A fluffer is a person employed to keep a porn performer's penis erect on the set.[1] After setting up the desired angle, the director asks the actors to hold position and calls for the fluffer to "fluff" the actors for the shot. These duties are considered part of the makeup department. While fluffing does not necessarily involve touching the actors, it could entail sexual acts such as fellatio or non-penetrative sex.[2]
According to some pornographic actors, including Aurora Snow,[3] James Deen[4] and Keiran Lee,[5] fluffers are no longer needed, saying that the role might have existed in the past, but disappeared due to medical advancements, such as Viagra and implants, and with advancements in prosthetics.[6] Hunter Skott, who has worked as a fluffer, contended in an interview that they "are only used for a gangbang or bukkake, not for regular [porn] movies".[2]
Predating the pornographic usage, which came into use in the 1970s,[7][8] fluffer has been used by the real estate industry to refer to a person that stages homes[9] and as a term for a maid or housekeeper who fluffs pillows, or in general cleans and prepares work equipment.[10]
In popular culture
editIn the 1998 video game Fallout 2, it is possible for the player to become a fluffer for a post-apocalyptic studio engaged in the porn industry.[11]
The 2001 film The Fluffer is about a film buff with a crush on a porn star who is straight, for whom he would end up working as a fluffer in gay porn.[12]
In episode 3 of season 2 of New Girl entitled "Fluffer", Nick Miller tells the protagonist Jessica Day that he will not be her "emotional fluffer", after he realises that he is providing her sentimental stimulation which allows her to maintain a more active sex life with a recurring character named Sam Sweeney.[13]
The oneiric slasher Knife+Heart follows a group of "low grade" gay pornographers in 1970s France. The film depicts a character named Mouth of Gold, or Mouth, who is a fluffer. In the film, he is a middle-aged man who works for free as he lives with his mother.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Definition of 'fluffer'" Archived 29 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ a b Stoddard, Grant (2 September 2002). "A Life's Work: This Job Sucks". Nerve. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012.
- ^ Aurora Snow (18 March 2013). "Blood, Sweat and Sex: My Hard Life in Porn". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Suzan Ryan (25 March 2013). "Interview: James Deen". Australian Penthouse. Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Jonathan Stewart (30 April 2014). "10 Things A Male Pornstar Will Never Tell You". Playboy. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ "22 Industry Insiders And Pornstars Tell The Behind-The-Scenes Secrets Porn Viewers Don't Want To Know (NSFL)". Thought Catalog. 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ Jeremy, R. (2009). Ron Jeremy: The Life and Times of a Porn Star. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061841774.
- ^ McFedries, P. (2008). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weird Word Origins. Alpha Books. ISBN 9781592577811.
- ^ Fadiman, A. (2008). At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9781429922968.
- ^ "A CITY SLEEPS aka TUBE "FLUFFERS" - British Pathé". britishpathe.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ Good, Owen (14 June 2009). "Lots of Bad Career Choices in Fallout". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (16 November 2001). "Film Review; O.K., Just Tell Your Folks It's Artistic Work, in Films". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Adams, Erik. "Fluffer". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ Gonzalez, Yann. "Knife+Heart". Altered Innocence. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.