LOS ANGELES — Pink Visual President Allison Vivas is the subject of a Huffington Post Gay Voices profile penned by Juicy Pink Box’s Jincey Lumpkin.
Although the article hits on a number of salient industry topics like why lesbian porn is lumped in with straight porn while gay is separate, content piracy, tough times for the adult business, and trends, Lumpkin also looks at Vivas personal journey as girlfriend, mother and businesswoman.
Vivas talks about her former role as vice president for the TopBucks affiliate program where she helped create the Pink Visual brand.
But she was also candid about how she fought with her boyfriend over porn during her college days.
“My feelings regarding porn have flipped almost to a complete 180. I say that because I now have a much better understanding of how normal it is for men to enjoy porn, just like they enjoy sports or an action movie, and because I've learned that his watching porn isn't about me at all. I have stopped comparing myself to porn stars and now realize that my spouse isn't comparing me to them, either; he's just enjoying a fantasy in a pretty harmless environment,” she said.
Although Vivas doesn’t describe herself as a hardcore feminist, she believes women deserve equal consideration and the same rights as men, and doesn’t believe porn is degrading to women at all.
She maintained that people who claim that porn is degrading usually think that the women in porn are using their bodies and their sexuality for money. But she pointed out that men do the same thing.
Vivas also pointed out that women who enjoy sex are judged negatively by our culture, but for men it’s considered the norm.
“Honestly, I think a lot of it stems from women —and men —discriminating against women who seem ‘different’ — that is, women who enjoy sex and aren't self-conscious about it. I also think women discriminate because we feel ‘threatened’ and it's a defense mechanism, whereas men who discriminate might simply be doing so because they don't want their daughters having a lot of sex, or having sex publicly,” Vivas said.
The executive also told the Huffington Post that male-domination in porn doesn’t bother her because a majority of consumers are male and most productions appeal to their fantasies.
What does bother her is bad dialogue. “I sometimes want to shout, ‘Come on, no woman would ever respond that way.’”
Vivas also feels that if women become a much larger portion of the adult-entertainment audience, changes in the look and feel of porn may be on the horizon. “I think we've begun to see a little bit of that now, and the end result is more erotic art productions, couples-friendly productions, and female-oriented fantasy productions.”
On a more troubling note, Vivas tackled the piracy issue and consumers' perception of porn. She said that most core porn buying males don’t pay for porn and the ever increasing amount of free porn given out by competing tube sites has caused a reduction in advertisers with the ability to monetize that traffic.
“Overall, what we're seeing is a reduction in the amount of adult entertainment produced in 2012, advertising-heavy sites and more interactive adult products being pushed. To combat this situation, porn producers are trying to appeal to niche markets that have little competition and ensuring their products have mobile compatibility. The general state of porn is undefined right now and will need to be defined soon, because the current trend is not sustainable,” Vivas said.
And Pink Visual will adapt, according to Vivas. She said she’s aware that the company needs to diversify and is working toward more interactive products. “I think the industry as a whole is also focused on diversifying beyond adult productions, and unfortunately for today's consumer, they won't be getting the same quantity or variety of productions that was available five years ago.”
She also noted the company’s recently announced DMCA Force anti-piracy service that acts like an in-house team and customizes business plans and strategies for companies to combat piracy.
As a woman running a porn company Vivas said she doesn’t see it as a struggle. She noted that most people treat her with respect and always seem curious to talk to a woman in the industry, often opening up new opportunities.
And her advice to young businesswomen centers on focusing their strengths. “As a gender, women are more loyal, more peacekeeping, and more nurturing. In the business place these strengths come out as negotiation skills, team development skills, and ultimately a ‘can-do’ attitude that will be part of the solution during good times and bad. Sometimes I think young women in business think that they are supposed to act like men, and I think really tapping into your own strengths as a woman and as an individual will lead to more success,” she said.
