:32:55,705 --> 00:32:58,585
Hans Buetow: This is a different
valuation of authenticity than

501
00:32:58,585 --> 00:33:02,185
porn scholars have historically
noticed in consumers or

502
00:33:02,185 --> 00:33:06,960
creators. And I heard Melrose
return to this frequently. How

503
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,880
she wants to show up as a person
is how she wants to show up with

504
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,280
her audience, and it has nothing
to do with her clothes being on

505
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:20,960
or off. She is selling authentic
humanity as opposed to authentic

506
00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:25,835
performance. But it's also the
case that as with any parasocial

507
00:33:25,835 --> 00:33:31,995
relationship, sharing that much
to that many that often is a

508
00:33:31,995 --> 00:33:32,635
challenge.

509
00:33:32,955 --> 00:33:35,435
MelRose Michaels: There's a huge
emotional and mental labor that

510
00:33:35,435 --> 00:33:38,155
comes along with this job that
wasn't necessarily true a decade

511
00:33:38,155 --> 00:33:41,570
ago. And how do we navigate
that? What do we do for it? I'm

512
00:33:41,570 --> 00:33:43,090
charging for it. That's what I'm
charging.

513
00:33:43,090 --> 00:33:45,650
Hey, disclaimer, I'm not your
therapist and I you don't have

514
00:33:45,650 --> 00:33:47,970
to take my advice, but this is
what I would do and I'll I'll

515
00:33:47,970 --> 00:33:51,010
listen to you. And a lot of
creators are kind of taking that

516
00:33:51,010 --> 00:33:53,815
route forward. Yeah. We're
seeing a shift there, would say

517
00:33:53,815 --> 00:33:54,535
for sure.

518
00:33:54,775 --> 00:33:56,855
Hans Buetow: And even with the
financial exchange, there can

519
00:33:56,855 --> 00:33:58,135
still be a lot of risk.

520
00:33:58,535 --> 00:34:01,895
MelRose Michaels: There is the
parasocial aspect to it. It's

521
00:34:01,895 --> 00:34:06,430
like how real can you be within
safety and how how genuine can

522
00:34:06,430 --> 00:34:09,710
you be while respecting your own
boundaries? And that's kind of

523
00:34:09,710 --> 00:34:12,270
the line we work. That's the
that's the work that we do.

524
00:34:12,270 --> 00:34:15,470
Hans Buetow: Even with safety,
constant access is just a tough

525
00:34:15,470 --> 00:34:16,590
thing to sustain.

526
00:34:16,670 --> 00:34:18,510
MelRose Michaels: Creators are
like, listen, I don't wanna do

527
00:34:18,985 --> 00:34:22,105
the constant access. I'm tired
of being constantly accessible.

528
00:34:22,105 --> 00:34:24,905
Yeah. And they'd rather start
building a passive library on a

529
00:34:24,905 --> 00:34:27,785
clip store that pays them while
they're sleeping. Which is, you

530
00:34:27,785 --> 00:34:29,545
know, that's one way to approach
the business.

531
00:34:29,545 --> 00:34:32,070
It's a great way to approach it.
Also, stores clip are gonna have

532
00:34:32,070 --> 00:34:34,790
a lot of internal traffic. A lot
of creators have been deleted

533
00:34:34,790 --> 00:34:37,270
off of social media. They don't
have a way to drive traffic

534
00:34:37,270 --> 00:34:39,670
anymore. So that pushes them
into these other kind of

535
00:34:39,670 --> 00:34:41,990
verticals that can support the
business they're trying to

536
00:34:41,990 --> 00:34:42,150
build.

537
00:34:43,995 --> 00:34:45,675
Hans Buetow: It's important to
remember that these are

538
00:34:45,675 --> 00:34:49,675
businesses. Melrose is a
successful businesswoman, and so

539
00:34:49,675 --> 00:34:51,915
are the folks making explicit
content, fetish content,

540
00:34:51,915 --> 00:34:54,715
girlfriend content, niche
content, even studio content.

