I conducted a thematic content analysis of key adult films in order to explore patterns and trends occurring in US adult film industry production and development between 1972 and 2005. Insights from grounded theory informed my consideration of a systematic sampling of 26 films. Emergent patterns and trends include: (1) content consistency across eras; (2) shifts in the form of sex depiction presentation; (3) continuous industry mainstreaming; and (4) changes in women talents’ (actors’) aesthetics. These patterns and trends reveal some tensions existing between the adult film industry and wider society, highlight symbiotic developments in what has been and what is currently considered ‘pornographic’, and illustrate the continued presence of dualistic power-based relationships in shaping persons’ social-sexual interactions.
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