From its Golden Age in the 70s to the mid 2000s, porn’s key emblem was the “porn star,” the erotic performer-celebrity whose name and body were both highly influential and massively exchanged in images and conversation. But does this figure still hold weight for the contemporary? Today’s porn landscape is more horizontal and amateur than ever before, with user-generated subscription-model content dominating the world of erotic media. And simultaneously, workers in the industry and the images they produce are increasingly regulated, censored, and condemned by the federal government and financial institutions, as well as through long-standing campaigns against “immorality” and “trafficking.” In this Zoom panel, Heather Berg, Hoang Tan Nguyen, and Ty Mitchell discuss how porn performers and porn studies are adapting to the new figurations and labor conditions of erotic performers alongside the massive resurgence of sex panics and federal crackdowns on sex work.
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Please contact tbrazas@uchicago.edu if you require any accommodations to enable your full participation.
Date: November 17, 2021
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Date: November 17, 2021
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM