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Archive for the ‘Feminism’ Category

Good For Her have announced the official list of nominees for the 2010 Feminist Porn Awards. I’m pleased to say that For The Girls has been nominated for Best Website.

Here’s some info from their press release:

But wait, what is feminism doing getting into bed with porn? At Good For Her, we are feminists and we sell and rent porn. In 2006 we decided that it’s not enough to criticize adult films for not adequately representing women’s – and in many cases, men’s – sexuality. So we decided to do something about it. As porn star and performance artist Annie Sprinkle famously said, “The answer to bad porn isn’t no porn…it’s to try and make better porn!” Good For Her couldn’t agree more. We believe the world is inundated with cheesy, cliche, degrading, and patronizing porn. But we also believe that erotic fantasy is powerful, and that women and marginalized communities deserve to put their dreams and desires on film, too. As feminists and sex-positive people, we want to showcase and honour those who are creating erotic media with a feminist sensibility.

The nominees on this year’s list continue to strive to provide erotic entertainment that is smart, sexy, and continues to appreciate women as viewers. In addition to featuring 51 nominations in total – the highest number of nominated films and websites ever – this year’s nominee list also includes movies from more countries than previous years, and includes filmmakers from: Great Britain, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, and of course, the porn epicenter of the world, The United States. Canada is also represented among the nominee list with erotic website, GoodDykePorn.com, and “Kiwi-Canuck” Astrid Glitter.

The Nominees for the 2010 Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards are (in alphabetical order – film title first)

48) 101 Positions for Lovers – Jamye Waxman – Sensual Couples
49) A Man With a Maid: Tales of Victorian Lust – Nica Noelle – Sweet Sinner Video
50) Art of Female Self-Pleasure – Jaiya – New World Sex Education
51) Be My Boy Toy – Anna Span – Easy on the Eye Productions
52) Behind the Red Door – Carlos Batts – HeartCore Films
53) Bordello – Courtney Trouble – Reel Queer Productions
54) Buck Angel’s Ultimate Fucking Club – Buck Angel – Buck Angel Entertainment
55) Cocksucker – Julie Simone – Julie Simone Productions
56) Couch Surfers 2: Trans Men in Action – Brazen Garage Squad –Trannywood Pictures
57) Crash Pad Series 4: Ropeburn – Shine Louise Houston – Blowfish Video
58) Crash Pad Series 5: The Revolving Door – Shine Louise Houston – Blowfish Video
59) Dangerous Curves – Carlos Batts – HeartCore Films
60) Des Jours Plus Belles Que La Nuit – Jennifer Lyon Bell + Murielle Scherre – Blue Artichoke Films
61) Dirty Diaries: 12 Shorts of Feminist Porn – Mia Engberg (producer) — Njuta Films
62) Fluid: Men Redefining Sexuality – Madison Young – Reel Queer Productions
63) Fluid: Women Redefining Sexuality – Madison Young – Reel Queer Productions
64) Glamazons – Carlos Batts – HeartCore Films
65) Handcuffs – Erika Lust – Lust Films
66) Honey Bunny – Vena Virago – Vivid Alt
67) John — Astrid Glitter– Glitter Films
68) Lesbian Adventures: Victorian Love Letters – Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
69) Lesbian Hitchhikers – Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
70) Maneater: The Prelude – Damali Dares – Desire Street Productions
71) My Daughter’s Boyfriend – Nica Noelle – Sweet Sinner Video
72) Penny Flame’s Expert Guide to Rough Sex – Tristan Taormino & Penny Flame – Vivid Ed/Smart Ass Video
73) Perversions of Lesbian Lust Vol. 2 – Madison Young – Madison Young Productions
74) Queer Manor – Madison Young – Reel Queer Productions
75) River Rock Women’s Prison – Kathryn Annelle – Triangle Films
76) Rock Hard: For Music and Cock Lovers Everywhere – Jelena Lakic – Easy on the Eye
77) Roulette: Berlin – Courtney Trouble – Reel Queer Productions
78) Sensual Massage for Pregnancy – Jaiya – New World Sex Education
79) Seven Minutes in Heaven: Coming Out – Courtney Trouble – Reel Queer Productions
80) Seven Minutes in Heaven: Tender Hearted – Courtney Trouble – Reel Queer Productions
81) Speakeasy – Courtney Trouble – Reel Queer Productions
82) Stories of Sexes – Ovidie & Jack Tyler – French Lover TV
83) Sylvia – Madison Young – Madison Young Productions
84) The Band – Anna Brownfield – Hungry Films
85) The Deviant – Nica Noelle – Sweet Sinner Video
86) Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Anal Sex for Men – Tristan Taormino – Vivid Ed/Smart Ass Video
87) Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Threesomes – Tristan Taormino – Vivid Ed/ Smart Ass Video
88) Tristan Taormino’s Rough Sex – Tristan Taormino – Vivid / Smart Ass Video
89) Women Love Porn – Anna Span (producer) – Easy on the Eye Productions
90) Women Love Porn: Apocalypse Angels – Katie Coxxx – Easy on the Eye
91) XXX Vignettes – Astrid Glitter – Glitter Films

Website Nominations:

www.RubysDiary.com
www.JuicyPinkBox.com
www.ShotWithDesire.com
www.NoFauxxx.com
www.GoodDykePorn
www.ForTheGirls.com
www.OnMyPeriod.com

Congratulations to all the nominees. There’s a lot of great films in there and also some new ones I haven’t heard of; I’ll have to look into where I can get them for review.

