What is 'Ethical' Porn? Our Faves
Do you watch porn? What kind? Do you know who's behind it?
There’s no consensus on what ethical or feminist porn looks like, or how it should work. Some say that there is no such thing; others insist that performers must kiss and touch gently, as though they’re in a real relationship.
Traditionally, bodies and desires have been misrepresented in porn, and fetishized according to the "male gaze". More recently, an increasingly diverse range of performers and producers have started to make porn on their own terms, subverting the normative gaze usually represented in porn.
We think there’s space for both fantasy and reality in porn, and that our experiences of pleasure are subjective. Regardless of a film's intent, the viewer’s interpretation matters—but when we watch other kinds of movies, we don’t assume the actors’ lines represent their personal thoughts or feelings, and we’d be very limited in the stories we could tell if we restricted them to what was possible in our own lives. Fantasy is an undeniably important part of human sexuality, and porn performers can be skilled artists in their own right.
Anti-porn activists believe all porn, regardless of the format, is harmful. This is itself a harmful and limiting attitude, because it assumes that people can't all have the same kinds of sexual desires, regardless of genders, that they should feel ashamed of their kinks, and that porn must be domesticated so that everyone can safely consume it. It also assumes "women" means cis women, and implies that most sex is had by cis, heterosexual couples. Needless to say, there is no single authority on sexuality.
In porn, scenes intended to appeal to a "female" audience focus on romance and sensual, gentle sex. But why limit "feminine" desires to what is considered safe or inoffensive? It's OK to like it rough and gentle, and sex does not necessarily need to be romantic to be satisfying.
We say that the answer is more porn produced by diverse identities, featuring enthusiastically consenting partners, more mutual pleasure, and most importantly, a variety of bodies and perspectives on human sexuality. Both performers and real-life partners should aim to please, and should feel safe expressing their desires.
We also think it's important to pay for your porn, so that all performers can be fairly compensated for their work, and safer, more inclusive movies become the norm. The pay-per-view model directly supports this goal.
So with all that said, make some popcorn, grab your vibrator and settle in for a roundup of our favorite everyone-friendly porn sites...
afterglow
New on the scene, afterglow has us super excited. Founded in 2020 by entrepreneur Lilly Sparks, afterglow is the sex-positive, pleasure-focused platform and community shifting the adult media paradigm. They have a limited number of videos so far but each one we've seen is absolutely gorgeous and super hot! We can't wait to see what else they do.
TrenchcoatX
Owned and operated by two former mainstream porn stars, this ‘curated smut’ site is home to some seriously nice stuff. They offer high production value at an accessible price, feature a variety of female producers, and they take pride in paying their performers a fair rate.
Bellesa
Bellesa states that it's not 'porn for women' but rather porn by women, for anyone. They have a selection of free content and have recently launched a new 'pay what you want' subscription model and clearly have their sites set on being a major player in the online porn world.
Four Chambers
Headed by performer, Vex Ashley and self taught in editing and videography with an emphasis on collaborative DIY practices; Four Chambers now exists alongside a new wave of creators making contemporary pornographic work from a new perspective. Totally beautiful, arthouse porn.
MakeLoveNotPorn.tv
This platform allows ‘real people’—couples and individuals—to upload and rent their own clips for a 50% share of the profit.The result is a user-generated database of content that feels both approachable and pretty revolutionary. Founder Cindy Gallop describes MLNP as porn of the people, by the people, and says the sex we have in our real lives is the hottest there is. Check out fan favorites Violet + Rye.
ManyVids
Speaking of paying for your porn, ManyVids is an amazing way to watch porn and directly support the people who make it. While the company does take a cut of sales, the intent is to create a platform where performers can generate ‘passive’ income—rather than be paid once for their performance, they profit from individual clip sales, receive tips and more. Considered one of the fastest-growing adult communities online, ManyVids features a multitude of content made for and by all sexual orientations and identities, with over a thousand categories and fetishes searchable on the site. (ASMR, anyone?)