Porn is fun, and a great way for us to explore sexual pleasure by ourselves or with a partner, but mainstream pornography is also problematic. It’s often catered to the male gaze, offering depictions of women in degraded or dehumanizing ways, and is usually exploitative of both the performers and production team, with many not being fairly compensated.
Enter ethical porn: the better alternative porn when you want to get off in a way that makes you feel good in more ways than one. While ethical porn doesn’t have a singular definition, according to Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a scientific sex advisor at Lovehoney, there are some common identifiers, including a foregrounding of consent and behind-the-scenes respect for the performers and crew. Below, we dive into ethical porn: what you can expect, and where to watch it.
What is ethical porn?
Table of Contents
One of the key differences between ethical porn and everything else is that it’s typically made through a feminist lens (while male, trans, and non-binary porn performers also deserve to be treated ethically, they fall outside the traditional definition of the form). “In fact, the term ‘ethical porn’ is frequently used interchangeably with ‘feminist porn,’” Lehmiller notes. “Applying a feminist lens to porn may mean different things to different people, such as porn made by women for women, porn that incorporates feminist values, or porn that is female-focused.”
Lehmiller shares these other common qualities of ethical porn:
- It’s not free (usually). Consumers pay for the content to ensure that all involved in the production are paid fairly.
- There’s no on-set pressure. Consent is the cornerstone here, and the performers’ wishes are respected.
- It’s created for a diverse audience. The final product isn’t just meant for the heterosexual male gaze and shows sex from different perspectives.
- The performers come from all walks of life. Ethical porn is more inclusive than mainstream porn in terms of sexuality, age, ability status, race, body type, and other characteristics.
- It’s less performative. Ethical porn tends to focus on authentic depictions of pleasure, without the screaming orgasms seen so often in mainstream porn.
What can you expect to see in ethical porn?
You might be wondering how different ethical porn is when it comes to (no pun intended) watching people have sex One of the key differences between ethical porn and mainstream porn, says Lehmiller, is that in ethical porn places far less emphasis on what you might call the “meat shot.”
“The specific sex acts you’ll see are similar, just filmed from a different perspective—one that focuses less on genital and penetration close-ups and more on showing two or more people having a good time,” he explains. “You’re likely to see more focus on faces, the connection between the partners, and artistic camerawork that highlights the beauty of the human body. You may also see before-and-after interviews with or conversations between the performers.”
Porn is more fun with the right gear, so here are Mashable’s favorite sex toys anyone can enjoy (alone or with a partner):
When to find ethical porn you’ll enjoy
So how can you tell if a porn site is indeed “ethical”? According to Lehmiller, common indicators of an ethical production include: (1) it is clear who is behind the production (studio, director, performers), (2) there is a statement of values and/or filming practices on the website, and (3) it’s not available for free on one of the big tube sites.
Below, Lehmiller shares his top choices for ethical porn sites (and obviously all of these sites are decidedly not safe for work):
Lustery is an ethical porn platform “that aims to show real people having real sex. Real couples film themselves and provide the video for an upfront fixed payment. So the creators have complete control over what they show, they know exactly how the content will be shared, and they know what their compensation is.”
Lust Cinema by Erika Lust is another ethical porn platform “featuring cinematic, high production value erotic content. The performers are very diverse and there’s a lot of emphasis on depictions of intimacy and lust.”
Here are a few others to check out:
Sssh is female-led and female-driven, focusing on character-driven stories. It’s videos are more about capturing nuanced moments of pleasure and togetherness as the sex naturally unfolds.
Bellsea is the premier site for female sexuality. According to their marketing copy: “At Bellesa, we believe that sexuality on the internet should depict women as we truly are—as subjects of pleasure, not objects of conquest.”
Make Love Not Porn was created by Cindy Gallop in order to show what real sex really looks like. The site “features real world people- singles, couples, [and] moresomes—capturing their #RealWorldSex the way it actually happens in their everyday lives.”