Sex News: RIP Amber Rayne, the economics of porn, MPAA vs. revenge porn laws

• “When the 10 participants touched the robot rather than pointed at it, their physiological arousal rose. And for 90 percent of participants, arousal increased the more “off-limits” the body part got. Touching a robot’s hand or neck elicited a less significant response than touching the eye or buttocks, for example.”
  * Touching robots can turn humans on, study finds (Washington Post)

• Joe Pinsker interviews Shira Tarrant about the economics of porn, and it’s a perspective you won’t see in TIME, the NYT or any other outlet parroting the unverified, reused-for-a-decade numbers alleging porn’s revenue (the “$97 billion global porn industry”).
  * The Hidden Economics of Porn (The Atlantic)

• “Adult star Amber Rayne passed away this weekend and the exact cause of death has not been revealed. Word of the news traveled fast over Twitter, Facebook and XBIZ.net Sunday. Born in Detroit, Rayne shot for Kink.com, Pleasure Productions, Dogfart Network, WaterBondage.com and Ultimate Entertainment, among many other studios. She worked as an extra in Hollywood films and TV shows prior to her porn career, which began in 2005.”
  * Adult Star Amber Rayne, 31, Passes Away (XBIX)
  * See also: Porn Star Amber Rayne Dead at 31 (InTouch Weekly)

• Move over, Crime Island, you have competition … sex island. “Married people will soon be able to travel to a special island where they are guaranteed privacy as they cheat. IllicitEncounters.com [VB note – site looks like a scam] is a dating website for married people, and it’s confirmed it is buying an island for the use of those having affairs.”
  * There’s a secret ‘sex island’ for married people who just want to cheat (NY Post)

• “Time magazine’s latest cover story is illustrated with a hazy black and white silhouette of a naked woman wrapped in the arms of another person, followed by an ominous looking four letter term: Porn, with a glaring red X inside the “o” followed by “Why young men who grew up with internet porn are becoming advocates for turning it off.” … But why are we singling out porn and only porn as a purveyor of sexism and dehumanization? Why are we discounting the millions of men and women who use porn and are still able to see people as people? Why aren’t we trying to backtrack and explore when porn went from being something used for recreational fun to being a problem in these men’s lives, rather than equating porn use, practically by definition, with addiction and harm?”
  * Porn is not the enemy of good sex: Don’t blame a male “virility” crisis on browser histories (Salon)

• “Hollywood’s lobbying arm, the Motion Picture Association of America, is opposing a proposed Minnesota revenge porn law on grounds that it could overly restrict speech. This is the same MPAA that fiercely supported the Stop Online Piracy Act of 2012. Known as SOPA, many claimed that legislation would also curtail free speech because SOPA could lead to the removal of domains that host infringing material.”
  * MPAA opposes proposed Minnesota revenge porn law, says it limits speech (Ars Technica)

Main post photo via Brooke Barone ‘Two doors down’ at Sticks and Stones Agency.