Durban – The boom in the local pornography industry has led an increasing number of young men and women who want to be part of the business, offering to do it for free.

However, the taboo that comes with pornography has forced many people in the industry to operate with aliases.

One such person is “Leila Lopes” who lives in Westville, outside Durban. A middle-aged woman with a slim body and slick hair, Lopes has been in the business for almost five years and has found the local porn industry becoming more stable. “It’s not a high-earning job because you earn anything from R1 000 to R8 000 a session. But there is certainly more work now.”

Lopes says that performing in a porn film is just like any other job. “There are a lot of taboos about porn and people think that there is something abnormal about it, but the fact is that thousands of people buy porn and it’s an honest day’s work for most of us,” she said.

“We still have lives and friends away from the business and it’s important to keep those elements separate.”

Lopes adds that local porn can be used as a more direct tool to teach people about HIV/Aids and sexual health.

“There is too much sugar coating that often goes on around sex in South Africa. What we do is give a visual display of what many South Africans think and fantasise about. But we are also responsible and we use condoms so as to show people that aspect of sexual health as well,” she said.

Each year thousands of magazines and videos make their way on to the market. But it is local productions that are catching the eye of local porn distributors and fans.

According to Tau Morena, who produced South Africa’s very first all-black porn film (Mapona Volume one), the success of local productions is proof that South African consumers want to see local porn.

Go to http://www.iol.co.za for more details