I’m not certain but I’m hoping to be able to attend this year’s awards. It will be a bit last-minute if I go but I’m sure it will be worth it.

Here’s the main Feminist Porn Awards 2010 page.

This morning I read an opinion piece by Natasha Walter in The Times Online called How Teenage Access To Pornography Is Killing Intimacy In Sex. The headline is pure moral panic but I was surprised to find that this extensive article actually contained a real attempt to be vaguely balanced in its anti-porn argument. Normally these kinds of pieces are all hysteria and generalisations and Dworkin-style feminism. This one went close to that but then tried a bit harder. These paragraphs were what gave me pause:

Now that the classic feminist critique of pornography — that it necessarily involves or encourages abuse of women — has disappeared from view, there are few places that young people are likely to hear much criticism or even discussion about its effects.

Many women who would call themselves feminists have come to accept that they are growing up in a world where pornography is ubiquitous and will be part of almost everyone’s sexual experiences. I can see why some are arguing that the way forward really rests on creating more opportunities for women in pornography, yet I think it is worth looking at why some of us still feel such unease with the situation as it is now.

I do not believe that all pornography inevitably degrades women, and I do see that the classic feminist critique of pornography is too simplistic to embrace the great range of explicit sexual materials and people’s reactions to them. Yet let’s be honest. The overuse of pornography does threaten many erotic relationships, and this is a growing problem. What’s more, too much pornography does still rely on or promote the exploitation or abuse of women. Even if you can find porn for women and couples on the internet, nevertheless a vein of real contempt for women characterises so much pornography.

It’s very rare that writers actually acknowledge the existence of alternative porn such as the stuff I make. And I find that rather pleasing because it means they can’t get away with the “all porn is bad” or “all porn hurts women” nonsense. They also can’t then start arguing for censorship because they’re aware it would harm sex-positive erotic expression.

And the fact is that I too have major concerns about the ongoing misogyny and negative attitudes that pervade mainstream porn. I too wonder what it’s teaching young people and whether it’s reinforcing sexism or making guys into bad sexual partners.

My problem, though, is with the assumption that this is absolutely and definitely happening to a large number of men. And the reason I have a problem with it is because there is no scientific evidence to back up that claim. In the article Natasha writes:

For a long time I was sceptical about the claim that the internet had really changed people’s access and attitudes to pornography. Those who want it have surely always been able to find it, whether they were living in 5th-century Athens or the 1950s. But the evidence (my italics) has convinced me that the internet has driven a real change for many people, especially younger people.

She then goes on to quote statistics about how many teens and men are using porn but she fails to then offer any proof that the use of porn is then causing harm.

And that’s the real problem with these kinds of articles. The writer can come up with numerous individual anecdotes that back up their point (in this case, a lengthy interview with “Jim” who became obsessed with porn as a teen) but there’s no real, proper research offered to back up those individual cases.

I too find it disturbing when I hear of women saying their partners became crap in bed after they’d gotten a little too interested in mainstream porn… but can that be extrapolated into a wider trend within the male population?

Fact is, no huge studies have been done to prove it. And here’s the other problem: you’re gonna need a seriously massive study to see any kind of trend. Because the internet means that everybody looks at porn now and if you then think about whether this ubiquitous thing is having a visible, quantifiable effect on vast numbers of men… well, I just don’t see it. In theory we should be witnessing the wholesale destruction of relationships, increasing sexism in our everyday interactions, major psychological problems becoming commonplace among men but it’s just not there.

Instead you could point to the studies that show incidences of rape and sexual harrassment fell in the last ten years. Or even the recent very small survey in Canada that sought to answer these very questions. The researcher originally made headlines because he was unable to find any men who didn’t use porn for his control group. But he did discover that the men in his study watch porn with a cynical eye and that it doesn’t lead to criminal behaviour.

Thus, I don’t really buy into the argument that mainstream porn is making men into complete bastards even if it does make some kind of logical sense. And yet I do want to continue the discussion about what meanings mainstream porn IS constructing and what it means for teens who are, unfortunately, getting their sex education from porn. I’m all for talking about what’s wrong with the depictions of women and sex and advocating for a more positive portrayal of sexuality.

And I’m certainly keen on bringing men into the conversation and hearing what they think about it. Because too often articles like Natasha’s make generalisations about “what men think” without recourse to actually asking them. I actually like to hope that most guys do take porn with a grain of salt, aware that it often appeals to negative emotions or base impulses. And perhaps if we can get that discussion going, more men’s consciousness can be raised to the point that they’re aware of the problematic nature of mainstream porn.