541
00:34:54,715 --> 00:34:59,100
They're all business people. And
Melrose bringing up traffic,

542
00:34:59,180 --> 00:35:03,100
driving traffic, finding
content, marketing. One of the

543
00:35:03,100 --> 00:35:05,820
things about coming to this
question of safe for work

544
00:35:05,820 --> 00:35:10,220
through Pornhub is that their
report evaluates search terms,

545
00:35:10,460 --> 00:35:15,455
and those search terms often
correspond to the established

546
00:35:15,455 --> 00:35:19,375
categories that Pornhub has
already set up, which revolve

547
00:35:19,375 --> 00:35:25,135
around nationalities, body type,
ethnic type, or sexual act.

548
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:31,280
When you're focused on the
explicit business, you need

549
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:35,440
explicit categories to sort it,
which leads to explicit titles

550
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:39,280
and explicit descriptions to
maximize SEO, which leads to

551
00:35:39,625 --> 00:35:44,345
more searches for those same
keywords. But you can't really

552
00:35:44,345 --> 00:35:47,145
search on Pornhub for what
Melrose and Mike are talking

553
00:35:47,145 --> 00:35:50,985
about. Not really. You can't
search for friendly or

554
00:35:50,985 --> 00:35:54,985
approachable or cares about
animals or help me do a budget.

555
00:35:55,510 --> 00:35:57,430
Mike Stabile: Right. When you're
talking about just going to a

556
00:35:57,430 --> 00:35:59,510
site and searching, a lot of
people, it's like they don't

557
00:35:59,510 --> 00:36:02,070
know what to look for. Right?
This is the beginning of their

558
00:36:02,070 --> 00:36:04,310
journey. You have a lot of
people that end up on the site,

559
00:36:04,310 --> 00:36:04,470
and they

560
00:36:04,470 --> 00:36:04,790
look, I

561
00:36:04,790 --> 00:36:07,990
don't know, big boobs. They're
trying to figure out what they

562
00:36:07,990 --> 00:36:12,335
want. And I think that that's a
way to connect with desire that

563
00:36:12,335 --> 00:36:16,335
maybe falls outside of those big
categories. Right? You're

564
00:36:16,335 --> 00:36:17,135
looking for something.

565
00:36:17,135 --> 00:36:20,575
And what is it that turns me on?
What is it that I'm drawn to in

566
00:36:20,575 --> 00:36:23,620
someone like Melrose? And I
think that that is hard to

567
00:36:23,620 --> 00:36:26,820
search for on a generic platform
because there's so much there.

568
00:36:27,060 --> 00:36:29,060
MelRose Michaels: I think that's
where adult performers have

569
00:36:29,060 --> 00:36:32,180
really served their purpose in
the market too. It's like, you

570
00:36:32,180 --> 00:36:36,145
can go to Pornhub, search a
term, one, if you're to a big

571
00:36:36,145 --> 00:36:38,145
site like that, you're probably
trying to get in and get out.

572
00:36:38,145 --> 00:36:42,145
You're not really trying to like
scroll for hours. Yeah. But on

573
00:36:42,145 --> 00:36:44,305
the flip side, when you're with
an adult performer or creator

574
00:36:44,305 --> 00:36:47,425
and you're doing like a fan site
kind of interaction, almost you

575
00:36:47,250 --> 00:36:50,530
have like a concierge or like a
tour guide to your sexuality.

576
00:36:50,530 --> 00:36:54,370
It's a very different thing than
searching a term on Pornhub.

577
00:36:55,810 --> 00:36:58,930
Hans Buetow: This idea of a
concierge or a tour guide is

578
00:36:58,930 --> 00:37:05,135
really interesting to me as a
way to look at what people are

579
00:37:05,135 --> 00:37:11,775
really looking for. And, okay, I
buy it. I buy what Courtney is

580
00:37:11,775 --> 00:37:14,735
saying. I buy what Melrose and
Mike are saying in corroboration

581
00:37:14,735 --> 00:37:19,000
with it. It feels like we are
looking for a little bit more

582
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:19,640
intimacy.

