The Daily Beast’s Aurora Snow, a retired adult performer, has been covering the adult industry for years, but only last week did she broach a common yet little-discussed standard on porn sets: male performers’ regular use of erectile-dysfunction drugs. 

“Most industries discourage performance-enhancing pharmaceuticals; some regulators even call it cheating. Not the adult industry. In porn it’s the norm,” wrote Snow. No matter the conditions on an adult set, she continued, male adult actors “are still expected to perform. And though these men may perform like machines, they have a secret weapon: erectile-dysfunction drugs.” They’re a mainstay on most adult sets, but their presence in the tool kit of most male talent on porn sets is rarely discussed.

The porn-star-turned-reporter spoke with hard-working porn actors about their experiences for her piece. “If you start to struggle, it’s part of your job to do everything you can within reason,” Derrick Pierce said. “Then a director or producer might ask you, ‘Do you want to pop a pill? Do you have something you can take?’” But, Pierce said, taking drugs won’t fix everything: “If you’re taking Viagra that will probably help accentuate the activity but it’s not going to fix a dead dick.”

“We don’t use Viagra constantly, it’s not part of the rules of engagement,” Johnny Goodluck told Snow. “It’s a backup plan, like it is for everyone else. We have it in case we need it.” 

Little blue pills are common on most sets, but more extreme ED drugs are frowned upon, according to Johnny Goodluck, who told Snow, “The only stigma is: don’t put a needle in your dick…Male enhancement comes in a lot of forms, and some are flat-out unsafe and wrong.”

The article comes during a time when red flags have been raised over the ubiquity of pornography in sex lives worldwide. While much has been made of unrealistic body expectations that porn may place on women, a few brave souls have mentioned that porn may give cisgender men unrealistic expectations about their own ability to achieve and maintain erections. Psychology Today’s Michael Castleman wrote, “For most men, erection requires relaxation and gentle, playful, loving touch all over. Porn ignores men’s real need for whole-body sensuality and direct stimulation.” 

The prevalence of ED drugs in porn has been covered before, particularly in discussions with retired performer Christopher Zeischegg (formerly Danny Wylde), notably in Vice and Forbes. Still, the topic is rarely discussed outside of porn sets. Perhaps more media coverage of this topic can help consumers understand that they don’t need to hold themselves up to the standards of porn stars.

Pills stock photo by Dima Vishnevetsky