What is Feminist Pornography Anyway?

People often ask me to clarify what I mean by “feminist porn.” It’s a term I sometimes throw around, and the definition I use—porn that respects the female experience in its production and depiction of sex—doesn’t really help people imagine what I’m talking about. In feminist porn, the sexual acts are no different, the actors aren’t specially trained, and unless you’re looking for it, you likely wouldn’t notice a difference between regular and feminist porn. Feminist porn can include S&M, fetishism, crazy freaky sex, and basically anything else people can think up…what makes it different, in my eyes, is that underneath it all runs a respect for women's experience.

My rule of thumb for determining whether a porn scene is feminist or not is whether I grimace and avert my eyes. Not surprisingly, I tend to empathize strongly with the women on screen, so when I see a woman who is clearly not enjoying herself and who is being degraded by her male partner, I can’t help but have a physical reaction. It’s not the acts themselves, but rather the intent behind them. There are many acts I've seen that I would be unlikely to perform in real life, but I don't necessarily pity the people performing them. Once pity enters the picture--once I start feeling sorry for the woman--the scene becomes degrading and non-feminist in my eyes.

Unfortunately, my little test means my definition of feminist porn is relative to me and my reaction, but I honestly cannot think of any way to make it more objective without making it overly restrictive (she goes down on him for x minutes and he goes down on her for x+4 minutes=feminist porn). This is a problem because something I might view as feminist might absolutely revolt someone else. A classic example is blow jobs--some people view blow jobs as inherently degrading to women, while others see it as the most powerful act a woman can perform. So obviously this definition is lacking. I'll keep working on it.

To ground the term in something a little more tangible, I’ll offer a few video titles that in my view are feminist porn. Many more titles fit the definition, but here is a small sample to start with:

This grouping includes soft-core, hard-core, gonzo, artsy, dirty, male-directed, female-directed and fetish titles to indicate that feminist porn is not a specific genre or niche. It really can exist in just about any genre; the way it is created, reflected in the way it depicts sex, is what's important. For more titles, check out Violet Blue's recommendations on Tiny Nibbles. Good Vibrations also carefully screens their videos before recommending them to their largely female clientele.

If you’d like to learn more about feminist porn, be sure to check out Becky Goldberg’s excellent documentary, Hot and Bothered: Feminist Pornography. The film includes interviews with many of the main players in feminist porn as well as clips from feminist porn videos. The film was part of the inspiration for my thesis, and Becky herself was really helpful in offering me advice at the outset of my project. You can buy it here.

Comments

[estevan]

i understand this feminist porn for sure, espouse it,eschew the other, seemingly 'abusive' sex. this feminist sex is great, much of other is the type i would be against, as i consider it very exploitive.