583
00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:22,200
It feels like we're looking for
a little bit more connection.

584
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:27,480
Well, my next question then, of
course, is, like, why now? Have

585
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:32,015
we not always been looking for
this? So when we come back,

586
00:37:32,255 --> 00:37:35,535
let's ask that. Let's reckon
with the why now of this.

587
00:37:35,535 --> 00:37:41,455
Why is this happening in 2025?
We will be right back after we

588
00:37:41,455 --> 00:39:37,970
return from Lamai Beach in
Thailand. I think this growing

589
00:39:37,970 --> 00:39:41,170
interest in the parasocial
aspects of porn has something in

590
00:39:41,170 --> 00:39:44,050
common with a thing we talk a
lot about at our editorial

591
00:39:44,050 --> 00:39:46,690
meetings on Neverpost and that
we're starting to see talked

592
00:39:46,690 --> 00:39:54,715
about more widely, And that
thing is friction. The cut talks

593
00:39:54,715 --> 00:39:58,395
about friction maxing. So does
journalist and mental health

594
00:39:58,395 --> 00:40:01,835
writer PE Moskowitz and friend
of the show and beauty know her

595
00:40:01,835 --> 00:40:03,035
about Jessica Defino.

596
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:10,160
Friction maxing is often framed
as a reaction against escapism.

597
00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,120
So our impulse to avoid the
thing that might feel hard, like

598
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,075
talking to someone, moving
around, or reading, and instead

599
00:40:16,075 --> 00:40:20,795
opting for a slightly easier
alternative, posting, not

600
00:40:20,795 --> 00:40:25,035
moving, and scrolling. You can
think of it as a pendulum swing

601
00:40:25,035 --> 00:40:30,490
back from the adulting is hard
phase of millennial meaning that

602
00:40:30,490 --> 00:40:33,690
we all went through. It's a
realization that sometimes you

603
00:40:33,690 --> 00:40:37,930
want something to be a bit
challenging. That is where you

604
00:40:37,930 --> 00:40:38,730
find the value.

605
00:40:39,895 --> 00:40:42,615
And that's how we talk about it
when we talk about friction at

606
00:40:42,615 --> 00:40:47,975
Neverpost. Less about escapism
and more in terms of an antidote

607
00:40:47,975 --> 00:40:51,655
to the convenience that
minimizes the steps taken

608
00:40:51,735 --> 00:40:55,750
between impulse and fulfillment,
which allows your habitual self

609
00:40:55,750 --> 00:40:59,270
to run your decisions. Right? In
a frictionless environment,

610
00:40:59,750 --> 00:41:01,990
there's less between you and the
outcome.

611
00:41:01,990 --> 00:41:03,590
MelRose Michaels: Yeah. Pornhub
is a pretty frictionless

612
00:41:03,590 --> 00:41:06,150
experience. You can find
something. You can go to the

613
00:41:06,150 --> 00:41:08,775
home see what's trending. It's
gonna be algorithmically catered

614
00:41:08,775 --> 00:41:10,775
to whatever you've been engaged
with in the past.

615
00:41:10,775 --> 00:41:14,055
So it's likely to be what you're
looking for anyway, then you

616
00:41:14,055 --> 00:41:16,135
can, you know, get off and get
off the site.

617
00:41:17,495 --> 00:41:22,990
Hans Buetow: Look. I just want
to acknowledge the irony or at

618
00:41:22,990 --> 00:41:27,310
least dad jokey ness of where
we've arrived and what I'm about

619
00:41:27,310 --> 00:41:34,685
to say, porn is better with a
desire for more friction. In

620
00:41:34,685 --> 00:41:37,805
porn, can imagine friction might
look like content that isn't

621
00:41:37,805 --> 00:41:42,205
always on, but instead warming
up. Not characterized by getting

622
00:41:42,205 --> 00:41:46,845
the job done, but by making a
connection. It's searching for

623
00:41:46,845 --> 00:41:48,365
more than just the money shot.

