By Erika Icon

YNOT – With adult entertainment revenues still flat or declining in many quarters, largely due to conditions beyond the control of content producers — piracy, free internet porn and a lackadaisical global economy, to name three — adult companies continually are on the hunt for new markets and new distribution methods that may prop up sagging profits.

One segment that receives increased scrutiny off and on from a handful of producers is the so-called women’s market — presumably composed of women and couples who enjoy a kinder, gentler type of porn with more emotional impact and less “on your knees now, cum-catcher” bravado. In fact, several studios and websites have generated impressive returns with their efforts in that area.

Emboldened by academic studies indicating as much as 30 percent of the adult content audience is composed of women, major mainstream media outlets are displaying renewed interest in the topic. Both CNBC and ABC recently reported about the relationship of women and porn, and what producers are doing to court female consumers. They key, they determined, is in providing what women want.

ABC’s piece, “Romance Porn Lures More Women, With Loss of Shame,” prominently featured filmmaker Nica Noelle, who shoots the softer side of porn by incorporating honest-to-goodness storylines, emotion and wide lovemaking shots. Noelle’s movies typically appeal to women and couples more than to single men, which is intentional. Her fan base is devoted.

“I was hooked from the first instant,” one fan remarked. “What makes her different is she definitely thinks about what she is filming in advance. She takes the time to write a script that is believable, sexy, kinky and even romantic at times.”

CNBC’s far broader piece, “Porn’s New Market: Women,” revealed that over the past seven years, studios like New Sensations and Wicked Pictures have put the lie to the traditional assumption that women don’t watch porn. Women- and couples-friendly films have turned out to be big moneymakers for both studios.

“When it comes to something like the couples market, the revenue that can be generated with the right product is considerably more than traditional DVDs,” New Sensations founder and president Scott Taylor told CNBC. “I wish we had done this at a different time when there wasn’t so much piracy and there wasn’t the internet.”

So, what did the mainstream wonks determine women want in porn? Chief among the desires on the distaff side seems to be plot. Writers like New Sensations’ Jacky St. James craft storylines that resonate with women, focusing on themes like marriages that have lost their spark or the early days of falling in love. The result, according to CNBC, is “movies that might air on Lifetime — only when the sex scenes start, the camera doesn’t pan away.”

Although designing online destinations that appeal to women is nothing new — enterprising female webmasters have attempted to upset the apple cart with women-oriented websites since the internet began, with varying degrees of success — but the latest crop of female-centric sites seems to have found the missing magic ingredient. Sssh.com, described as “an adult online version of Cosmopolitan magazine,” offers something for everyone within a safe environment that encourages exploration without shame. Content on the site is rated with pairs of lips — one pair for tame, two for risqué and three for explicit. The site has about 22,000 members and has gone about its business relatively quietly for 12 years, only recently gaining attention — and critical acclaim — in the mainstream.

“I want to make it a safe place for women,” Sssh.com owner Angie Rowntree told CNBC. “The No. 1 comment I get from women is [Sssh.com] doesn’t make them feel dirty. It’s not sleazy looking.”

Women also are venturing into adult stores in greater numbers, both online and in the real world. That’s good news for retailers, who’ve discovered women actually tend to buy more products, and more of the profitable novelty products, than men. They also purchase a good number of what LFP Inc. President Michael Klein called “entry level and female-oriented films.” Klein said 60 percent of Hustler Hollywood’s clientele is women. As it is at websites, the key to attracting women consumers to brick-and-mortar stores is providing a safe, clean, guilt-free shopping experience.

[SIZE=1]Image: [i]Marie and Jack: A Hardcore Love Story (Comstock Films)[/i][/SIZE]