Of all the aspects of the entertainment business seemingly killed off by the internet forever, it would seem like the rental porn industry would be the hardest hit. After all, who in 2016 would still want to drive to a brick-and-mortar store and rent a used DVD, having to pay $3.99 per movie while enduring the judgment of a weirded-out clerk in the process? It doesn’t make any sense, economic or otherwise. And yet, as detailed in a Broadly article called “The Men Who Still Rent Porn From A Video Store” by Bethy Squires, the Family Video store chain still rents pornographic movies at its 700 locations in the U.S. and Canada. But to whom? To answer that question, Squires sought testimony from actual video store clerks. Yes, they say, the adult section at Family Video still does have a small but loyal group of regulars. It’s mostly older men, two video store employees testify. Titles about MILFs are especially popular among these customers, says one clerk. Some customers, unfortunately, do enjoy the films a little too much and leave physical evidence of their approval on the returned discs. Other porn renters, however, are as polite and orderly as a clerk could possibly want. By and large, the clerks try not to dwell on this aspect of the rental industry.
But why would anyone still do this today, especially when easier and cheaper alternatives are abundant? The answer, the article suggests, is that the act of renting the tapes has become an integral part of the process for some men. These customers likely grew up in the golden age of VHS in the 1980s and 1990s and have fond memories of the adult videos they rented back then, memories they are now trying to rekindle. “Somewhere along the line,” offers a video clerk named Walter, “a wire got crossed… The renting has become fused with everything else.” The drive to Family Video, then, becomes part of what the article describes as “a ritual.” This may not be what Family Video’s clerks signed up for, but it’s still part of their job.