624
00:41:50,150 --> 00:41:54,710
And one component of the search
for friction might be bespoke or

625
00:41:54,790 --> 00:41:58,470
unique. Putting in the time, the
energy, the resources into

626
00:41:58,470 --> 00:42:02,115
making something feel like yours
that seems to be growing as a

627
00:42:02,115 --> 00:42:06,675
tempting choice compared to the
free, frictionless thing off the

628
00:42:06,675 --> 00:42:10,435
shelf. It's a little bit more
work to get to know the food

629
00:42:10,435 --> 00:42:13,235
preferences of your favorite
performer, but when you invest

630
00:42:13,235 --> 00:42:18,120
that work, doesn't it change how
you see them when you see them

631
00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:23,960
naked? Friction makes you pay a
lot more attention to where you

632
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:27,080
are and to where you're going,
which makes you pay more

633
00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:31,455
attention to how you're getting
there, and to what else might be

634
00:42:31,455 --> 00:42:36,175
an option. You find alternate
routes, and suddenly you're in

635
00:42:36,175 --> 00:42:38,975
new places you never thought
you'd be.

636
00:42:39,455 --> 00:42:42,895
Mike Stabile: We're seeing a
more complex, rich ecosystem

637
00:42:42,895 --> 00:42:46,270
emerge, and I think probably the
most complex and rich ecosystem

638
00:42:46,270 --> 00:42:49,790
for the adult industry that has
ever existed. Right? It used to

639
00:42:49,790 --> 00:42:52,670
always be it was studios.
Studios. It was this top down

640
00:42:52,670 --> 00:42:55,470
thing that was created by people
who were filming, thinking what

641
00:42:55,470 --> 00:42:56,510
they knew what people wanted.

642
00:42:57,225 --> 00:42:59,625
Then there was this sort of
explosion of content and the

643
00:42:59,625 --> 00:43:01,865
explosion of creators. And I
think that what we're seeing now

644
00:43:01,865 --> 00:43:05,865
is it is just a much richer
buffet of content there. Right?

645
00:43:05,865 --> 00:43:09,385
That that you're looking at
clips, and you're looking at

646
00:43:09,385 --> 00:43:11,850
cams, and you're looking at
customs, you're and looking at

647
00:43:11,850 --> 00:43:14,650
video calls, and you're looking
at free content, and all of that

648
00:43:14,650 --> 00:43:17,850
works together. And whether
you're a fan or whether you're a

649
00:43:17,850 --> 00:43:18,570
creator.

650
00:43:19,690 --> 00:43:21,930
Hans Buetow: I mean, that's
beautiful. I gotta say it's one

651
00:43:21,930 --> 00:43:24,745
of the most surprising things
about doing this story. I did

652
00:43:24,745 --> 00:43:31,145
not expect to have this level of
enthusiasm for the current state

653
00:43:31,145 --> 00:43:35,945
with everything swirling about,
like, how much of Pornhub's map

654
00:43:35,945 --> 00:43:39,790
was dark and how much, you know,
they're coming down on us for

655
00:43:39,790 --> 00:43:43,710
COSA and they're coming down on
us for age verification. And it

656
00:43:43,710 --> 00:43:47,630
just it feels a little bleak out
there in terms of being able to

657
00:43:47,630 --> 00:43:53,105
have a nuanced, sophisticated,
interesting, compelling,

658
00:43:53,105 --> 00:43:58,385
passionate, diverse conversation
about desire. And I'm just I'm

659
00:43:58,385 --> 00:44:01,185
really floored by the three of
you being so aggressive that

660
00:44:01,185 --> 00:44:04,770
things like intimacy, things
like passion, things like

661
00:44:04,850 --> 00:44:08,930
connection are things that
you're seeing increasingly

662
00:44:08,930 --> 00:44:15,250
valued and increasingly used by
people online, I'm I'm floored.

