Re: “War on porn” felt at Suicide Girls
Chuck0 wrote:
Doug Henwood wrote:
I know you’re exaggerating for effect, but it’s not even close.
U.S. government revenues, 2005: $2.2 trillion Wal-Mart revenues, last 12 months: $298 billion porn industry, recent year: well under $10 billion
Forbes ran the numbers on porn a few years ago http://www.forbes.com/2001/05/25/0524porn.html. Quoting the article: “Skepticism is in order, though, because as David Klatell, associate dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism notes, ‘[Pornography] is an industry where they exaggerate the size of everything.’ The fact is pornography, or ‘adult entertainment,’ is as marginal now as it ever was.”
That’s Forbes conclusion of 4 years ago, which is ancient history in Internet years.
The Forbes estimate was around $4b. Even if it’s doubled, it’s still well under $10b. Even if it’s quadrupled, it’s still only about 1/20th of Wal-Mart’s sales, or about three weeks’ worth.
Doug