Source: Adult Industry News
By: Steve Woodburn
The adult pornography industry held its’ annual Erotica LA convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center June 12-14. This convention is open to the general public so that fans may come out and meet and speak with their favorite porn stars and to find new favorites. If you are a porn fan, this is a little piece of heaven for you. If you are a performer, it’s a long weekend of self promotion and promotion of their companies.
Many of the major porn production companies had large exhibitions, showcasing their contract stars. These beauties, all sexed up and dressed to kill, smiled, winked at, chatted with and signed pictures for long lines of adoring fans. For the fans, this is what it’s all about. Seeing and talking to the sexiest women in their world.
Many sexual fetishes were represented, either by production companies or by exhibitors. There were numerous exhibitors hawking everything from condoms, make-up, sex toys, lingerie, and even fetish, bondage, and BDSM accessories. Interested in medical marijuana? Yup, it was there. Want Jesus in your life? Visit the Jesus Loves Porn booth where the members cater to and accept the adult performers. Want a tattoo or body piercing? You could get those, too.
Need to learn how to be a better sexual partner? Fans could attend one of the many seminars that were going on. Some of the seminars given were ”Porn Stars Reveal: Sex Tips, Tricks and Bloopers,” ”the Practical Striptease – a workshop for the everyday woman! With Miyoko Fujimori,” ”Blow Jobs and Beyond with Nina Hartley,” ”Fantasy Lap Dance with Kitty Cadillac ,” and ”I’ve Been Bad: Spanking and Sensation Play with Mistress Melissa.” There were several other seminars, in addition to these. The seminars gave the fans a glimpse into the world in which the performers work, allowing them to learn some of the ”secrets of the trade.”
For those fans with a wad of cash in their pockets, they could attend the auctions that occurred on the exhibit floor. Just about everything Porn was auctioned, most one of a kind or signed articles of clothing, pictures, DVD’s, and anything unique to the world of porn. Fans eagerly placed bids for items from their favorite stars. Some other highlights included the 2009 F.A.M.E. Awards and LA Direct’s talent search.
But, who are these fans? Among the crowds you see them, the fans. They are men and women, young and old, middle-aged, married couples, lonely single men, divorced men and women, young lesbians, bi-sexual men and women, cross-dressers and trans-genders. The fans, they are the persons you work with, hang out with, go to dinner and church with, and who live on your block.
You probably would not expect these people to have this ”dark” side of their life, living the secret of pornography. They don’t want you to know they watch porn, afraid of being viewed as perverted or a creep. Porn is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet people routinely deny they are interested in porn. In the online world, porn reigns king, where you can view, download and purchase porn relatively anonymously.
Hypocrisy will not allow many people to openly embrace the porn industry. On one hand, porn performers are demonized as immoral. On the other hand, porn, in all its forms, is a huge billion dollar industry. Fans buy it, watch it, and then deny it. This is what Erotica LA is all about. Giving these people a glimpse into the secret world they have to hide from their friends, spouses, children, mothers and fathers. For 2 ½ days, they can openly enjoy their hidden fantasies. That is why Erotica LA is important.
For the porn performers, the two and a half days of work helps to promote their careers. Friday, the exhibit opened. Saturday and Sunday the exhibits were open all day. Saturday was a very long day for performers. The performers had to endure long hours on their feet wearing the sexy high heel shoes that the fans expect. The ladies looked beautiful and every bit the fantasy the men and women come to see.
Playboy Radio broadcast live for several hours on Saturday. Many performers sat down in the chair to be interviewed. Christy Canyon and Nicki Hunter were the hosts for Playboy Radio and interviewed the beautiful women regarding their latest career moves and whatever the girls were promoting. Playboy TV was taping several of the interview segments to be later broadcast on Playboy TV.
For the talented and drop-dead sexy women performers attending, this convention is all about promotion. Being in demand and wanted results in more work, so the women work the fans hard to try to hook them and reel them in. In a nutshell, these women need the fans just as much as the fans need the women to feed their fantasies. Erotica LA feeds the needs of both the fans and the performers. Although Erotica LA is tiny compared to the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Erotica LA is much more accessible to the average fan in the Southern California area.
Attendance seemed a little light early on Saturday, but grew to resemble more of a Disneyland crowd later in the afternoon and evening. The crowds made it slow and difficult to walk around later on Saturday. The Sunday attendance was relatively thin. The economy most likely deterred some companies from coming to the convention as well as ticket buying fans. Even though exhibitors were a little light and attendance was not overwhelming, Erotica LA was a success at doing what it does; bringing the fans and stars together as well as providing marketing and networking opportunities for companies, production companies, and performers.
Steve Woodburn
Red Star Entertainment, Inc.
[Pictured are Cara Lott, Sunny Lane, Vicky Vette and Phoenix Marie on Playboy Radio; Sasha Brand; Minka and Ricki Raxxx signing at PAW booth.]
