BOSTON—2024 marked the 25th anniversary for producer/director Angie Rowntree’s Sssh.com.
Tracing back to its origins in the ’90s blogosphere, Sssh.com “employs a signature internal survey, granting members the platform to voice their deepest desires and directly influence all the content,” the company touts. “With a quarter-century of insights into the intricacies of human desires, Rowntree passionately creates each aspect of her site. Where each film frame resonates with a longing, a fantasy, a shared dream. It’s helped give her films an organic, wide-ranging appeal that resonates with diverse viewers.”
More than 25 years ago, at adult internet tradeshows IA2000 and WebExpo, an adult producer told Rowntree that there was no market for “porn for women,” Rowntree recalled. “Women are not visually stimulated,” the producer warned. “Not only that, but they dislike porn on general principle. Certainly, they will never pay for it.” Fortunately for her and her fans, Rowntree said, that producer was wrong.
“Before I worked in porn, I knew about Sssh.com,” said adult director Jacky St. James. “It represented a space for women in the adult industry where our sexuality is depicted in a natural and respected way. Angie has done so much for women’s sexual exploration, and we are so lucky to have her pioneering this space.”
“Angie Rowntree has been creating porn on the internet since the ’90s,” said sociologist Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals. “A truly astounding accomplishment simply in terms of longevity, but especially if you consider just how much the industry and wider culture have changed since then.”
“Over the last decade Angie Rowntree has become an icon in adult films with her unique, fresh, out-of-the-box style,” said Kelly Holland, CEO of ChickMedia and former owner of Penthouse. “I use the term adult ‘film’ because Angie approaches her projects not from a cliched adult perspective but from a position of truth as her starting point. Her films are honest, thoughtful and provocative.”
“I love exploring more challenging stories, and I don’t believe complex themes are incompatible with erotic film,” Rowntree said, referencing a common myth about market limitations. “Sex is part of the human experience, and it’s more compelling when shown in the broader context of life.”
In recent years, Sssh.com films have earned over 170 awards and nominations. Non-explicit versions of Rowntree’s work are available on mainstream platforms, and segments of her films have been featured in several Netflix shows and movies. Rowntree also was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame – Internet Founders Branch in 2014.
Looking forward to 2025, Rowntree said, “Life is about change, and while the adult industry and attitudes within and about the industry have changed a lot over the last 30 years that I have been a part of it, there are more walls that need breaking down and more doors that need opening.
“My goal is to keep Sssh at the vanguard of the push to make porn more inclusive—and more ambitious in its artistry and depth of expression,” she added.
Follow Rowntree on X @AngieRowntree and Sssh.com @SsshForWomen.
