Fleshbot editor Lux Alptraum
Photograph: Yael Gottlieb
The first-ever Fleshbot Awards will be held tomorrow night at The Box. Because you can’t attend (sorry, perv, it’s invite-only), we got the lowdown from New York editrix (and sometime TONY contributor) Lux Alptraum. Cover thy virgin eyes, we fear this may involve Levi Johnston.—David Yi
Time Out New York: So the Fleshbot Awards…how’d that come to pass?
Lux Alptraum: Well, we were thinking of ways to celebrate Fleshbot’s sixth anniversary, which is this month, and decided on this show. We didn’t want to do porn awards, partly because there are already the AVNs and countless others. And although we get a rep as a porn site, we wanted to play up the fact that that’s not all we do. As a result, the Fleshbot Awards are recognizing sexy achievements in pop culture: sexy technology, sexy fashion, sexy art, sexy TV… We also have crossover awards, for people who’ve crossed over into the mainstream from porn [and vice versa].
Who are some nominees to look out for?
We have True Blood, Californication…Dexter has been surprisingly sexy. They’re all shows that are on premium cable, for obvious reasons.
What makes good porn?
It’s so difficult because it’s so personal. That’s like asking, “What makes someone hot?” Personally, the biggest thing for me is the performers’ desire. They have to be wanting to do this. Seeing someone’s genuine desire for another person just does it for me.
Why do you think Fleshbot, Gawker Media’s third website, was launched so early in the Internet game?
There’s a natural affinity between the Internet and smut. If you go back to early interviews with [Gawker publisher] Nick [Denton], he says technology and porn are these natural mediums for blogs. As a fan of adult media himself, I think he was just interested in pushing the boundaries and having an edgy site out there, completely different from any other site. I mean, nobody does what we do.
What do you mean by that?
A lot of the sites out there aren’t very polite about the people they’re talking about. There’s this sense that if somebody doesn’t live up to your specific ideal or image of what’s beautiful, then you have a right to criticize them, which we don’t do. We’re very celebratory; we really don’t focus on drama or saying nasty things. We’re very respectful to the people that do the work that we enjoy. It’s also more intellectual: We care about the writing.
What time of day does Fleshbot get the most hits? Not between 9am and 5pm, I assume?
It’s not nine-to-five, no. We tend to get a big jump after 5pm, but over the course of the day it’s on the upslant. You also have to consider the fact that we attract an international audience, in addition to our U.S. audience. It can be difficult to judge the readers of Fleshbot, as we don’t have a very vocal readership; most of the people who look at the site are a silent majority.
What’s the office like at Fleshbot? You’re looking at porn all day…
Everyone who works on the website is professional. It’s the way any sex-related job has to be: Just because something is titillating or arousing doesn’t mean you immediately go and masturbate. It’s the same thing with a gynecologist. I don’t want to compare myself to a gynecologist—this is much more exciting—but you’re able to approach it in a professional way.
Why do you think L.A. has a stronger porn scene than NYC?
A lot of it has to do with the fact that the porn market is shadowing the mainstream film industry. It’s not just the talent pool—you need to get film editors and people to work on a film set. When you already have people looking for work in the mainstream but can’t find it, [porn] is where they might end up. New York State and City also aren’t as friendly to the adult industry; California has been more hospitable, and there’s a hub in Miami for online stuff like Reality Kings and Bang Brothers. New York is just more expensive.
Now that reality TV is the norm, is reality porn also more popular?
It depends on what you mean by reality porn, because reality porn isn’t real. I mean, most porn isn’t. If you’re talking about amateur porn, that’s popular for a variety of reasons: Some people like that it’s real and that they’re looking at people who are with their partners having sex. There’s also the fact that a lot of amateur movies are free. But what’s often called “reality porn” is this kind of gonzo unscripted stuff that oftentimes—even if not scripted—is fake. And a lot of horrible things happen.
Like what?
Bang Brothers, for example, pick up girls on the street, promise to pay them, and then don’t pay them and throw them back on the street. Then they have one where supposed “straight” men are tricked into gay sex. A lot of people think it’s real, but if it was, they wouldn’t be in business; they’d have been arrested.
How do you predict which porn stars and movies will be the next big thing?
A lot of the time it’s just who’s been gaining traction. There are people who are really popular on our site that aren’t necessarily popular in the porn industry, though. Stormy Daniels is extremely popular, but she’s not with Fleshbot readers because Fleshbot readers tend not to be as attracted to the old-school, big-blond-hair, fake-breasts look.
What are Fleshbot readers attracted to then?
It depends. Some of the most popular girls of late are Sasha Gray, Faye Reagan and Stoya, who are all pale-skinned with natural breasts. They also have personality. They clearly love what they do and want to be doing it.
You’ve seen so much porn…does anything make you cringe?
Oh yes, I cringe at Cumomelet, which I saw a year ago. Some men ejaculated, then collected it and put it in a frying pan. Then a girl ate it. It almost made me throw up. I’m fine if people want to do that, but it really made me ill. I was not down with that.
Have you seen anything crazy or disgusting in New York?
There used to be some awesome sex parties in New York City, like Lusty Loft in Dumbo. I’m hesitant to label anything “disgusting,” because everyone has the right to call anything sexy, and I don’t want to put my own personal spin on it. I will say that I was at one party and there was some guy wearing a cock ring the whole night, and you’re really not supposed to wear those for more than 20 minutes. I was genuinely worried for him.
So has New York lost its sex appeal?
Absolutely not. Sex appeal isn’t necessarily about adult films. I’m an extreme New York loyalist. I’ve been here for ten years and have no desire to leave. But I think what makes New York sexy is the attitude and the people and the opportunities. I really love how driven everyone is. Pretty much anyone you meet here is going to be extremely motivated and successful, or they’re not going to be here. You got to put up or shut up. I’m really attracted to that.
