Porn has become one of the greatest ‘success’ stories of the internet age with Mindgeek, the world’s largest porn company, enticing on a daily basis 115m visitors to its websites and uploading 15 terabytes of videos, about half of the content available to watch on Netflix. It has escaped to date the scrutiny and accountability directed towards Facebook, YouTube etc, though it works on the same basis as FB, with its free-to-watch sites having content uploaded by the public. This convinces commercial porn companies to advertise in the hope that some want to pay for more.
The operators tend to keep out of the spotlight but on a quick flip through the available charts there are two striking similarities across several charts – one is the predominance of Gemini and the other is Mars Saturn.
Fabian Thylmann, 5 June 1978, Dusseldorf, who founded the porn conglomerate that is now Mindgeek which he sold on after being done for tax evasion, is a New Moon, Mercury in Gemini opposition Neptune and trine Pluto; with a close Mars Saturn conjunction in Leo.
He sold the company to Feras Antoon, 29 June 1975, Damascus, Syria, who now runs various of the companies out of Montreal with a partner. He is a Cancer Sun but with a Mars in Aries opposition Uranus square Saturn.
The other contender for the top net porn slot is XVideos, owned by the Czech-registered company WGCZ holdings, 18 August 2014, which has an unpleasant Mars Saturn conjunction in Scorpio; a Leo Sun; and a Yod of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Jupiter Venus.
Pornhub, 25 May 2007 (owned by Mindgeek), is a Sun and Mercury in Gemini; with Mars in Aries; and its Mars/Saturn midpoint is at 13 Gemini.
Gemini as a sign is sharp-witted, good at coping with complicated set-ups, often turns up in the lists of the world’s richest, and has a dark, wayward, at times amoral streak.
Mars Saturn, Ebertin describes as harmful or destructive energy. It has a positive side though it requires maturity and decency to get the better end of it. In raw form it is associated with cruelty, heartlessness and is damaging to the healthy sexuality.
More on Pornhub: On 4 December 2019, the New York Times published a column entitled The Children of Pornhub pointing out that “its site is infested with rape videos. It monetises child rapes, revenge pornography, spycam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags. A search for ‘girls under18″’ (no space) or ‘14yo’ leads in each case to more than 100,000 videos. Most aren’t of children being assaulted, but too many are.”
‘Appealing to the better angels of their owners to clean up their sites is just fatuous. It would be nice, in this festive season, to think that MindGeek suddenly saw the moral light. Likewise, it would be nice to see pigs fly in close formation. Fabulously profitable corporations don’t do ethics. So what changed? Simply this: on 10 December, Mastercard and Visa announced that they had prohibited the use of their cards on Pornhub. It’s the old story, in other words: money talks. MindGeek only moved when the handle of its money-pump was suddenly removed.
It often acknowledged and talked about in the digital industry that where new technology often comes from war/the military, it’s usually the porn industry that drives the innovation – particularly mass communications. It’s how VHS won, it’s how the internet went mainstream, it’s how streaming services came into being and even things like internet payments and e-commerce; all these things would not be around for us all to use if it wasn’t for porn. So I suppose the odd Gemini connection is in taking things from Mars/Saturn (Pluto?) to mainstream, everyday Mercury stuff. I guess that’s Hermes, delivering things to and from the underworld.
That was fine when the innovations were moving at a pace that enabled regulation to keep up, but what we have now is a combination of rapid tech innovation and little to no government regulation, after decades of ideologically scaling it back in most western countries. In the past, new mass communications, like the first TV and radio broadcasts and telecoms, would have state run infrastructures and strict standards. I suppose the first step away from that was VHS cassettes in the early 80’s (Saturn/Pluto).
Depressing stuff, Marjorie. Never understood this. What kind of human being wants to watch violence against teenagers and children, women being raped for pleasure? Stop the world, I want to get off.
Its horrifying to think there is a market for it. That this stuff appeals to men in particular. And its usually your everyday person; a work colleague, your neighbour. Even your own son or husband. Its all quite chilling. 115 million visitors a DAY getting their rocks off to this stuff is mind blowing.
I almost never watch it but i’m not against pornography if its shown in a healthy respectful way. Which is why i dont watch it, because it rarely does. Interestingly, I read a few years back that lesbian pornography is quite popular with straight women because it shows sex in a healthy, caring way between two people usually in love or even like.