663
00:44:15,330 --> 00:44:18,685
MelRose Michaels: Well, as
someone in one of those dark

664
00:44:18,685 --> 00:44:22,525
states, which is where I live.
Yeah. There is still hope at the

665
00:44:22,525 --> 00:44:25,725
bottom line. I think we've
always been, you know, on the

666
00:44:25,725 --> 00:44:28,765
leading forefront of innovation
of technology, of all of the

667
00:44:28,765 --> 00:44:33,600
things. So while it's a little
daunting and, you know, where I

668
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,400
live, especially at times, it's
like, well, holy shit, how many

669
00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:37,600
times can you write your
senator?

670
00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:40,720
Like how's you know, I have an
army of creators at my disposal.

671
00:44:40,720 --> 00:44:45,440
How many times can we all write
my senator? But I think at the

672
00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:47,895
base of it, people need
connection. Like, people need

673
00:44:47,895 --> 00:44:49,655
people. Like, that's not going
anywhere.

674
00:44:49,655 --> 00:44:51,335
So Absolutely.

675
00:44:51,575 --> 00:44:54,375
Mike Stabile: You know, when the
entirety of, you know, the the

676
00:44:54,375 --> 00:44:57,255
administration and and
conservative culture and and

677
00:44:57,255 --> 00:44:59,735
sometimes left leaning culture
is saying, you know, this is

678
00:44:59,735 --> 00:45:03,230
really bad. This is really
terrible. You you start maybe to

679
00:45:03,230 --> 00:45:05,550
react and say, you know what? I
think maybe you're wrong. I

680
00:45:05,550 --> 00:45:11,150
think that that sexuality is a
is a a way to break sort of that

681
00:45:11,150 --> 00:45:12,110
dominant paradigm.

682
00:45:12,110 --> 00:45:14,715
Right? It's a way to say, oh,
wait. You know what? I don't

683
00:45:14,715 --> 00:45:17,435
think that way. I don't think
that the way that I feel is

684
00:45:17,435 --> 00:45:18,075
terrible.

685
00:45:18,475 --> 00:45:20,635
Maybe the rest of what they're
saying is wrong. I think that

686
00:45:20,635 --> 00:45:25,355
it's it's a a really
revolutionary aspect of society

687
00:45:25,355 --> 00:45:26,635
that that is underrated.

688
00:45:30,380 --> 00:45:34,780
Hans Buetow: Going into this
story, I was not expecting talk

689
00:45:34,780 --> 00:45:39,420
of revolution. But when the
levers of power go after sex

690
00:45:39,420 --> 00:45:43,485
workers, the audience moves
closer to them. When avenues to

691
00:45:43,485 --> 00:45:46,845
connection are shut off, people
are looking for choice, variety,

692
00:45:46,845 --> 00:45:50,605
and exploration. I really do
believe that people are looking

693
00:45:50,605 --> 00:45:54,910
for intimacy in a time when
intimacy feels less and less

694
00:45:54,910 --> 00:46:00,430
encouraged or maybe even more
and more discouraged. And maybe

695
00:46:00,430 --> 00:46:03,790
that's a little bit too big a
weight to put on the sixth

696
00:46:03,790 --> 00:46:07,230
biggest change in the numbers
from Pornhub last year.

697
00:46:08,065 --> 00:46:15,265
Probably. But also probably not.
I keep thinking about this

698
00:46:15,265 --> 00:46:18,065
analogy that Mike made while we
were talking.

699
00:46:18,625 --> 00:46:20,945
Mike Stabile: Consuming adult
content is like consuming food.

700
00:46:20,945 --> 00:46:23,185
Sometimes you wanna cook it.
Sometimes you want takeout.

701
00:46:23,400 --> 00:46:25,960
Sometimes you just are in a
hurry. You want something quick.

702
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:29,320
And sometimes you really wanna
enjoy it and savor it. And those

703
00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:32,280
are gonna be at different price
points. Right? Uh-huh. Those are

704
00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:33,880
gonna be different experiences.

