ishmael n. daro

In 1980, famous feminist writer Robin Morgan wrote that “pornography is the theory; rape is the practice.”

This sentiment summarized a common feminist position about pornography. Many feminists believed it to be degrading to women, encouraging rape and violence as well as the domination and humiliation of women.

Although not everyone agrees with this stance, it wasn’t until recently that feminists have developed a renewed interest in pornography.

Largely due to the expansion of the Internet within the last decade, a growing community of largely independent filmmakers has been making feminist porn as an alternative to mainstream productions.

Although feminist porn may sound oxymoronic to some, it simply means women had a part in the writing, production or direction of a film. Feminist porn also needs to depict genuine female pleasure and challenge the normal depictions of sexuality and stereotypes that are found in much of mainstream porn.

“My brand of feminism is pro-healthy sexuality and it’s all about consent,” explained Pam Ashburn, 22, majoring in women’s and gender studies at the U of S.

Ashburn said she first came across feminist porn — and feminism itself — during high school. At the time she had been more familiar with mainstream porn but since discovering an alternative, she has had a different outlook.

“I don’t want to just see the same bodies,” she complained. “You want queer bodies, you want transgender bodies, you want breast-cancer survivors. That’s the kind of stuff you want to see.”

There is widespread frustration against mainstream pornography for being too formulaic, predictable and violent rather than exploring sexuality in different ways.

To fill the void, many feminist pornographers are pursuing subjects that are normally ignored. One such example is Erotic Red, which features menstruating women.

As Erotic Red’s homepage states, “In an industry where photos of women being throat-fucked and pissed on are commonplace portrayals of human sexuality, women enjoying themselves on their periods are viewed by most pornographers as horrifyingly obscene.”

Ashburn admitted that alternative depictions of sexuality are more difficult to find.

“It’s work and you have to dig and it’s worth digging. The quality that you’re going to find in something that is positive — body positive, image positive, everything — is really well worth it.”

Ashburn insisted feminist porn wasn’t simply a quest for political correctness either.

“The terrains of sexuality are complex and I want to queer every aspect,” she said. “That is, I want to complicate what it means to be sexual and ultimately re-define the typical gender roles that are assigned to women and everyone else. I want to take back sexuality.”

Ashburn is not alone in trying to redefine sexuality. To celebrate the positive role women can play in pornography, the Toronto based sex store Good For Her has established the Feminist Porn Awards, given out each spring to filmmakers in categories such as fiercest female orgasm, deliciously diverse cast, and most tantalizing trans film.

“I think that one of the biggest problems with mainstream porn is that it really lacks imagination,” said Allison Lee, Good For Her manager and organizer of the annual awards.

The Feminist Porn Awards have existed since 2006. They came about as a result of ongoing conversations employees at the store were having about all the interesting porn that was being produced. In addition to improving the depiction of women, the awards also wanted to showcase pornography that was not racist.

“In way too much of the porn that I have seen, people of colour are really reduced to these body parts,” said Lee.

Despite the old argument among feminists about pornography, Lee explained the awards had seen relatively little backlash, although some feminist blogs complained that the organizers of the awards were “supporting rape” and other claims.

“Things that are really not true,” said Lee.

The growing amount of feminist porn may have started influencing mainstream filmmakers as well, according to Lee. For example, a female-to-male transsexual porn star named Buck Angel has seen widespread success, winning the trans-sexual performer of the year award in 2007’s AVN awards.

The AVN awards are put on each year by the American porn industry to celebrate over 120 different categories of pornography.

The Feminist Porn Awards, by contrast, only have about a dozen categories. This year’s awards will take place on April 24 at Toronto’s Berkeley Church, which Lee admits is “a little funny,” followed by screenings of different film clips the following day at a movie theatre.

With growing interest in the genre, Lee indicated feminist porn is likely going to continue expanding.

“I think that there is a growing understanding that women, as consumers of pornography, are a growing market,” said Lee.