"War modifies everything and sex is not immune."

I was assigned to write a piece concerning our industry in a time of war. The boss and I had discussed the topic a couple of weeks back and decided to wait until the thing had actually begun. We didn’t want to jump the gun or anything. Two short weeks ago there was a 48-hour chance it wouldn’t happen. So much for that.

The war is officially on. But it hasn’t been going on long enough to ascertain exactly how it affects our business. War modifies everything and sex is not immune. The popularity of pin-up posters increased during World War II but the baby boom didn’t arrive until nine months after its end. The Sacred Battalion of Thebes was entirely comprised of pairs of homosexual lovers and thrived for over thirty years. American soldiers had to radically monitor their behavior while in sexually restrained Afghanistan. Sex doesn’t stop happening during war but war is definitely one of few things that can override the urge to merge.

A small bit of discouraging news has come over the wire about sex and the war. Britain’s largest ISP FreeServe UK reported that the word "war" overtook the word "sex" as the most-used search term by subscribers. "Iraq" is number one with-a-bullet on Yahoo’s Buzz Index.

There have been some recent complaints from adult webmasters about low sales ratios but so far, no discernable decline has been noted in the industry overall. The biggest problems have been reported from the non-adult sector, chiefly travel and tourism. The jury is still out on how this war will influence our field.

During my research on this subject, I came across a very interesting term. Emma Brockes from The Guardian wrote a whole story about it. Bloggers have started to use it. I wouldn’t doubt that it’s the kind of phrase that could find its way into common vernacular: WAR PORN.

No, it’s not a joke. It refers to the practically erotic way news organizations and info junkies have embraced this particular war. With sexy graphics and scintillating soundtracks, we are getting our war LIVE HOT NOW! Individuals are looking for war news more than ever.

Satellite television subscriptions have increased. Internet news sites are busier than ever. People are hunting the net for war info with a hunger usually reserved for porn content. Even some of the "embedded" journalists have created websites in order to further deliver a grisly fix to the masses.

Current talk among adult webmasters shows we’re no different. There’s not a single adult webmaster message board that is war topic-free. There are the postings about the most recent battles or conspiracy theories. There are the flame battles between the hawks and doves. Among the name calling and uproar one will find the occasional question asked about how all this will effect sales? Usually that question receives a flip reply or an "I dunno".

From all appearances adult webmasters would rather talk about the war than reflect upon its consequences to our trade. Do we avoid the subject because no one can make an accurate forecast or do we evade it because of bad taste?

It may seem pretty cold to worry about such things when soldiers and civilians are dying but war or no war, the rent must be paid.

However this war goes, however long it lasts doesn’t detract from the fact that we have to feed our families. Certain things should be our concern such as whether or not we should try to market to the troops. Are soldiers a viable group or should we cross them off our lists? What about the length of the war? If it’s short and over soon then we’ll have escaped reasonably unharmed.

What if it lasts a very long time? Just today Gallup stated that most Americans believe the war with Iraq will last at least six months. The press claims the government led people to believe this action would be swift and officials have replied that they always stated the action would be a long-term one. Will sales stay down for a while and then rise again when people are ready for diversion? Will surfers eventually return to their pre-war habits or will we lose a big chunk of netheads to war porn?

History is relatively indicative as a reference. During World War II civilians flocked to the movies. In the sixties the war may have been in our living rooms but so were games shows and sitcoms. After 9/11 one of the most collectively comforting moments was David Letterman’s return to entertainment broadcasting after a week of non-stop news and horror. This last weekend the top two box-office films were comedies. People will want their entertainment and they will no doubt continue to pay for adult entertainment on the web. The effect of the war on Internet porn will quite probably be minimal.

The effects of the US Justice Department on our industry is a whole other story…