Pornography is one of those hot-button issues (like abortion or same-sex marriage) that many people are markedly divided on: you’re either pro or anti-porn. This division is largely influenced by feminism and women’s movements (which men can be a part of too!) which proclaim that mainstream porn is produced by men, for men, which leads to the objectification and (non-consensual) humiliation of women. However there is hope; there is feminist porn!

Unfortunately, the proclamation about mainstream porn being objectifying and demeaning of women is pretty accurate. Watch any heterosexual porn; it is easy to see that the woman’s sexual needs and pleasure are not a priority. The “male gaze” of the camera portrays women as objects because the camera largely focuses on the women’s body parts (her breasts or vagina), instead as a whole. For those of you who are unsure, this is a prime example of objectification; depicting a woman as disjointed body parts, not as a person. She is not seen as a sexual being with her own sexual needs. Even lesbian mainstream porn is created for men’s pleasure and still is not focused on female desire or showing women as whole women. The viewer primarily only sees fingers going into vaginas or tongues licking clits—not good!

Don’t worry, feminist porn is here to save the female orgasm … I mean day! What is feminist porn you ask? Feminist porn is made by feminists (mostly women, but that’s not always the case) and attempts to give the audience what mainstream porn doesn’t—real people sometimes of different gender identities and sizes having real sex. Feminist porn likes to show real foreplay, real sex, and real orgasms. The viewer can see the individuals and partners not just as a vagina or a penis but as a person with different sexual desires or kinks.

How do feminist porn directors and producers show the audience real and not produced or forced sexuality? Well for starters, feminist pornographers are usually advocates of better wages and conditions for actors and actresses. Makes sense right? Better conditions to have sex, more freedom to voice concerns about the scene (i.e. wanting to wear a condom) and higher pay would make any employee feel better about their job and probably increase morale and productivity too.

In addition, feminist porn loves to showcase different kinds of actors and actresses. It can be difficult to find trans, gender fluid, gender bending or queer actors in mainstream porn, but there are plenty of queer folks in feminist porn who love to have sexy fun too. Mainstream porn can seem limited with the actors they showcase; they are mostly White, able-bodied individuals and often straight-identifying people play gay, lesbian or bi-roles. In feminist porn there are queer-identifying people playing queer-identified roles, which also adds to the authenticity of the porn.

Feminist porn also likes to bring gender and social issues to center stage in some of the filming by highlighting disability, gender and/or sex roles. Having actors who have disabilities, androgynous (having masculine and feminine characteristics) or show actors in non-traditional power roles (like having a woman cum on a man) can push the cultural norms of what it means to be beautiful, powerful or sexually active.

Don’t be mistaken, feminist porn is not just for women or activists or queer people though. Feminist porn has a wide range of genres with an even wider range of actors to play in the scenes. There are sensual scenes like mutual masturbation between a woman and her male partner to an orgy scene with five men and women using gadgets such as ball-gags and crops while playing. There’s definitely something that would tickle almost anyone’s fancy.

This is just a glimpse into what feminist porn has to offer. Feminist porn wants to expand the audience’s ideas about desire, sexuality, beauty, gender, and power through revolutionary film-making with happy, consenting and sometimes gender bending actors. It’s all about empowerment both for the actors and producers, as well as for the audience. To watch some awesome feminist porn, check out the following links:

Gooddykeporn.com

Indiepornrevolution.com

Brightdesire.com

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

In tomorrow’s special, we speak to Mike Kulich, founder and chairman of adult entertainment company Monarchy Distribution.

Do not miss another article on SimplySxy! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for our latest updates!