705
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:37,895
And I think that, you know, we
thought for so long that it was

706
00:46:37,895 --> 00:46:40,375
just as as as Melrose said, you
just get on real quick and you

707
00:46:40,375 --> 00:46:42,855
get off. And that's not what
everybody wants, or it's not

708
00:46:42,855 --> 00:46:45,575
what they want at all points.
Sometimes they want a three hour

709
00:46:45,575 --> 00:46:49,175
cam show. Sometimes they want a
personal interaction Yes. And

710
00:46:49,175 --> 00:46:51,415
they want the the chef's table
in the restaurant.

711
00:46:51,620 --> 00:46:54,420
Right? And sometimes they are
just on the road, and they want

712
00:46:54,420 --> 00:46:58,180
something at McDonald's. This is
not a shameful thing to consume.

713
00:46:58,420 --> 00:47:01,380
Right? All of that are ways in
which to get in touch with your

714
00:47:01,380 --> 00:47:02,820
authentic sexuality.

715
00:47:03,620 --> 00:47:06,260
Hans Buetow: As he said this, I
was literally pumping my fists

716
00:47:06,260 --> 00:47:12,495
in the air. I'm shaking my fists
in the air. I'm yes. Just like I

717
00:47:12,495 --> 00:47:16,255
can imagine the quarterback Sam
Howell might have thought to

718
00:47:16,255 --> 00:47:17,855
himself as he walked into the
locker room

719
00:47:17,855 --> 00:47:19,135
of the Philadelphia Eagles,
which

720
00:47:19,135 --> 00:47:22,310
was his fourth team in four
years after the Washington

721
00:47:22,310 --> 00:47:26,630
Commanders, Seattle Seahawks,
and Minnesota Vikings, we

722
00:47:26,630 --> 00:47:39,405
actually might be getting
somewhere. We exercise our power

723
00:47:39,405 --> 00:47:43,165
through our collective desires.
And our collective desires are

724
00:47:43,165 --> 00:47:47,910
showing us, like with so many
things right now, that the

725
00:47:47,910 --> 00:47:53,030
current state of pornography is
not enough. That we want more

726
00:47:53,030 --> 00:47:56,230
pornographies, varied
pornographies, exploratory

727
00:47:56,230 --> 00:47:59,430
pornographies, we want personal
pornographies, and intimate

728
00:47:59,430 --> 00:48:03,125
pornographies. We want our
performers to know us, and for

729
00:48:03,125 --> 00:48:04,405
us to know them.

730
00:48:05,365 --> 00:48:09,605
Platforms can help us do that,
but they are not the solution at

731
00:48:09,605 --> 00:48:15,605
the end of the day. I don't know
that this is the new face of

732
00:48:15,605 --> 00:48:22,190
porn, but I do believe that more
and more of us want to take off

733
00:48:22,190 --> 00:48:28,030
from the launch pad. More and
more of us want to find

734
00:48:28,030 --> 00:48:50,300
something new. Thank you. Thank
you.

735
00:48:50,300 --> 00:48:52,940
Thank you. Thank you to Courtney
Brame, to Melrose Michaels, to

736
00:48:52,940 --> 00:48:56,205
Mike Stabil for coming and
talking with me about all of

737
00:48:56,205 --> 00:49:00,605
this. We covered so much, and
all of it really expanded my

738
00:49:00,605 --> 00:49:06,605
thinking. Thank you all. You can
find them, Courtney at s p f p p

739
00:49:06,605 --> 00:49:07,325
dot org.

740
00:49:07,325 --> 00:49:10,260
That's something positive for
positive people. You can find

741
00:49:10,260 --> 00:49:14,340
Melrose Michaels on all the
socials and Mike Stabil on Blue

742
00:49:14,340 --> 00:49:18,900
Sky. And you can find and follow
SWR data and the state of

743
00:49:18,900 --> 00:49:25,775
creator study at swrdata.com or
on their Substack. Please do go

744
00:49:25,775 --> 00:49:28,895
follow them. They're gonna
continue to release data and

745
00:49:28,895 --> 00:49:33,695
analysis of this study and have
an upcoming study on AI and the

746
00:49:33,695 --> 00:49:36,495
adult market later in the
summer.

