Sift through decades of porn and most XXX scenes have at least one thing in common: the “money shot.” Adult entertainment studios have even released hundreds of “Cumpilation” videos, cutting out the sex scenes altogether and highlighting the eruptions. Veteran performers have the money shot down to an art, leaning their heads back far enough to see it coming but close enough to look eager (after all, no one wants the dreaded “cum dodger” label) without getting an eyeful. As the porn market has expanded from DVDs to online clips, the traditional money shot might be losing relevance. Its popularity may be driven more by distribution methods than actual desire.
“64% of men and 42% of women said their preferences have been influenced by porn,” according to a study on ejaculation habits. Though men and women almost equally acknowledged the heavy presence of facial shots in porn, half of men believe women dislike facial shots whereas over one-third of the women surveyed felt men preferred them. Watch enough porn and it’s easy to believe everyone loves a “facial” blast, but that’s a distorted reality. As it turns out, only 12% of women are into it whereas over 40% of the men surveyed prefer to pop on a woman’s face.
And while it’s not the job of porn to educate, entertainment products tend to fill in the gaps where knowledge is lacking. In an effort to dispel this false pretense of common desire, world renowned sex therapist Dr. Ruth offered, “Explaining to teens that ‘facials’ are not the norm is as important as telling them how babies are born.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Even porn producers are getting tired of the rigmarole. This past week, veteran porn director/producer Mike Quasar posted on Twitter, “Dear porn editors: Please edit out the part where the man jerks off for 45 minutes to ejaculate on a woman’s face. Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Everyone who watches porn.”
Adult film reviewer Roger Pipe of RogReviews couldn’t agree more: “On behalf of all of us who review this material for a living (or just a hobby) I endorse this message. Hell, I double and triple endorse this message.”
So, has the time come to rethink the old standard and retire the money shot?
Adult actress Carmen Valentina is hesitant to abandon the signature shot. “There is still a big market of fans, even though it’s not as popular as it used to be. I think more guys like cream-pie finishes. However, directors can’t shoot them that often because many girls I know in the business are not on birth control, so the director is forced to shoot the pop shot on her face, tits, or ass to signify the end of the scene,” states Valentina.
While many performers agree that there is still a market for the money shot, it’s no longer considered essential for every scene.
“I think the pop shot is still pertinent to some films but not necessary for all of them,” says adult actress Tasha Reign. As content demands for adult entertainment shift, adhering to old standards makes little sense. “You have to move with the times,” says Reign. “If your audience wants more candid video footage and you can shoot and upload it without the middleman, do it.”
Reign says she “learned the hard way” and was forced to rethink her business model after speaking out about several on-set incidents, including the time Stormy Daniels allegedly mishandled an on-set assault. “I was sexually assaulted by one of her crew members. He groped and grabbed me from behind…And she did not handle the situation appropriately, respectfully, or professionally,” Reign told The Daily Beast.
Catering to social-media platforms and creating personalized content has become a more effective and lucrative business model for Reign, plus it’s a safer space—one she can actually control as opposed to traditional porn sets. As Reign points out, “There’s still an audience that wants tube sites, but there’s a new younger, bigger audience that wants to get to know you personally and they want their porn on their phones or social media.”
Platforms have become increasingly vital in the adult industry, impacting available and featured content while appearing transparent by providing search data and detailed site metrics. The feedback loop is obvious, as popular search terms rapidly become the new trend in porn. Though Eric John, CEO of Erotique Entertainment, feels the style of his content has remained consistent over the last decade, how he markets and tags his clips has been impacted by distribution platforms. “Since 2010, I’ve been taking my live show and editing it down, now I shoot at 4K at a 4k/30 and at 4k/60 [frames per second]. I could argue that the thirty is better artistically, but sixty gets better placement on the platforms,” says John.
Distribution platforms (ie. tube sites) often influence more than the length of time and, in some cases, reinforce traditional porn standards—like the money shot. “Platforms are on you about certain things that get you featured, and getting featured makes a big difference in money,” says John. “They actually deleted videos without pop shots and didn’t say anything. They thought it was an error, I was pissed.” John recalls writing a letter to the company, outlining the sensibilities of different types of scenes and explaining why a traditional cum shot wasn’t relevant in every video.
Over the past three years, John has grown Erotique Entertainment, branching out into the increasingly lucrative fetish market with a successful series featuring the high heels, legs and feet of mystery models (many of whom never show their faces). Getting a platform to feature these videos is near impossible, he says, in part due to their nontraditional nature. “The fetish clips don’t always logically lend themselves to having a pop shot. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the next thing in the scene is cum. What I found was, the platforms I have to market on give me a lot of shit if there is not a cum shot,” says John. “I try to make it cross-appealing but I don’t want to be constrained by that.”
