Pornography: The Good, the Bad and the Ethical

Erotic media is pervasive and easily accessible, even by accident. From magazines to DVDs and online videos, erotic images are at our fingertips, especially in internet age. In fact, 30% of online content is of the erotic variety. And many online features that we all use, such as streaming video, were actually originally created by and for the porn industry. No matter how we feel about it, the availability is not going away anytime soon. Half of us watch it at least a few times per year, although many of us feel shame or conflicted about this behaviour. Alternatively, we can be proactive about how we consume erotic media so that we can feel good about feeling good.

Is Porn Bad for You?

Anything can be unhealthy in excess: social media, work, even exercise can have negative consequences if taken to an extreme. Porn can be bad for your sexual health too in an extreme, but not necessarily so when consumed in moderation. And studies have shown that those who are moderate viewers have more satisfying sex lives and a healthier relationship to sex and their partners. Being conscious about what you consume and how often you indulge as well as not letting it interfere with your relationship(s), work-life, and personal goals will minimize any negative potential. 

Porn isn't Reality

Most people recognize that the mainstream media we are exposed to—including Hollywood, advertising, and social media—is a form of entertainment or marketing and not usually realistic or representative of “real” life. The same principle applies to porn: awkward moments, realistic events such as adding lubricant, and mistakes are edited out. Moreover, mainstream companies prioritize certain kinds of performers (white, cis-gendered, straight, young, thin) and there is much fetishization and degradation of folks outside of those parameters. Hopefully, this recognition will help temper any tendencies to compare your erotic life, abilities and preferences and body to what porn unrealistically portrays as “the norm”. When it comes to humans, bodies, and sex, there is no norm. And fortunately there are lots of ethical porn performers and directors interested in putting their desires and bodies that look like them on film. 

What about the Performers?

The Adult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC) has established a Model Bill of Rights for people working in the industry, developed by performers themselves. It includes important aspects such as the right to choose with whom a performer works, which form of safer sex methods they prefer to use for sexual health, and which activities are included, as well as outlining what it means to be respected on set.

Of course, not all directors will follow these rules, but word travels quickly in this industry, especially when talent is not treated properly. Studios with poor reputations then have a hard time finding models who wish to work with them.

As for the performer’s choice of employment, there are plenty of performers who have public profiles where they dispel myths about their work, discuss why they choose and enjoy the work that they do and companies who make ethical porn. And choosing studios and producers who align themselves with APAC’s guidelines will mean that you can support work where performers are treated with respect and given choice. Should we not listen to and respect the perspectives of those with experience in the industry?

Paying for Porn?

It costs money to create products. Most of us also do not work for free. Thus, in order to provide free content, the free tube sites steal others’ content, sometimes continually after repeated requests to stop doing so by the creators. Some performers like Jiz Lee have stated that the only time that they have felt exploited in their work is when they see their films offered for free on other sites. Many studios have shut down because of the competition of free websites and other studios are moving to produce in countries where there are few labour rights, asking performers to do more for less compensation. If you care about how people are treated in the industry, then you can do two things: research and vote with your dollar.

Research

There are many companies who call themselves progressive, ethical or feminist, and who treat their performers well. In Toronto, many have showcased their films at the Toronto International Porn Festival and its predecessor the Feminist Porn Awards. There are other film festivals as well, most notably the Porn Film Festival Berlin. In Toronto, there are local pornographers such as SPIT and Cine Sinclaire. The other positive aspect of these companies is that they make a point to offer a more diverse representation of bodies, pleasure, and sexualities without stereotypes and where everyone gets their fair share of the pleasure. They feature straight, lesbian, gay, bi, and trans folks, fat and thin, young and old, Black, Brown, white, Asian and Indigenous people, kinky, tame, and romantic scenes, and people of varying abilities. This means that no matter who you are and what you find hot, you are more likely to find yourself and your desires represented in their productions. Those who prefer that their media—from TV shows and movies to newspapers to explicit films—reflects them and their values appreciate also having a choice in their erotic selections.

Fair Trade

Just as you might choose to pay a little more for chocolate, coffee, clothing, and jewellery that is produced under ethical working conditions, so you might also want to pay a little more for your ethically-produced erotic films. This small fee supports the work of people who are producing films in a manner that might make you feel better about getting sexy. For those who have always assumed that online erotic content is free, it might be a little hard to imagine paying for content. But think of all of the people who have been robbed of their work—often small independent folks who rely on viewers paying for their content in order to stay in business. Each consumer who chooses to pay for their films makes a difference in the lives of the performers.

Where Can I Find All this Juicy and Healthy Content?

The awesome folks at Pink & White Productions have gathered their own and other progressive and ethical filmmaker’s content under one roof: PinkLabel.tv (the link is also on our home page). You can see a diversity of options there and discover directors, performers and studios that appeal to you and your tastes. You can find lots of great content to keep you busy for a long time and they keep adding more. 

Online erotic content is not going away. We need to be smart about how we consume it in order to reap the benefits without negative consequences for ourselves, our relationships and those who create the media that brings us so much pleasure.