AskMen recently did a write up of the most recent Mindbrowse show, “Pioneers of Feminist Porn.” Aside from some interesting factual errors (indicated below), it was a great piece!
Short & Sweet NY also wrote up something great right here – “THE SEX FILES: ‘Pioneers of Feminist Porn’”
Check it out (originally here):
What Is Porn For Women? Pioneers Of Feminist Porn Discuss Common Fantasies And Ethics
Why is this important: Because both men and women should be able to engage in sexual fantasy fulfillment through porn.
Long story short: A website that hosts discussions on the porn industry recently held a panel called “Pioneers of Feminist Porn” that featured two of the leading filmmakers of porn for women.
Long story
Earlier this month Mindbrowse.com hosted a live video conference entitled “Pioneers of Feminist Porn” featuring two of the founding mothers of porn for women, Candida Royalle and Jacky St. James.
[DrCT’s note: Candida Royalle is most definitely a founder of “porn for women.” Jacky St. James is a leader in today’s adult entertainment production world, but she is not a “founder” per se.]
Mindbrowse is an offshoot of Sssh.com — Royalle’s award-winning porn for women and couples website — and is a site that hosts live videoconferencing discussions of “compelling and challenging topics” related to the adult entertainment industry.
[DrCT’s note: Sssh.com was founded by Angie Rowntree. Candida Royalle is not affiliated with Sssh or Mindbrowse, beyond being an amazing guest on the show]
Moderated by sociologist Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals, the discussion dove into some pretty complicated and controversial topics, including the ethics of rape fantasy and incest porn for women.
Royalle is considered the original trailblazer for women’s porn. Entering the industry as a performer in 1974, Royalle explained how she began to develop the notion of filming porn from a woman’s perspective in the mid ’80s.
“The naysayers said [porn] was a boys’ club, women aren’t interested in porn,” Royalle recalled. “But I persisted, and the rest is history.”
The filmmakers discussed the difficulty of representing popular taboo female fantasies in a pro-women or feminist light. Royalle explained the thought process behind difficult questions she’s had to ask herself when representing rape fantasies in her films, noting that it is one of the most popular fantasies among female viewers.
“How do I show this ‘rape fantasy’ without sending the wrong message to people and letting people think she really wants to be raped?” she said.
“Of course, there’s always the thought you can show them having the discussion and she says ‘It’s OK: You can rape me,’” Royalle said. “Well, that kind of takes the heat away, doesn’t it?”
Award-winning filmmaker Jacky St. James divulged that she faces similar questions when filming her trademark “faux-cest” movies (films that depict incestuous relationships).
[DrCT’s note: This is not what faux-cest is. Faux-cest films depict taboo relationships around step-relations and/or establish a fantasy through pointed dialogue and casting]
“It’s not that people really want to have sex with a family member,” St. James said, “they just want the fantasy. But then we have all these rules we have to follow — you have to say ‘step-,’ you have to show consent,” she said.
Ultimately, St. James concluded that a fantasy is not a fantasy if it plays by the rules.
“You can’t box in a woman’s fantasy and say it has to be a certain way or it’s not ‘pro-women’ or it’s not ‘for women.'”
The discussion tackled various other topics, including what the women believe needs to happen in order for industry professionals to thrive in the future.
“We need to legitimize the industry,” Royalle said. “We need to get adult entertainment out of the gutter, out of the extreme fringes and make it another form of art entertainment, so it will be place people want to work, people who have talent. We will end up with a better product as a result.”
St. James also talked about an issue relevant to all sectors of the entertainment industry: paying for content. “Please pay for your porn,” St. James said. “We’re not working for free.”
You can watch a taped version of the discussion here.
Own the conversation
Ask The Big Question: What other perspectives might be missing from the porn industry?
Disrupt Your Feed: If you really want to turn your partner on, try watching some feminist porn together.
Drop This Fact: Some feminists believe there is no such thing as “feminist porn.”
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Got a sociology question? Need some social justice informed life advice? Contact Dr. Chauntelle right here.