Talking ‘Feminist Porn’ With Pornographer Lucie Blush

Lucie Blush is a rising star in feminist porn. Far from the stereotype of fake breasts and implausibly loud, acted orgasms of which both genders are equally guilty, Lucie’s depiction of sex is not the product of market-research. Her work is a mode of self-expression. Originally a blogger, she began shooting erotic work with nothing more than an iPhone, with the intention of portraying her own fantasies and impressions of sex – which you could say fell outside the realm of ‘mainstream porn’. Particularly notable is the philosophy and attitude behind the genre of ‘fem-porn’. The last few years have shown us many faces of feminism – extreme factions on both sides of the issue; screaming women, angry men, controversies on campuses and so on. There’s none of that here. ‘Fem-porn’, seems to just be young adults having fun and expressing their sexuality in a completely safe, non-judgemental environment. While Lucie has no qualms with mainstream porn, she doesn’t conduct her work like many mainstream producers. She’s careful – ensuring actors are ready, ensuring they know what they’re getting into, what they want, what they expect to get out of it – possibly determined over a coffee. I can’t say for sure, but if my ‘research’ into mainstream porn (which goes back to my early teens) is anything to go by, this is a stark contrast to how things are run elsewhere. After some rearranged dates and times, I finally got the chance to give Lucie a call on Skype. I won’t lie – I had no idea what feminist porn was prior to hearing about Lucie Blush, and was sceptical about how such a thing could live up to it’s name. Here’s what she said: JL: Can you give a quick introduction to ‘feminist porn’?

LB: A quick introduction? For me, I like to use those two words, because each individually, and put together are kind of polemic. I like to grab the real meaning of them and not be afraid of using them together. Porn is just sex on camera for me; feminism is respect for the right to choose, and when you mix the two together, it’s ethical porn in which there are good conditions of work, they’re [male and female actors] paid equally, also you see female characters that are entitled to their sexuality – they take control of their sexuality – they’re not ashamed or anything like that. It gets rid of all these gender stereotypes that you see in most mainstream porn. Oh that was quite quick!

JL: Have you had encounters with mainstream porn? Have you talked to people who make it? Do you have problems with them or do they have problems with you?

LB: No not really. I’m not really in that world you know? I’ve never been on a mainstream porn shoot, but I’ve worked with mainstream porn actors, especially a few woman who are doing mainstream porn and are really tired of it, so they contact me and are like ‘Hey I’d like to something a little bit different…’. Yeah, I work with amateurs and mainstream porn actors,it depends. But that’s the only link I have with that industry.

JL: This is unrelated, but I was just listening to your accent – you’re French right? And you lived in Barcelona before moving to Berlin?

LB: Yeah, I lived in Barcelona for six years.

JL: Was that for work?

LB: Well, I studied languages in school, in university – translation. I lived in England for a while and came to Barcelona for a six month internship and stayed for six years. So I came for studies and I stayed and got a job.

What it comes down to when posting on facebook… pic.twitter.com/KwKIBS3fxu — Lucie Blush (@lucieblush) July 22, 2015

JL: Have you made any enemies in the industry or in the media?

LB: No not really. I mean there’s obviously the trolls, but they’re not from the mainstream porn industry…and I get the odd dick-pic [laughter].

JL: This next question is one of mine and it requires a bit of explanation: The day I turned 18, I walked into school and kept making the joke that I could be in a porno if I wanted, but after looking at myself I thought, ‘man, I’m really emotionally immature’, and I looked at all the girls in my year who were also 18, and they just weren’t what I’d call fully-fledged adults – I certainly wasn’t – I’d still giggle when someone talked about ‘plant reproduction’ or something – I was that kind of guy. I’m thinking about the so-called 18/barely legal kind of porn when I ask this, but do you ever think that 18 is ever too young for porn?

LB: I think it really depends. Some people when they’re 18 are much more mature than 40 year olds…sometimes. I personally try to choose actors according to their state of mind. I would have to think about it. Actually there was a young guy who wrote me when he was 17 years old and he was like I really want to do porn! and I was like, ‘Yeah? Well write me again in a few years and then we’ll see’, and he waited a few months and then he sent me another email like, I’m 18 now, I’m ready to do it! It’s not something I look for. Of course in porn, particularly feminist porn you have to have had some experience before – you need to know what you want, so most of the time 18 is too young for that.

Loving my big black dick… Awesome photo session with @NibertNico pic.twitter.com/Y0vuqYUF02 — Lucie Blush (@lucieblush) April 20, 2016

JL: If I wanted to have sex on camera for the first time, or even lose my virginity on camera, particularly if I were female, I’d probably choose you to direct that particular event – I’ve seen how you work and it’s fantastic compared to the rest of the industry. It’s a weird question but would you ever let someone lose their virginity on set or do you ever work with first-time porn actors?

