I feel kind of sorry for any newbies who had the unfortunate timing of joining the industry during the last few months, and especially the last few weeks. From the tone on the boards, and the constant tension in the air, such a noob might have gotten the impression that politics are the main focus of this industry, rather than selling sex!.I feel kind of sorry for any newbies who had the unfortunate timing of joining the industry during the last few months, and especially the last few weeks. From the tone on the boards, and the constant tension in the air, such a noob might have gotten the impression that politics are the main focus of this industry, rather than selling sex!

As a Canadian, I have my own set of ridiculous politics to contend with. The voting population of Canada elected a new Prime Minister a few months ago, but many of our neighbors to the south never even noticed. The Canadian federal elections barely made a blip in anyone’s radar.

The American presidential elections, on the other hand, are a world-wide event. Across the globe, Bush and Kerry became household names. People on every continent followed the campaigns and watched with varying levels of anxiety as the elections unfolded. Millions of people around the world – non-Americans – have a vested interest in the States and who controls the government. When it comes to the American presidential elections, emotions run high because everyone feels like they have something at stake, and the truth is, we all do.

As partial as I may be to my own country, it’s not the value of the Canadian loony that anyone’s worrying about.

Reactions Across the Industry

Reactions to the presidential elections varied across adult industry from bitter disappointment and resigned acceptance to absolute elation and renewed optimism. Clearly this election represented different things to different people, beyond politics.

I asked a few people, American and non-American, to share their thoughts on the election results. Some people declined to comment, including one company owner who stated simply: “I prefer to avoid commenting on politics and religion, since I know nothing about either.”

But many members of the industry were forthright with their opinions, and shared them willingly:

YNOTBob from YNOT Masters:

“The election results, for me, were a huge wake up call…I had been under the impression America was sick of the bad politics of George Bush and Kerry would be elected. Now I see my view is the minority opinion, and it’s quite humbling.

“While I am optimistic adult webmasters will continue to fight to be accepted in mainstream eyes as not being dirty, jizz-mopping child pornographers…I am unsure at this point if we will be given a fair playing field by this current administration.”

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Cyndalie from Klixxx.com:

“I’m am off to see my brother tomorrow before he goes back to Iraq for the second time. For what? When it comes down to it most average Americans could care less about Iraqi Freedom. If they wanted to be free they could ask for help and uprise, aim to win their independence and be proud of their freedom. How would we feel if Spain tried to come in and “liberate” us from the Brits? Land of the free and home of the liberators.

“I had hoped for an administration that helps America grow and build on their freedoms, not steadily take them away one constitutional amendment at a time.

“Whatever the future may bring, I hope that my dreams of a more respected USA, more opportunities for citizens and economy, affordable healthcare and home ownership (neither of which I have), and a more united country, never dies.”

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Joe Sterner, Co-Owner of PrideBucks.com:

“I am bitter, disappointed and outraged with the outcome of this election. Now Democrats have the next four years to reorganize and bring a message that speaks to middle America.

“I do believe that this election was won because of the strong opposition to gay marriage. Clearly, Republicans were able to energize their base and get people out to vote against gay marriage and for George Bush.”

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LAJ from TheAdultWebmaster.com:

“I have never wanted to see a president out of office as much as Bush. I think I shared that sentiment with record numbers of people. Fewer people so vehemently wanted Clinton or Bush Sr. or Carter out of office as much as they did with W. Unfortunately, I with many others got caught up in the polls and we got our hopes up too high leading up to the election only to set ourselves up for a huge letdown.

“Taking the possibility of voter fraud entirely out of the equation, I will always be baffled as to how a president with so many publicly known black marks on his record could end up with the record popular vote in U.S. election history, and a much wider winning margin than the so-called “razor thin” race that was regularly predicted. It’s clearly obvious that religious beliefs, so-called family values and the threat of terrorism and the Iraq war, trumped all other issues when the majority of Americans went to the polls.

“It’s going to be a very long and hard four years with the conservative and religious right running the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate, not just for liberal-minded Americans, but also for the adult industry. I don’t think America has been this divided since the Civil War!”

