LOS ANGLES — The Internet Adult Film Database (IAFD) will remove the "IR" — "interracial" — search term tag, among other systemic changes, including the removal of "race-based categories" from the Spank Bank Awards. IAFD's owners have also made a donation to the Black Sex Worker Collective.
Their statement reads, in part:
Regarding recent events, the IAFD team would like to unequivocally and firmly state that black lives matter. The murder of George Floyd, along with the murders of countless other black folks at the hands of police in America is cause for alarm and concern. We stand with the protesters exercising their First Amendment rights — the same right we enjoy by documenting and archiving adult film data here at IAFD.
We stand with black performers who have been made to feel fetishized, minimized and 'othered' within the adult entertainment industry. We are disheartened by stories of black performers in group scenes having to mind who they come in contact with because a fellow performer “does not do blacks yet.” We do not condone the racist pay gaps offered and accepted for interracial sex scenes. We refuse to accept financial incentives for those who hold out working with performers based on race for a bigger payday later in their career.
In striving to be the change we want to see in the world, we are eliminating the IR (“Interracial”) tag on our site.
Our editorial staff has long believed that interracial porn largely serves to uphold racist stereotypes and imagery. We feel that the industry’s long-held, narrow definition — black men fucking white women — only serves to further a narrative started hundreds of years ago; one with deserves to be relegated to the history books. We justified tracking this information because the industry embraces and promotes it.
No more. We won’t be a part of it.
The company's donation to the Black Sex Worker Collective is intended to further the group's core mission of addressing the needs of "current and former Black sex workers by providing education, legal assistance, healthcare resources and affordable housing referrals in order to successfully leave and maintain a life outside of the industry. Their goal is to create a safe space where the unique experiences and needs of Black sex worker voices are validated and responded with appropriate needs-based resources."
Find additional details about the Black Sex Worker Collective here.
"This is by no means the end of IAFD’s commitment to racial justice," today's statement continued. "As always, IAFD remains committed to ensuring that all customers continue to have free and available access to the most recent and accurate information about adult films and the performers who appear in them. We are committed to doing better. We will continue to listen and learn and improve on who we are and what we put out to the world."