Ink Bias: Is It a Thing?

Do Porn Performers Face Casting Biases Based on Their Tattoos?

We are living in a time when tattoos are much more accepted in mainstream culture than they have ever been. Spike TV's "Ink Master", a competition reality show hosted by Dave Navarro, gives the network super ratings, along with a spin-off "Ink Master: Redemption" where artists get a chance to fix bad work that they did during the competition. The star of reality show "L.A. Ink" Kat Von D has a very successful line of cosmetics sold at beauty mega-chain Sephora and women everywhere snap up her line's "Tattoo Liner" to line their eyes.

In porn, we basically have three inked women at the top of the food chain - Burning Angel co-founder/AVN Hall of Famer Joanna Angel, former AVN Female Performer of the Year Bonnie Rotten, and fan favorite Christy Mack. They are top stars who are known for their ink (Rotten's spiderwebs on her boobs are iconic) and for their hardcore performances. These three beautiful women are superstars, without a doubt.

Is ink bias a thing in porn in a time when the mainstream is accepting inked bodies as beautiful more than ever?

Well, it depends on who you ask.

"I know I get cast less because I started out with tattoos and piercings," Yolanda* told Fleshbot. "Now you have these girls who've already established themselves getting tattoos and getting work left and right regardless. It's irritating." 

Alice*, another inked female performer agreed, saying, "I absolutely know for a fact that I get cast by less companies because of my tattoos."

Now, there are a variety of reasons why a porn director/producer would not choose to cast a performer with ink. It runs counter to some of the ingenue/barely legal fantasy out there because teens usually lack ink, and there is the whole trademarked art issue. Although a performer might adore her Hello Kitty tattoo, no production company wants to potentially face the wrath of Sanrio, who might not be cool with an image of their copyrighted character appearing in "Inked Butt Sluts #4". 

Nancy*, an inked performer who has enjoyed casting successes in her career, told Fleshbot, "I think that my ink makes me who I am and that it sells quite well. I think that bad ink can easily negatively affect a career."

While what "bad ink" is, is in the eye of the beholder, having watched a lot of porn in my years in the adult industry, I can say that Nancy is right on with her observation. Bad ink, like a butt zit or an ingrown labia hair, can be stomach-turning for a viewer if you get to see a closeup of one for too long. If a director/producer thinks that a performer's ink is of poor quality or they have concerns over the images on a performer's skin and their copyrights, that seems like it can hurt a performer's chances of being cast alongside other performers who lack body art.

Nancy addressed the quality of ink towards the casting issue saying, "Having BAD ink is like a bad haircut or a less than pretty face. Make yourself look like a ten and you will be shot like any other girl in the industry."

Inked Angels is a website for fans of inked porn performers. It's owned by Jason Jones and the site hosts the Inked Awards honoring the best performances by tattooed porn stars. He believes there is "absolutely" a casting bias against inked female performers.

"We hope and strive to get these inked performers the same recognition and acceptance that non-inked performers get," Jones said. "Since we started our site in 2011, we feel there has been progress made for inked performers landing some big roles, but there's still room for improvement."

There really is room for a gorgeous girl with lovely, non-copyrighted ink and a strong sexual appetite in just so many movies. One inked woman in an otherwise non-inked anal or wall to wall title really is a way for directors/producers to reach out the many people who love tattoos and think that those body modifications are beautiful. The performers that Yolanda spoke of who got cast a ton and then got some ink have had the opportunity to prove themselves as marketable while the performers with the ink already on them don't always get the chance to work as much and that is really a damn shame.

Porn directors and producers should take the extra step to check out inked performers rather than just passing them by. Porn people, ask agents for closeups of a hot girl's ink if you have any questions about how it is going to look in your movie. Any agent worth a damn will gladly give you those pictures to cast that girl. Take a minute to serve this very relevant, very strong market for tattooed performers.

"Never judge a book by its cover. Just about everyone can be beautiful and alluring. You just gotta give it a shot so it can happen," Yolanda said, asking for casting agents to make the effort on checking her and her fellow tattooed beauties out.

Yolanda and all of the performers I talked to for this feature agreed that things are looking up towards ink acceptance within the industry.

"Women like Bonnie Rotten and Christy Mack have really set the bar on inked women in the industry. You can do amazing work and still have tattoos. And guess what? Fans STILL love you. Have you seen the lines for Bonnie at the conventions? Her work speaks for itself!"

What can you as fans do to see their favorite tattooed performer get cast by more directors/producers?

"Fans play a big part in the adult industry," Jones said. "When they request these amazing inked performers on social media and of course, buy their movies, we think studios will start giving them more mainstream roles and more work in general."

So speak up on Twitter to your favorite production companies/directors and tell them who you want to see them shoot. Pay for that inked porn to keep it happening! The future of inked women in porn is truly in the fans' hands.

*All of the quoted female performers' names in this piece have been changed.

The images of Angel above appear here courtesy of Burning Angel.