In this post I’m mainly be referring to women but the majority of the points apply to men as well.

First and foremost there really aren’t any downsides to this. You get women in their mid 20s being a “teen” in one shoot and then a MILF the next day. It’s literally just a performance. It wouldn’t ruin the it for viewers - even at 23 I still get mistaken for being a teenager (this happens all the time, not just some bouncer trying to be cute).

In the US especially it is so bizarre you can’t buy alcohol until you’re 21, but you can agree to a digital footprint that can ruin the rest of your personal and professional life. Most performers are in the industry for a very short period of time but the consequences are lifelong for many. A lot have fallen to drug abuse and even suicide.

Upping the age limit to 21 would make it harder for pimps to groom young girls into becoming pornstars, one documentary from an ex pornstar talked about girls who were performing just weeks after turning 18, turns out some guy they’d met at a house party.

This guy would crash random house parties to meet young girls still in school turning 18 and tell them what a great, glamorous life they could have by becoming performers. He was essentially a recruiter for pornstars and made a cut from the girls .

People change a lot from 18 to 21 - during those years a lot of people move away from home, meet new circles of people, develop your own opinions and values. At 21 you’re still naive and pretty clueless but a lot less so than at 18.

At 18 you’re much less likely to be able to confidently advocate for yourself which producers and directors exploit. There are endless stories of women having serious injuries on set because they were too afraid to say no. If you still want to be a performer, if you’re 21+ there’s a slightly better chance you can stand up for yourself and not be in situations that leave you injured or traumatised.

I’d like to reiterate again I don’t see this having negative outcomes for anyone.

I’m not stuck on 21, it could be 22, 23 or whatever it’s just a more arbitrary threshold I suppose.