Porn Cultures

Centering on a 2013 gathering of indie producers affectionately called “Pornocamp,” the author shares her trials and tribulations of making local, DIY porn, collaborating with other sex workers, navigating criminal laws, facing financial discrimination, and finding opportunities to screen content.

Pornography occupies a liminal space between work and pleasure, both an opportunity for self-expression and a flexible mode of survival under late capitalism. With intuitive technologies reducing barriers to entry, the kinds of people producing pornography have diversified. This chapter explores the motivations of indie porn producers, how they define and maintain their independence, and their key interventions. Indie porn is characterized by DIY culture, community building, skill sharing, and collaboration. Its documentary and archival projects challenge regulatory assumptions about who porn is for. Sex workers are increasingly moving behind the camera, reinscribing the systems through which bodies are valued. Indie performers want more than just “fair pay”—a new generation are looking to redistribute wealth and support essential services. Against a backdrop of networked technologies, this chapter explores how producers balance these aims against the impetus to build brands, market content, and hustle for visibility.