Steve said he was willing to do an interview, but only under certain conditions. Those conditions could not be met. Steve was concerned about legal ramifications of adult material.
"Oklahoma has some pretty archaic laws on the books and even doing nude work is technically illegal here," Steve wrote in an e-mail. "Are you aware that even simple possession of pornography is a felony in OK?"
That depends, according to Oklahoma County First District Attorney Scott Rowland.
"That is a very interesting area of law in which criminal law and the First Amendment intersect," Rowland said. "The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment prohibits states from criminalizing pornography, although they may place reasonable restrictions on its access to minors.
"Interestingly, the First Amendment protects pornographic material, although it doesn't protect obscene material."
And as we all know, obscenity is in the eye of the community.
One local porn producer looking to make a buck off his videos goes by the name of Lucky Alphonse. The Oklahoma City dweller was recently the subject of an investigation by the television station KOKH FOX 25.
Alphonse ran ads on Craigslist wanting participants and an audience for a local "gang bang" shoot. FOX 25 attended the shoot in October with a hidden camera.
When contacted by Gazette before the shoot, Alphonse described the attraction for local folks wanting to make and watch porn videos.
"Well, the attraction is, of course, pretty girls doing debauched things, and, of course, the money," Alphonse wrote in an e-mail. "Yes, can definitely be a gold mine, if handled right way. The business is sort of like Wild West, many things go."
Alphonse is a producer looking to make money in several different ways. Not only would he sell his videos through the Internet, but his ads stated there would be a charge to be in the video. He also charged a fee for anyone who just wanted to sit and watch the shoot.
Several other ads listed pay rates for those interested in performing for the camera. The pay ranged from $75 an hour to as much as $1,000 for a shoot, depending on what the actors were willing to do.
A couple in Tulsa ran an ad selling a DVD they made of themselves for $20.
MONEY SHOT
The money aspect of making home sex movies has a certain appeal for many who enter into that arena. But, there are other reasons an Oklahoma City couple would be interested in having their sex life on display, either for free or a fee.
"If you put a picture of yourself having sex with another person on the Internet, the assumption is other people are going to be watching that and be turned on by it," Paul said. "That, by extension, has the potential to turn you on because you're thinking, 'Somebody desires what I desire,' and therefore, that makes them even more desirable."
Paul, who teaches at the same university that is home to the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, said the desirability factor is huge with males consuming and exhibiting porn. Paul called it the "sperm competition theory."
"The idea is basically guys respond to seeing other males having sex with greater arousal because it's a competition thing," he said.
But for one Tulsa woman, it's all about sex and money.
Going by the name of "Lindsay Hohan," the recent Broken Arrow High School graduate is doing everything she can to make a name for herself in the world of amateur porn, including a Craigslist ad. The posting describes Hohan as a "20 year old up and cumming pornstar," who, for a few bucks (well, actually more than a few bucks), would perform for a video project.
"I'm a very sexually oriented person and always have been since I was 14 or 15 years old," Hohan told Gazette. "Ever since then, I was going to be in the adult industry."
Now living in Tulsa, Hohan said she had been doing nude modeling when small porn companies around the country saw her pictures on the Internet and began contacting her for video work.
Hohan is into what is known as professional amateur pornography. It involves a very small company, maybe just one person, but with a business model that includes marketing and video production of a higher quality than setting up the camcorder next to the bed. Some businesses may have their own Web site to display their material, or use one of the Internet amateur portals.
"You get your little companies that produce DVDs and they only sell to Kansas or Dallas," Hohan said. "They'll have their certain little shops they sell to, but they don't mass produce.
