Ethical.porn is brand new, exciting, and has a powerful mission. You’ll find adult films that transcend notions of “correct” sexual expression or genre, and emphasize multifaceted standpoints, as well as consent. Just as the name implies, this website curates erotic videos that are not only arousing, but are also ethically made. Recently, the creators of Ethical.porn chatted with SGP about what makes their mission so important.
What inspired the creation of Ethical.porn?
Well, there’s starting to be more and more media coverage about the idea of “ethical porn” …and most of this coverage comes from outside the adult entertainment industry, often from sources that don’t seem to be versed in either adult content production processes or with the vast scope of adult content that’s available, from genre to form. So what we were noticing was that more and more divisive categorizing, largely based more on what sex and porn are “supposed to” look like (versus real critical discussion about ethics in porn), was happening. Given this pattern, we decided to create a platform for people in the industry — those directly involved with creating porn — to share their thoughts and insights regarding ethical porn, and Ethical.porn was born.
When did the idea of ethical porn come about? And why do we need it?
We’re not entirely sure when the idea of “ethical porn” came about, nor are we certain that it’s the most useful frame of reference. In discussing “ethical porn,” we add credence to the idea that there is also necessarily unethical porn. In no other space do we do this; we don’t discuss ethical construction work or ethical hair salons, etc. But porn also lives in the social world; it’s an interactive and synergistic component of society and society seems determined to jettison and other erotic media and sexual labor as “unreal” enterprises. Drawing lines between “ethical porn” (which is really more of a genre marker as it’s discussed outside the industry) and everything else minimizes the autonomy of sex workers and artists who choose to pursue certain forms of sexual expression, as well as shames consumers who enjoy it. So even though the phrase itself may have some sticking points, we need to discuss “ethical porn” as a way to combat sexual shame, among so many other things.
What makes this concept so complex, and how does continual dialogue help grasp it?
Our culture is steeped in sex phobia. On every level, from a fear of what sex “means” to an inability to allow others to enjoy their preferred version of consensual sexual expression, we are badgered by sustained forms of sex phobia throughout the life course. As such, talking about sex is challenging, much less talking about commercial erotic media (porn), the various types that exist, and the versions we personally enjoy. When we allow certain versions of sexual performance and enjoyment to be set up as ethical (and, thus, others as unethical), the trickle down effect is deleterious and significant. Consequently, having continual dialogue about ethical as related to production processes (versus ethical being a look or a genre) is hugely important in terms of minimizing sexual shame and encouraging sexual autonomy.
How have free tube sites undermined the ideals of ethical porn?
When you watch porn on a piracy-based tube site, you’re exploiting workers by not compensating them for their labor. Sure, there are all sorts of reasons people use to justify viewing adult content on “free tube sites”, but the fact remains that every time you view porn without paying for it, you contribute to less work for performers and producers and wage instability. This impacts the production process, putting workers at every stage in the position of doing more for less, which is a slippery slope in terms of ethics. The big picture of ethical porn includes ethical consumption, which means paying for the products you enjoy.
What kind of responses have you gotten to your website? How has this differed between people inside and outside the adult industry?
Well, we just launched on May 11, 2017 – so responses are coming in every day. From within the industry, we have seen responses run the gamut. People are happy about the site, people feel we are missing pieces of the conversation (we are!), and people are uneasy with our pushback against the mainstream concept of ethical porn — likely because it draws attention to the issues. No matter the response though, for people working in the adult industry, we encourage you: Please, share your thoughts. Send us your statement, record your audio, however you want. There is no simple, easy, or uniform way to wrestle with this issue, nor is there any way to cover everything at once. We need your viewpoint and insights, and so does society at large! We also want to be clear that none of the information included on Ethical.porn is “official adult industry policy.” The contributors do not make up all ethical people and/or entities in porn, and contributing to the site should in no way be considered a crucial aspect of creating ethical adult content. If you have questions, please reach out and ask!
For our readers who may be interested in a career in the industry as a performer or producer, what are steps they can take to ensure they are participating in ethical porn?
There are many paths a person can take to any career, but one piece of advice always stands out as universally important: Do your research. In terms of the adult industry, read through the statements on Ethical.porn and think about the issues. Familiarize yourself with adult content — the types you like, the types you don’t like, and everything in between. Read adult industry trade media and check out this Porn 101 video from APAC (the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee) to get a good picture of the industry’s structure. Perhaps most importantly, find a person who has a job you are interested in and reach out to them.
Do you have any upcoming projects or campaigns we can look forward to?
Right now, we are very focused on growing and diversifying our contributor base, as well as reaching out to friends and fans and even objectors to the adult industry, encouraging them to learn more. We have several more stages of the site we will be rolling out in the coming weeks too, so there’s a lot of excitement around that. Our foreseeable campaign though remains — to provide a platform for complex, critical, ongoing discussion of “ethical” as it pertains to adult content production. Email us, we want to hear from you — [email protected]
Aww, thank you!