THE FEMINIST PORN AWARDS

AN INTERVIEW

KATIE OíREILLY-BOYLES & CARLYLE JANSEN

“The answer to bad porn isn’t no porn... It’s to try and make better porn!”

 The idea of porn isn’t inherently sexist, but the majority of the porn available tends to perpetuate and mirror society’s sexist attitudes. The ‘Good for Her! Feminist Porn Awards’, a Canadian organisation founded eight years ago, decided to take a stand.

 The subjugation of women has been around for thousands of years, and we won’t blame the modern, easy-to-access, mass-produced, commercial porn market – this only being a few decades old - for that. But is porn only capable of providing another platform for sexism? Or can it be transformed and included in the struggle for gender and sexual equality? The Feminist Porn Awards (FPA) believes that it can. 

 The subject of pornography is generally one that needs to be properly discussed. It’s not just part of a counter-culture that we can place in a corner of society and say “well, that’s porn, let them just carry on in their way, and let mainstream culture carry on as normal”; it affects more of us than we think. Porn is always present, as the following figures show:

Every second, over 28,000 internet users are watching porn

12% of all websites on the internet are pornographic

35% of internet downloads are pornographic

The average age at which a child first sees porn is 11 years old 

Porn sites get more visits than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined

 But my concern is not with how much porn we watch. My concern is how we incorporate the world of porn into a post-patriarchal paradigm and allow it to live alongside feminist, queer, and general egalitarian principles. The founders of the FPA are of the view that this is definitely possible, and in 2006 they decided that “it’s not enough to criticize adult films for not adequately representing the diversity of women’s, trans folk's- and in many cases, men’s - sexuality.”

 Rather than deciding to treat feminism and porn as a mutually exclusive dichotomy, the FPA encourages more progressive porn by awarding the makers of porn that meets certain criteria. Such porn would display acts and stories which are gratifying and ‘sexy’ for women and transgender people watching, making a change from the vast majority of porn made for men’s eyes only. Such videos achieve this by featuring real female orgasms, avoiding non-consensual or rape scenarios, and starring people who are a variety of different ethnicities, sexualities, genders, shapes, and sizes.

 I interviewed Carlyle Jansen, one of the founders of the ‘Good for Her! Feminist Porn Awards’ to hear some of her thoughts on the idea of Feminist porn and what her organisation does to help its development. 

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KOB:How did the mainstream porn industry specifically influence you to start the Feminist Porn Awards?

 CJ: The mainstream porn industry portrays a very narrow view of sexuality. It does not include much diversity of desires, ages, races, bodies, gender expressions or abilities. Those folks who are trans, people of colour, of different abilities, sizes and ages are often fetishised and stereotypes are usually perpetuated. The pleasure is often unrealistic in terms of what women in particular enjoy and how they orgasm. The awards were started because we finally had a greater selection of films that we felt good about offering our customers and wanted to create an event to celebrate, recognise and endorse those who were making porn that reflected feminist values.

KOB: What are the main differences between the porn you encourage & reward, and the porn that should perhaps be avoided?

 CJ: The porn that we encourage is made under ethical working conditions, where performers

are respected, empowered and offered choice in terms of safer sex options and sexual activities, and are paid a fair wage. Feminist porn seeks to offer positive images that empower and reflect the diversity of those who watch it.

KOB: How do you believe feminist porn helps the struggle for gender & sexual equality and for equal rights?

 CJ: We are all regularly and deeply influenced by imagery. Mainstream porn (and much other daily media) perpetuates many misogynist, racist, transphobic, ableist, ageist and homophobic attitudes.  Feminist porn that showcases more diversity with respect, pleasure and consent for all performers is a powerful tool for changing attitudes. For many, to see one’s desires finally represented or to see ‘others’ in a positive light can be game-changing; equality and respect on screen can be transformational for everyone. 

KOB: What would you say to people who believe that there can be no such thing as ‘feminist’ porn?

 CJ: There are many definitions of feminism, and some believe that porn inherently cannot be feminist because it necessarily exploits (female) bodies. We need to listen to the performers who choose this work because it is empowering, satisfying for them. Those voices are ignored or patronised, essentially robbing them of social agency to make healthy, informed choices for themselves. Some feminists argue that society is inherently racist and misogynist with few alternative opportunities for women, therefore these people cannot make informed choices. We need to respect that performers can appreciate these societal inequalities and still choose this type of work.

KOB: Do you believe/hope that the idea of feminist porn will catch on and end up constituting the main body of pornography?

 CJ: Of course, we would love the mainstream to embrace ethical working conditions, respect for performers and more diversity on screen. While there has not been a total shift, the mainstream industry has definitely adopted some limited changes such as diversity of who is on film (more people of colour in positive portrayals) and desires (more romantic films with attention to genuine pleasure). The more we talk about and purchase feminist porn, the more the mainstream believe that alternative portrayals of sexuality have a ‘market’, the driving force behind change. We can hope that the ethics of Feminist Porn will become more the norm in the mainstream as those voices continue to speak louder.