Heterosexual pornography tends to have a very definite humiliating and specifically territorial manner to it, if you know what I mean. Ironically, in poll after poll, men who watch porn think women want to be treated this way. Yet, when they have polled women they have found nearly 80% dont and wouldnt like this kind of sex. So the porn industry is lacking hugely in teaching men to relate to women. Which is ironic because surely that is fundamental in sex, unless women are just sexual objects to them. It keeps perpetuating our culture of misogyny.
Another interesting article regarding research I read a couple of years ago, found lesbians had the best and most satisfactory sex lives at around 88%. Gay men had the second best satisfaction level. Straight men thought they had it the best with something like 95%. Yet when they asked straight women, out of all those questioned, they came out the worst. I think they barely scraped over 55%. Clearly in heterosexual relationships they are not communicating with each other at all and hetero porn for men validates this. No wonder straight women are seeking lesbian porn.
I think straight men could learn a thing or twelve from lesbian women and it could influence the porn industry for the better. But the kind of men running the porn industry and the kind of men flocking to it think they know it all. You cant get through to these guys. They are pretty much useless in every way and porn gives them the belief they are entitled gods in which a world full of women will fall to its knees for them as they fawn at their masculinity. Pun intended.
We are never going to escape a world in which there is a demand for sex. I just wish the world would transform into one where there was a respect for each other in and out of the sheets. Clearly, its too much to ask for.
Yes Jo, I agree with you. Better sex education might help – so many seem to think “porn” is real sex, or how sex should be. Failing to include adequate information or guidance about our wide-ranging emotional responses to sex in sex education has been a major failing for years. And I mean everything – from falling in love, to jealousy, disappointment or fear of being judged for your performance, body, and so on. The old-fashioned term for having sex was “making love”, and although love may not always be part of desire, I would hope for mutual respect, as you say, and how about some warmth and affection too?
Pre internet porn is quite different from today’s horror shows which have influenced expectations that young men have regarding sex. Young women report that choking, ejaculation onto their faces, degradation and anal sex are expected by young men now. What should be a consensual, loving, or consensual acted out fantasy is now associated with violence and abuse against the vulnerable. I know this is an unpopular opinion and I would hope parents have these conversations with their children.
I can totally understand why hetero women are attracted to lesbian porn, Jo. I get that.
I’m not sure how anyone in good conscience could use a platform that has that stuff on it. I suppose they justify it in their head that they themselves are watching something “normal” and a lot less extreme, but even then, how can you ever be 100% sure with a random source that no abuse is taking place?
Gemini 1978 – I’m reminded of the disaster that is Katie Price. She exemplifies how if you can’t conquer your Saturn you’re doomed to repeat your life over and over again.
Add in the shallowness of Gemini – which is supposed to be the sign of learning -and well, meh … (but then I have Saturn in Gemini so learning will be lifelong for me and taken seriously).
I’d ask what’s next for her, but it’s all wash-rinse-repeat and like Trump nothing will change, other than how she tells her story as she ages and the looks she’s relied on fade further.
I’m stunned by the constant amount of toxic masculine traits in the last few years being represented Gemini males on the world stage, be it front line or powerful behind the scenes roles. It wasn’t a sign I would have associated with such dark, controlling traits.
Represented *by*
Here’s my theory.
The past ten years having been all about Uranus in Aries/Taurus breaking down the patriarchy. There are obviously a lot of good things coming from this breakdown; BUT the patriarchy also gave us a structure to work within. The shadow side of Uranus/Aquarius is throwing the baby out with the bathwater and that’s what’s happening.
So we strike everything from the past out as being antiquated and old-fashioned but now we have to build new systems from scratch? Well, Gemini is ahead of Aries/Taurus and good at going out and finding out new stuff whereas Aries/Taurus only look as far as their noses reach. So the Geminis look like they know something the Aries/Taurus don’t know – they’re the researchers and scatterguns prompting change.
The Geminis are suddenly in vogue because they look innovative and as if they have something new to say without sounding boring and stuffy like the patriarchal signs of Capricorn (or even Sag/Aqua) which look at the bigger picture and fit things together. Unfortunately joined up thinking is not currently in vogue.
(I’d add astrologically the rise of the geminis is probably also a response to the first quarter square of Uranus-Pluto that occurred from 2011-15. It was important for the mid-60s generation born with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction opposed by Saturn-Chiron in Pisces and the ones I’ve met who are most difficult to deal with have t-squares involving Gemini planets. The t-squares to Sag are a little more cautious about getting involved)