LB: No it’s a good question! Virgins? I don’t know. Again, it’s on a case by case basis. I work with amateurs as well but not so much now. I used to do it more in the past when I started…and it’s good…but especially for guys, I tend to avoid working with guys who have no experience at all. Again it depends, I’ve worked with a few guys who had never done it [porn] before, a few times, and sometimes, you know it was nice! But there is this pressure that you need to be able to handle, especially because guys put this pressure inside their own head…

JL: I’ve heard about this pressure…

LB: [laughter] Yeah exactly! It can be a problem. I get messages from guys who are like yeah I love sex, I want to do porn! Cast me cast me! It’s not the kind of approach I’m looking for. Of course, most guys have had this fantasy, maybe not so much women but probably also [women]. It’s not just a fantasy, you have to understand the philosophy behind it, you have to know yourself. It’s actually quite hard to find male actors who are able to put their ego aside, and not go into this kind of ‘fuck machine’ state of mind when I press the camera button you know?

JL: What would you say to someone who wanted to do porn for the first time? Should they be careful who they approach for that kind of thing? There can be a lot of abuse and manipulation in the mainstream porn industry.

LB: Yeah of course you have to be careful. Definitely. Definitely. I work with a lot more amateur women than men. It’s happened before that men who have had no experience before contact me. We’d have coffee together and they’d explain to me why and we see whether or not it can work. But there is a lot of work on that side, like we talk a lot before which they don’t do a lot in mainstream porn, because I want to know what they expect from it, what they want to get out of it, and if that’s really something that they’re ready to do. With amateurs the risk is that they say yeah yeah it’s really turning me on, the idea of porn and then they text you before the shoot like yeah actually I’m not going to do it. So yeah, definitely be careful, porn can be evil, the way it’s done so far. There are some companies that do it really well – mainstream – people that go in, you know they should know that it’s mainstream. They’ll be given orders like take your clothes off, go fuck that guy – you have like thirty minutes.

If you do some research, if you’re aware and you know what to expect – yeah sure. I don’t want to condemn the whole porn thing, but it’s not unimportant – you have to know what you’re getting into you know?

JL: How did you put your first productions together? I figure you had to start somewhere…

LB: You cut a little bit, but how did I produce my first film, right?

JL: Exactly – or films.

LB: The first one – I’d been doing the blog for like six months and I was writing every day and I was watching a lot of alternative stuff, then it kind of dawned on me like hey I also want to show my vision of sex. I was living in Barcelona at the time and I had a friend who had a friend who’d done some erotic work – I talked to her – I met her and her boyfriend and they said yeah okay let’s do it. They were a real couple and they were mostly amateurs. I did it with my iPhone [laughter]. I bought some stuff to tune it up a little bit – I had a little micro LED light. We did it in the house and I had no idea what I was doing, I’d never written a script and I didn’t know about lighting…but it was cool. It was really cool. Now when you watch it, technically it’s totally different because I knew nothing back then but the intention was there and I think people saw that – like the natural kind of stuff. That was pretty scary but kind of cool.

JL: Did you make money from your first movies?

LB: Um…not really at first. I didn’t have the online cinema open yet and I put it online for free, so indirectly yes because it helped me gain reputation and stuff and people would come to my blog more often, and I would make money from that.

JL: How have you grown doing this kind of work and how has it helped you?

LB: I used to be very self-conscious about myself and my body. I grew up in a house that was very heteronormative. I had to be polite and not make waves, and if my skirt was too short my parents would be like hey you look like a slut you know? I kind of grew up with this and I had no knowledge – I’d never really talked about sex or boyfriends with my parents and then time went by and I had boyfriends and I had serious relationships and stuff, and there was something missing. With sex I thought there had to be something more because I wasn’t having the time of my life and I feel like there could be something much better. So then I started to blog which helped me ask myself questions, because I had never really asked myself, what do I like, what do I want? I was always experiencing sex like a gift from myself to the guy. I was there to please, I was there to give him pleasure and stuff, so it kind of helped me to say okay now it’s my turn to explore myself, and by exploring myself I can get a better understanding of my fantasies and desires.

