ILLUSTRATED BY LY NGO.The Beginning
To start, where did feminist porn come from? Queer BBW porn starlet Kitty Stryker says, "I think it started in the '80s, with people like Betty Dodson, Annie Sprinkle, Candida Royalle, Susie Bright, Deborah Sundahl, and others. Businesses like Femme Productions and On Our Backs catered to women's desires and gazes for the first time." Director and producer Courtney Trouble echoes this, including long-time porn star Nina Hartley in the list of notable feminist porn icons, and adding, "They wanted to make porn that showcased female desire and real orgasms, which altered the path of many porn companies."
Diversifying
Since then, feminist porn has expanded from a relatively homogenous space to one that is inclusive of a wider range of sexual experience. Stryker says, "Feminist porn started with white, cisgendered, middle-class, articulate women who were already working in the adult industry and considered ‘marketable.’ It has slowly brought in trans men, trans women, people of color, people with disabilities, and plus-sized people." The subject matter of the porn may not follow any particular guidelines, and can belong to any subgenre; kink, lesbian, fetish, and even heterosexual porn can all be made with feminist ideals. Producer and actor Pandora Blake explains, "'Feminist porn' used to be more or less synonymous with 'porn for women,' but nowadays I think it's more like porn for everyone. It's expanded, and in the future, I think — and hope — porn that is now considered 'feminist' will be the default, and radical porn will need to seek out new boundaries to explore."
ILLUSTRATED BY LY NGO.Seeking Authenticity
A common buzzword in discussions of feminist porn is "authenticity." Everyone I spoke with in Toronto believes feminist porn is somewhat "authentic" in that it encourages mutual consent and prioritizes performer preferences in terms of partner, scene, etc. However, several stressed that a truly "authentic" situation cannot possibly be created for a marketable product. Shine Louise developed and produced The Crash Pad Series, a seminal work of feminist queer porn, and says, "It's hard to talk about authenticity in film. The footage that you have at the end of the day is very much removed from the actual experience. In the edit process, I try to stay honest." Kitty Stryker expands on this idea: "It's still a job and performative in nature, and that needs to be acknowledged."
The Issue Of Exploitation
While a focus on sex workers’ rights has informed a lot of feminist activism, it can also be a divisive topic. Some feminists believe that all pornography is inherently exploitative and therefore, by nature, cannot be feminist. Others, including those with whom I spoke at the conference, believe that feminism must make space for healthy, varied expressions of sexuality. Many porn performers view their jobs with pride and respect, yet their ability to identify as service professionals delivering a quality product is hindered by perceptions that pornography isn’t legitimate work.
Why Be A Feminist Porn Star?
Performers become involved in feminist porn for many reasons. "I believe strongly in being the change you want to see in the world," says Stryker. "If I want to see more fat bodies in porn, I will be one...I teethed as a feminist on sex-negative writers, and while I agree with many of their critiques of porn under patriarchal capitalism, I want to disrupt that mainstream narrative by being a performer that challenges those expectations."
ILLUSTRATED BY LY NGO.How Do You Pick Your Porn?
So, let's say you wanted to watch some feminist pornography — how would you know where to find it? My interview subjects were as supportive of female porn consumption as they were of positive depictions of female pleasure in that porn. Diverse casts that show a wide range of sexualities are also par for the course in feminist porn. Even the language used in marketing is a giveaway: "Avoid companies that use offensive terms," advises Trouble. "Avoid porn companies that don't have people of color, people of size, or transgender performers on their site."
Why Join The Movement?
Just as there is vast variety in feminist sexual preferences and ideals, everyone engaged in the feminist porn movement has a different reason for doing what they do. Being a feminist is the unifying factor, but even that can mean something different to each person. Nonetheless, everyone at the porn conference was engaged and enthusiastic about the possibilities for further communication and growth in the field.
ILLUSTRATED BY LY NGO.