East Coast/West Coast
Florida is positioned to become the next porn mecca, creating an East Coast rival to the San Fernando Valley. While Florida has produced some important pleasing media images (more cheesecake, Blanche?), it will be great to see what kind of images arise from an industry located a continent away from the porn mothership and filled with new entrants.
Florida's ability to enter the industry, however, hinges on a case brought against Ray Gunn Productions, which alleges that sex on camera is akin to prostitution. (As the Elliot Spitzer scandal reminded us, there is a thin line between paying for sex and paying for sex on camera.)The 1989 California Supreme Court case California vs. Freeman ruled that pornography was not the same as prostitution--the distinction cited is that porn performers are paid for acting, not for providing sexual gratification--which is why we see so many porn companies located in the state. The Gunn case, set for trial in June, will determine Florida's stance on the same issue.
Many Floridians aren't waiting, however. The state's permissive culture, proliferation of strip clubs, and population of young people eager to make money has generated a sort of underground porn industry. A St. Petersburg attorney named Brandon Kolb has started offering "Porn Camp" seminars ($4,000 for a weekend), which teaches people how to make a porn movie. Enterprising, eh?
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