Difference Between Pornography and Prostitution

This post really comes from something that I thought about a couple of years back, and is an idea that came to the forefront of my mind when a friend of mine told me about how he made a special extra trip to go back to Amsterdam to get a prostitute.

What is the difference between pornography and prostition.

Prostitution, as defined by Dictionary.com is: “the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money.” 

Obviously, this definition is pretty clear, and to my knowledge the only place you can legally hire a prostitute in the United States is in certain areas of Nevada. However, think about this definition. I want to know what makes pornography legal to be (1) globally consumed and (2) produced in areas like Los Angeles and Miami.

I’m pretty confident in my assumption that the girls (and guys) who do porn, aren’t doing it for free. They are participating in “the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money”. Thus, shouldn’t pornography be illegal to make? If not, then I’ve found a pretty big loophole around the legal problem of prostitution. If I ever want to hire a prostitute, I’ll make sure I have a video camera and tape it, that way we’re simply making a pornographic film and it’ll be all legal. It’ll be something like what the guys over at BangBus make….“reality porn”.

Anyways, this whole issue has been something that has peaked my curiosity for a while, and I haven’t been able to find any decent information on the subject over the Internet. If you know more about this topic or can provide a legal perspective, please do, as I’d like to know…exactly what is the difference between pornography and prostitution.