When sex doesn't sell

Why the nation's sex writers are getting pink slips

"These are scary times for sex writers," said Tracy Clark-Flory in Salon. One publication after another has fired star columnists, including The Village Voice's Tristan Taormino and Valleywag's Melissa Gira Grant. Blame the recession—"friends, these are not sexy times."

So, sex doesn't sell after all, said Violet Blue in the San Francisco Chronicle. Gawker media has stripped its porn blog Fleshbot down to a "skeleton crew" because it wasn't bringing in enough money. "Just because something has sex in it, or it's about sex, doesn't necessarily mean that it will automatically be a success."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up