When porn was designed to mimic cinema in the ‘70s and ‘80s, it was an amateur move for performers to look into the camera. Then, in the ‘90s, VHS tape point-of-view and amateur interview videos became a popular format. Performers were asked to stare into the lens so the viewer felt they were in on the action. The actors couldn’t see themselves, though.
Now, in the OnlyFans and Pornhub era, actors usually film their own scenes on phones in selfie mode. In these clips, it looks like they’re staring at the viewer, but in reality, they’re watching themselves. Good adult actors and filmmakers make the camera a seamless extension that just happens to be there. That’s difficult if a performer is staring at the lens to check the light on their face or hypnotized by their own body parts.
A threesome video recently came across my Twitter feed, promoting an OnlyFans account. The three men spent the entire scene gazing at their own reflection and not each other. They contorted their bodies unnaturally toward the phone screen, self-consciously trying out the popular cross-eyed “gooning” face. It was hard to tell who they were performing for—each other, the viewer, or themselves. Even as they triple-kissed, they all stole looks into the lens, their pupils glowing in the ring light. The effect was unsettling and distracting, familiar but distant.
When homemade porn hit the internet after the arrival of HD webcams, many viewers preferred it to the glossy, performative studio fare. Now, the same thousand-yard direct stares that defined bad porn have become common on these new platforms. As a friend exclaimed, “If you’re not paying attention to each other and you’re not paying attention to me, what the fuck are we all doing here?”
Porn reflects the values of its era. What does it say about ours that breaking the fourth wall has become a two-way mirror?
Eye contact is a big theme in my new book Analog Cruising, a step-by-step guide on the ancient art of the cruise. Signed books include a cruising kit with essentials.
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