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Brett (aka tejanoB) from Eurodialer/Fastmanbucks has a unique perspective as an American living in France:

“I have lived abroad since1989 and I can tell you that I have never encountered a sentiment of anti-Americanism as strong as when W took office, and especially since the invasion of Iraq. I was here during the first Gulf War and even when NATO went into Kosovo.

“As a Texan, I voted against him, except that my state didn’t, so my little absentee ballot didn’t do much good. As an American I think that he has done more to destroy our reputation in 4 years than it took the 200 + years to make us into a decent nation.

“As a Frenchman (naturalized 2001) I think “MERDE!!!” And as someone who has worked in [the] adult biz since 2001 I think, “MERDE DE MERDE!!!”

“[Regarding the impact Bush will have on the adult industry] I don’t really know so much. He seems to be so business-minded that I find it difficult to believe he would just piss on a multi-million dollar industry… but then again, when you see the ‘I’ve-Just-Seen-Jesus’-faced zealots who seem to be a large majority of his electorate, I can’t really say that puts my mind at ease either.”

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An Australian Perspective from Evil Dan:

“Bluntly, the key factor in my mind on whom becomes the next President of the United States relates exclusively to two issues being:

“a) Which president will increase the value of the US dollar against my native currency (thus increasing my profits), and to a lesser degree?

“b) Which President will make buying my sites’ content less legal?

“As to point a), it is my belief that Dubya will without doubt escalate the war on terrorism, and therefore drag the US economy down with it. This is bad for me with regards to currency trading.

“As to point b), I hope that Dubya does get back in, coz the harder he makes it for local operations in the adult industry to flourish, the more business there is for me as an offshore entity.”

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North of the border, Evil Chris from TripleXCash has this perspective to offer:

“My general opinion is that the people who seem to think Bush is better in office “during a war” [are a victim of] the Republican Party’s social conditioning of the people. But as we know it was a very close race and half the US population didn’t buy into their rhetoric.

“I’m not that worried about our industry. My feeling is that things will be fairly status quo for awhile yet. Many webmasters seem to over-react about this kind of thing. Take for example all the worries about the new 2257 regulations…”

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Paul Markham of www.paulmarkham.com offers his pragmatic British view of the election results:

“There is a fear that Bush will attack porn now that he has another term. This is not going to happen.

“Firstly as much as he would like to, porn is a worldwide industry and passing laws in other countries is beyond even him. Also, many of the people who voted for him consume porn and the last things he will want to do is block their access to porn or involve himself in a trade war blocking imports and [the] internet.

“However he has a large number of “moralists” and Christian right wing [voters] to appease, so he has to do something. A clue to the future has already happened. More pornographers ended up in court fighting to stay out of prison in the last four years than the previous eight. And now Ashcroft has shown the way forward: Legislate it until it’s very hard to comply. Also California is looking at the porn production industry very closely, under the guise of AIDS protection; watch closely for new legislation there. So expect more prosecutions and more legislation.

“But as for porn consumption, I have no doubt that will continue in the US, as Bush can only attack the production. Unless he goes to Visa with an offer, then we will need a major rethink.”

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A Frenchman living in the States, Benoit leChevalier from FasterBucks, sees more than just elections:

“The results of these 2004 presidential elections show me that the average population of the US is still unconscious. The big problem is religion. People are indoctrinated, and their minds become prisoners of dogmas. The worst is that people are slaves of their mind instead of being themselves. If the majority of people were true to themselves, honest and respectful of themselves and others, then they would elect a leader who knows truth. The result of the election is a reflection of this country’s state of mind… an attempt at preserving the old values that do not have their place in the 21st century anymore. I am optimistic as right now human beings are waking up and events are taking place that cannot be undone. The old generations are dying and new generations are taking over.”

SexyScribe is a freelance writer, editor, translator, and enthusiastic purveyor of written smut, as well as erotica publisher at SexyScribe.com. She is a member of the YNOT News writing team, and can be reached at scribe@sexyscribe.com.