747
00:49:37,375 --> 00:49:44,440
And you can find us in all the
normal places. Phone, email, air

748
00:49:44,440 --> 00:49:47,080
table, all the details you'd
ever need on getting a hold of

749
00:49:47,080 --> 00:49:51,880
us are all in the show notes. A
very special thank you to this

750
00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:55,925
episode to America's National
Football League, who I can only

751
00:49:55,925 --> 00:49:59,765
assume has only the best wishes
for my longevity.

752
00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:50,400
Mike Rugnetta: That is the show
we have for you today. We're

753
00:50:50,400 --> 00:50:53,200
gonna be back here in the main
feed next week with a segment

754
00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:58,945
about the Internet as a place.
But what ordinal number place?

755
00:50:58,945 --> 00:51:00,865
Is it a third place? Fourth
place?

756
00:51:00,865 --> 00:51:03,745
Fifth? The kids these days, they
got a lot of places. Too many,

757
00:51:03,745 --> 00:51:08,080
if you ask me. We're also going
to be streaming a team chat at

758
00:51:08,080 --> 00:51:14,880
twitch.tv/ The neverpost on
Monday, February 16 at 11AM

759
00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:18,080
eastern. An edit of that
conversation will go out to the

760
00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:21,840
member feed only shortly after,
so do not miss it.

761
00:51:21,840 --> 00:51:25,825
Or if you do, hey, consider
becoming a member for $4 a month

762
00:51:25,825 --> 00:51:28,785
at neverpo.st. You can help
support your favorite Internet

763
00:51:28,785 --> 00:51:32,305
pod and the weirdos who make it,
and you can do that for the cost

764
00:51:32,305 --> 00:51:36,700
of a convenience store egg
sandwich. Neverpost's producers

765
00:51:36,700 --> 00:51:39,260
are Audrey Evans, Georgia
Hampton, and The Mysterious.

766
00:51:39,260 --> 00:51:41,740
Doctor first name, last name.
Our senior producer is Hans

767
00:51:41,740 --> 00:51:42,300
Buto.

768
00:51:42,300 --> 00:51:45,500
Our executive producer is Jason
Oberholzer, and the show's host,

769
00:51:45,500 --> 00:51:51,025
that's me, is Mike Rugnetta. The
dream is to be moved by anything

770
00:51:51,025 --> 00:51:55,265
at all. By this Garfield fan
comic in which John collapses on

771
00:51:55,265 --> 00:51:58,625
the kitchen floor, linked
triangles and hoops painted onto

772
00:51:58,625 --> 00:52:02,385
a wall stretching three
storefronts, mannequins in full

773
00:52:02,385 --> 00:52:06,040
plate clutching their scabbards,
folded t shirts, the shape of a

774
00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:09,160
dreadnought through glass
wearing all denim. Pass through

775
00:52:09,160 --> 00:52:12,360
a cloud of vape smoke in the
canned Isenglass department,

776
00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:17,560
exit bawling at the beauty of
all manifest creation. You will

777
00:52:17,560 --> 00:52:21,755
aspire to enter into labor
translucent, like a paraffin

778
00:52:21,755 --> 00:52:26,875
sheet, wet and flammable light
passing through shape.

779
00:52:27,755 --> 00:52:31,675
Alchemy is based on such
fluidity of exchange, all my

780
00:52:31,675 --> 00:52:36,310
affect splattering out into the
public sphere, cathecting onto

781
00:52:36,310 --> 00:52:43,270
every measly beloved thing.
Excerpt of Secret Mission Orders

782
00:52:43,270 --> 00:52:47,732
for Goblin Romantic by Holly
Raymond. Never Post is a

783
00:52:47,732 --> 00:52:50,852
production of Charts and
Leisure, and it's distributed by

784
00:52:50,852 --> 00:52:51,652
Radiotopia.
