Is it true that Hungary is a porn industry giant?

Hungary is often associated with porn by many men around the world. Many think that Hungary is a big player in the porn industry. In Hungary, there is even a billionaire who made his fortune by screening people masturbating in front of webcams. However, only a few know what made Hungary such a fertile ground for porn, how Hungary and Eastern Europe have affected the global industry, and how that industry is influencing what we want to do in bed.

444 interviewed sociologists Fanni Dés and Gergely Csányi about the history of the Hungarian porn and sex cam industry.

How well is the history of the porn industry known in Hungary?

Gergely Csányi: Testimonies and autobiographical books of actresses have been published, and the contemporary press has also dealt with the topic in the past, but there is little scientific research. While examining the development of the Hungarian sex industry of the ‘90s, we came across many surprising things.

Is it a myth then that Hungary is a porn industry giant?

G.Cs.: It is not, at least in the sense that from the early ‘90s to the early 2000s, a lot of porn movies were made in Hungary. However, the history of the Hungarian porn industry is not heroic at all. The conditions in Hungary were better than in other Eastern European countries, so the capital of the porn industry broke into Hungary very aggressively. Women working for cheap, living in limited financial conditions, were exploited by the Western porn industry.

In terms of capital, Hungary was not powerful. Instead, the circumstances made it possible to shoot porn in Hungary.

What made the conditions ideal for the Western porn industry?

Fanni Dés: The rest of Eastern Europe was further away, and the infrastructure was relatively good compared to Romania, while the labour was just as cheap. We found many accounts that the western directors got off the plane with a cameraman, and everything else was ready and prepared in Hungary: the studios, equipment, agents with a network of actresses and models.

It is also important that people thought the porn industry was a measure of development. It was said to be normal in the West, and it was a sign of backwardness if the porn industry bothered people. Many contemporary newspapers also wrote that the porn industry is part of the catching-up to the West, so it has not been hampered by anything. Porn was even shot in the Festetics Palace. Virtually any venue could be rented to shoot porn.

G.Cs.: We know from sources that they also used this idea to recruit actresses. They told them that it would ship to West, no one will see it in Hungary and that porn acting would be an entirely accepted career in a few years. It is hard to estimate but

in the late ’90s, and early 2000s, probably about 200 porn movies were shot every year. That is about 800 scenes, with 1,000 to 1,200 actors. Up to four, five, maybe six porn actresses became famous.

How did the international porn competition affect what type of movies were made and what they did in those films? Was there a Hungarian style?

F.D.: The United States has been dominating the porn industry to this day, and at first, pornos were “normal” movies, with a plot and a set or sets. When Europe joined the competition, the gonzo format gained popularity, in which scenes come after the other without any plot or major set. Hardcore porn is also the result of industry competition. Eastern Europe tried to take on the competition by filming increasingly brutal sex scenes. Anal sex, for example, was the trademark of Hungarian porn, which also became part of the Hungarian style.

The “everything can be done to Hungarian women” became the speciality of the region and the overall speciality of Hungarian and Eastern European women.

G.Cs.: It is a snowball-effect in which something new, violent or extreme appears, which only a few would do, and then it becomes a practice for everyone due to the competition. And then you have to invent something again. Ending up in more and more brutal, and more and more extreme sex scenes and porn movies becoming mainstream.

This is basically driven by the market that then penetrates people’s bedrooms and becomes part of their everyday sexuality.

The kind of industry that flourished in Hungary came to an end around the 2000s. What happened?

G.Cs.: The whole global porn industry was rearranged. The porn industry in which Hungary was outstanding, hardly exists anymore. This is mostly due to technological developments and changes in consumer behaviour. It is no longer important to shoot entire porn movies.

The sex cam industry has made a Hungarian billionaire. He is György Gattyán, the founder of LiveJasmin. Is there any connection between the two sectors?

G.Cs.: I would not overemphasise a connection, though there is. The sex cam narrative has laid the groundwork for the sugar daddy industry similarly to porn movies before it. The other clear link is that it also makes a profit because some women are in need of money.

How does the sex cam industry work? There is an image in people’s minds that “performers” are streaming alone from their apartment.

G.Cs.: In Eastern Europe, it is more common that there is a studio where women can go. Usually, there is also an operator (mostly men) sitting behind the camera trying to uphold the interest of paying viewers on behalf of the model. The operator is the one who tells the performer what someone in the chat is asking for. Most of the time, the actress is being watched by several paying viewers at the same time who do not know about the other. It is the operator’s job to handle the situation, so this is not found out. The owner of the studio often employs both operators and women as illicitly.

What would you say is the main conclusion of your research on the sex industry?

F.D.: That we have to deal with how the economy affects our relationships, family roles, households, caring, violence against women, or sex itself. How it affects things we consider intimate.

G.Cs.: Capitalism penetrates our little personal world through various forms of sex, becoming a commodity, affecting our sexuality and the way we treat our partner in the bedroom. These have a terrible effect on our innermost relationships.

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Source: 444.hu