Pornographic Industries as Digital Creative Industries - The case of ethical pornography as a creative niche market

The main aim of this research is to contribute to the acknowledgement of pornographic industries as digital creative industries and furthermore, to define the role of ethical pornography as a niche creative market that takes place on the Internet. Focusing on both cultural economic and social and feminist studies is important, since the investigation of pornographic industries as creative industries through the lens of Economics, also highlights a social and feminist framework. The Foucauldian analysis of power relations is discussed next to economic theories regarding the effects of digitalization, in order to demonstrate the democratized environment of digital pornographic space as both an entrepreneurial utopia, and an arena for self-representation and self-determination. Thus, this research provides an insight business perspective of the industry, through qualitative interviews methodology based on exclusively producers of ethical pornography. The integration of the literature review with the primary data of the interviews, shows that stigmatization has been an obstacle in the academic and social acknowledgement of pornographic industry as a creative industry. Also according to the interviews, the values that ethical pornography carries represent a human-friendly counterexample in the mainstream pornographic production and distribution. Another aspect of the notion of ethical pornography raised by both literature and interviews and requiring special consideration, is the advantages and disadvantages of the term as a brand. Finally, further research on that topic is recommended, as it would be extremely beneficial not only because it paves the way to the destigmatization of pornographic industry but also because it bridges the gap between social and feminist studies with traditional business and economic studies.