Adult entertainment actors are worried about what Donald Trump's presidency would mean for their industry. While the Obama administration has not put into force obscenity laws, much to the chagrin of anti-porn activists, Trump has been clear about his stance against the porn industry.
"[A Trump presidency] will have very dramatic consequences," said porn star and sex columnist Tasha Reign to Vice media. "In this situation, Trump and Mike Pence can pass whatever law they want since they have the majority [in Congress]. I am very concerned."
During George Bush's presidency, an Obscenity Prosecution Task Force was set up and was later repealed by the Obama administration.
Trump too, like other Republicans, has promised to crackdown on porn. He was the only presidential candidate this year to sign the Children's Internet Safety Presidential Pledge, developed by Enough Is Enough (EIE), country's leading anti-porn nonprofit.
By signing the pledge, Trump has promised to "give serious consideration to appointing a presidential commission to examine, first of all, the public health aspect of internet pornography, specifically internet obscenity. And also, to look at mechanisms to prevent the sexual exploitation of children in the digital age," according to EIE's CEO.
"We're facing a coming administration that has repeatedly said adult entertainment isn't protected speech under the First Amendment," said Mike Stabile, director of communications at the Free Speech Coalition — a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. "That's terrifying, and in direct opposition with over 40 years of Supreme Court decisions."
"In the past decade, we've seen a lot of the conversation shift away from obscenity, which had become difficult to prosecute because of the internet, and toward this idea that porn was damaging, addictive, or inspired criminality," said Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition.
However, there are those inside the industry who believe that Trump's statements about porn were rhetoric meant for gaining votes.
"The things [Trump has] said about porn were just so far-fetched, he was just saying them to get votes," Joanna Angel, the porn star who co-founded the Burning Angel production company.
However, there are those like Reign who believe that Trump's stand is not to be taken lightly.
"When I bring up [Trump's plans] to people who voted for him in my industry, they just say that he is saying what he needs to say," said Reign. "But he is the one who is going to be nominating the next Supreme Court justice, he is the one who has Mike Pence as his vice president."
"There is a concern in the porn industry that future laws may become aggressive, and possibly even draconian, even at the federal level," said writer and porn star Jesse Jackman, who works for the gay film studio Titan Media. "The proposed First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which would allow American citizens to discriminate against gay couples based on their religious beliefs has already shown conservatives' willingness to shape the interpretation of the First Amendment on moralistic grounds."
Even if Trump has a lackadaisical attitude towards enforcing obscenity laws, those in his Cabinet are from more gung-ho. The GOP, on its party platform, has called porn a "public menace" and a "public health crisis."
The leader of his domestic transition team, Ken Blackwell, is a senior member of a Christian organisation that sees porn as "a plague in our nation," Mike Pence, his Vice President, had attempted to impose obscenity laws on mainstream Hollywood movies and barring them from showing sex scenes.