I realised that I had a lot in my head , you know since I was little I had all these scenarios, and then from that I started to meet people who were a little more into this ‘feminism’ and ‘ethical porn’ stuff – very respectful. So I started exploring and I performed in a movie of mine for the first time and that was really terrifying, but also really good, because I found myself naked on camera and I just couldn’t hide anymore, you know? My belly, all my cellulite and all my little flaws you know? I was like there’s no way to hide, I cannot put my hand in front of my belly…it was a really good opportunity to say [exhale] ok it’s scary but I let go of all these beauty standards and pressure – stuff that I was putting myself under. Yeah, that really helped me accept myself, and also to realise that I had a right to enjoy sex and I didn’t have to look or act a specific way to deserve it. It was there and it was mine to take.

Editing was kind of funny because I had never really seen myself from these angles before [laughter], but you learn to love your body. I was doing porn the way I wanted to do it, it was my surroundings, I was deciding, I was choosing – I chose the actors/actresses, the theme – I knew exactly what I wanted, which is something people don’t get in mainstream porn, they’re like put your leg here, put your arm here, now do this, now do that…I really wanted to something that was authentic and honest.

JL: Would you ever give your actors the chance to do the same thing? Would you ever say hey we’d like to give you the chance to act out your fantasies – maybe it would make it more natural or something, and I’m just wondering if that’s something you would ever do.

LB: [Smiling] I think if people want to do it then they should do it by themselves [laughter]. Really! You just take your phone…really, I get some people who contact me saying hey I have a really cool script for porn…I’m sure it’s great but then like…just do it, don’t ask me. I was the same as you, I didn’t have any knowledge of video or writing or anything and I just did it, so you have to do it for yourself first of all. Then maybe after we can talk but at first no, and everything I do is based on my own fantasies and my own experience – I wouldn’t make a movie about something I have no idea about – it has to come from me. That’s the good thing about feminist porn, we no longer need those middle-men, those production companies and stuff, anyone can make their own porn. To know about camera stuff you need to be motivated, and I did a lot of research and I spent a lot of time on it, but it came from me so yeah if it’s your fantasy then you do it.

I mean I worked with amateurs before and it was kind of their fantasy to be in a porn movie, but it was my script and we worked on it together and it was something that felt close to me…and also they were friends in that case. Otherwise it’s like do your own porn – that’s what’s so great about it.

JL: Is Feminist Porn you life’s calling?

LB: Oh yes, always! I tried doing something else but I was constantly more than dissatisfied so it’s kind of like the logical…not conclusion because…you know [laughter], but yeah it’s my calling because I always wanted to have my own business – my own thing, and from a very young age I had a lot of fantasies going on in my head, then I worked a bit in online marketing and design and stuff, so everything kind of worked out.

JL: Do you still use those skills in your current work that you learned doing other things?

LB: Yeah exactly! I would do like, mainstream cinema you know? People ask me ah so first you start with sex stuff then you get into making normal movies yeah? [Laughter] I have no interest in making normal movies – I have an interest in making deeper characters but always in a sexual environment, because that’s what I focus on.

JL: I really like how you’re getting artistic satisfaction out of this and everything you do is your own expression. I’m sure it’s very satisfying.

LB: Yeah! I mean art is something that makes you feel…anything. Porn is art – it makes you feel something, and the goal is to make something so good that the person who watched it can still think about it for a few days, and maybe it can spark some new feelings or new ideas and new feelings in that person’s mind.

JL: It could save someone’s marriage.

LB: Yeah I’ve had people say that before!

JL: Really? That must feel good.

LB: Yeah! [laughter]

JL: Well I think that’s everything, I’d just like to say thank you – this took about half an hour of your precious time.

LB: Yeah I’m just so busy doing nothing you know? [Laughter]

JL: How much do you work actually? Do you work intensively on one production then take a break or are you one of those multitasking people?

LB: I don’t take breaks – it’s very unbalanced. Some days I’d work until morning and some days I won’t fully wake up [laughter]. Now I try to shoot about one movie a month, which is quite intense. Now I have more stuff coming so I try to organise myself so like plan not just the first week but the next one after that and the next one after that so it’s a lot of work, because I basically do everything by myself.

JL: How long does it take to get a fully-formed product?

LB: Well it depends because sometimes from the moment I write the script until I shoot it maybe six months go by, or sometimes I’m like oh my god I have to shoot this now, and we’ll do it the next weekend. I don’t know, the script is fast, then it takes like a day to shoot, a couple weeks to edit – I’m quite intense in my habits so when I finish shooting I spend about a week just drinking Red-bull and smoking joints, on my computer in my pyjamas editing until I feel like killing myself and then I upload it.

Be sure to check out Lucie’s Website at luciemakesporn.com or follow her on Twitter. I can’t access her website because of a porn-blocker but I’m pretty sure that’s where you can find her latest work and updates.