The adult entertainment industry is demonstrating the true meaning of community spirit by going above and beyond to serve those in need during a time of crisis. From individuals to small local businesses and global conglomerates, they’re pulling together in a nationwide show of solidarity, providing resources to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pornhub’s efforts to provide crisis relief extend far beyond free porn—the powerful tube site announced a plan to contribute much-needed resources to communities worldwide. Financial donations will be made to Germany, Italy, and Spain to acquire protective gear, while the company pledged a donation of 50,000 masks to New York’s first responders and medical professionals. “When a global human crisis happens, it is up to everyone to work together to help support the community. We have always been a global community, hosting over 130,000 models from every corner of the earth. We stand by our performers and models and we will continue working on other projects to assist the community during this challenging time,” said Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub.
To support the sex-worker community, Pornhub is contributing $25,000 to the Sex Worker’s Outreach Program relief fund in addition to temporarily restructuring payouts to help financially-impacted performers. Models will earn “100% of their video sales after the processing fee,” however the offer is only valid for the month of April.
In a similar act of community outreach, adhering to a budget significantly smaller than Pornhub’s while also contemplating their own survival, one brick-and-mortar adult store supplied their local community with thousands of masks. “I heard people were having trouble getting them and I ordered them directly from China. I have another thousand N95s coming in Tuesday and doing another giveaway next week,” says James Gruender, manager of Passions Adult Boutique in Central Missouri. “As an adult store I’m able to use my connections with Chinese distributors to order surgical N95 masks. I wanted to put something in the hands of people who didn’t have the connections or know how. Everybody deserves to be safe.”
Temporarily closed due to the novel coronavirus, Gruender’s small family business is excluded from the federal CARES Act that’s supposed to provide relief to small business owners. “The federal government doesn’t care. We have to be a community and it goes both ways. Right now I can find masks and help people out and I hope the community can return that and shop at my place,” says Gruender, whose twenty-year business now faces an uncertain future. “People come here for sexual health and wellness, and if we’re not able to keep in business then a huge part of the community is lost.”
Without the connections of a larger business to rely on, professional dominatrix Domina Dia Dynasty took matters into her own hands and began manufacturing face shields for her community. Working with her boyfriend, a metal fabrication artist, Dynasty has donated over 200 carefully-crafted shields to hospital workers on the frontlines. “The face shields we made are from chemical resistant clear 0.12-inch-thick PVC film, which is a heavy-duty material that can be sterilized and cleaned and reused. There is a foam band that sits across the forehead—for comfort and ventilation—and an adjustable Velcro closure,” says Dynasty.
“The completed shield gets a sticker where someone can write their name and goes into a baggie with another sticker about how the shield was made with love in Brooklyn. I had no prior experience making these types of masks but I am a maker and have made many costume pieces, including masks and headwear,” she adds.
Former Hollywood actress turned A-list porn star Maitland Ward was also driven to contribute to her community, to give back to the sex workers that had so warmly welcomed her to the industry. “I think people are very community-driven right now. They want to be a part of something because we are so socially isolated right now,” says Ward, who does weekly webcam shows to raise money for performers in need during the pandemic. “I also bought 150 Onlyfans accounts, so the performers names are seen by my fans who might want to subscribe and it helps them out that way too.”
Ward says the response from her fellow performers has been overwhelmingly positive, and she hopes this encourages more outreach efforts and solidarity within the adult community. “It’s a really uplifting thing in the community right now. I think the outreach is going to mean more than just the money, it’s that we’re all looking out for each other, we’re all in this together,” she says.
Much like other tax-paying minority groups, sex workers cannot file for unemployment benefits despite the expanded coverage for the self-employed outlined in President Trump’s CARES Act. Nor do they receive royalties from their previous work. For adult entertainers and companies, there’s an even greater risk in the current pandemic since not only are they at a loss for work, there’s also no bailout for them.
In recognition of these financial hardships, Vixen Media Group announced an offer to provide up to $250,000 in customized packages to help performers create quality content during the COVID-19 crisis. Standard packages are expected to include cameras, ring lights, and toys. “The true goal of this initiative is for us to offer an opportunity of substance, both creatively and monetarily, to performers during such a volatile time,” offers Vixen Media Group Director Kayden Kross.
In addition to providing the equipment to film at home, Vixen Media has offered to buy performer-created content to populate their new “Intimates” series, but the criteria for content development is on a need-to-know basis. “Vixen has specific guidelines, standards and requirements across each of our brands which allow us to produce such high-quality content that our members have come to expect, but understandably, we do not disclose or publicize our unique processes,” states Kross.
How these sex workers and adult companies, both large and small, have stepped up in the name of the greater good in a time of crisis demonstrates the beating heart of a community. How we, and companies, behave during a time of crisis should not be forgotten.