Education and communication is the solution to this puzzle. It always is.

For another view on this, please read The Thin Line Between Pearl-Clutching And Concern at The Pursuit of Harpyness. A good dissection of the issue AND I just love the term “pearl clutching”.

Alison and the good people at Good For Her have sent out a press release concerning next year’s Feminist Porn Awards. They’re planning to create a jury of members of the public to help judge the films, which is an excellent initiative. You can find out how to become a jury member here.

They’ve also initiated a scholarship for new and upcoming feminist porn filmmakers (hmm… sounds familiar), the Emerging Filmmaker Award (EFA).

The EFA will honor emerging talent in the field of feminist porn production by offering monetary scholarship to an individual who is breaking boundaries, creating sexy feminist porn and who is committed to the representation of women and alternative sexualities in erotic media. Each year, Good For Her will strive to select new, up and coming talent with the hopes of creating more accessible opportunities for those whom are traditionally challeng ed by the process of securing finances for their creative projects.

The EFA is intended for the completion of a film project to be released for film screening and/or DVD distribution in 2010-2011. The EFA is intended for individuals working on their first erotic film project(s) only.

Full terms and conditions are on their site.

Despite all my best laid plans early in the year, I have nothing to submit for nomination. I could, however enter the EFA as I have plenty of exciting ideas in the pipeline.

Scanning in old photos a few weeks ago I came across the pics we took at the Sydney performance of Annie Sprinkle’s Post Porn Modernist in 1996. Annie positively insisted that the audience took photos of the show so these blurry images are the result of our participation. I’ve also still got one of the rice-filled shakers we used to create a wall of sound during Annie’s orgasmic meditation.

This show was like a first step into a wider world for me. I’d had my interest in sex and sexuality stirred by the then-risque pages of Australian Women’s Forum mag but beyond a few furtive visits to a sex shop, I was still pretty naive.

And then Annie Sprinkle came to town amid much fanfare and negative press. I don’t think I paid much attention until the day the police paid her a visit. Suddenly it became imperative that uniformed officers determine if “obscene” acts were being performed in the Belvoir Theatre, something that couldn’t be allowed to go on if drinks were being served.

The libertine in me was galvanised. I booked two tickets to the show, partly to say “fuck you” to conservative censors who would tell me what I could and could not see.

Once I was in the theatre, I found myself feeling rather nervous. What was I in for? Was this really my kind of thing?

And then Annie appeared in all her positive, cheerful, bewigged glory and related the fascinating tale of a life lived to its fullest. She made us laugh and she made us share in the sad times. She also made us squirm. I can still remember my shock at hearing the story of a customer who enjoyed anal fisting: “I’d reach up and around and tickle his heart,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. I think that’s the first time I’d even heard of fisting, let alone the anal kind.

In the interval she invited audience members to come down and have a photo taken with her boobs on their head – for $15 of course. I was too shy and I still regret not doing it. The above photos show that we enjoyed it vicariously.

And then she performed her amazing breath orgasm which was just a stunning thing to watch (I actually tried it a year later with mixed success). It was a mind-expanding experience, to be in the same room as a woman who could achieve orgasm through breathing and mind power alone. I was just so impressed and Annie has been a heroine for me ever since.

Indeed, she showed me that sex can be a positive and feminist experience and that one can make a living out of prostitution or porn or sexually-based art without having to be all those negative things that society insists a woman should be. In a way, Annie’s Post Porn Modernist put me on the path that I’m still walking today: a feminist pornographer out to change the world.

I dug up my old Sydney Morning Herald and Age data CDs to see if I could find the news reports of Annie’s visit here. They’re so out of date they don’t work on Windows Vista but I did salvage some articles after much mucking around. Here’s a sample of some of the media from Annie’s 1996 visit.

Sprinkle’s tour into realm of the censors
By Mark Ray

IN a city accustomed to sordid revelations at the Wood Royal Commission on corruption within the New South Wales police force, New York-based performance artist Annie Sprinkle seemed an odd target for a burst of censorship fervor.

Sprinkle, a former US prostitute and star of 200 pornographic movies, has just finished a sell-out week-long season of her show ‘Post Porn Modernist’ at Sydney’s Belvoir Street Theatre, despite threatened police action against the theatre. The show opens at the Athenaeum in Melbourne on Tuesday for a two-week season.

During the week, the Belvoir Street Theatre was told its liquor licence might be revoked because of Sprinkle’s explicit one-woman show. There are no longer any censorship laws in NSW but police action against the show was threatened by recourse to provisions of the Liquor Licensing Act.

By Friday that threat had been abandoned – apparently after the Minister for Police suggested to his commissioner that the moves against Sprinkle were inappropriate.

‘Post Porn Modernist’ is certainly explicit, but the atmosphere at one performance here this week seemed unlike that of a sleazy porn show.

An audience of apparently unremarkable suburbanites, dedicated fans and the curious broad-minded staged no walkouts, made no complaints but responded with much laughter…

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT ANNIE.
SHANNON HALBERT, 26, high-voltage linesman.
“It was bizarre. Much more spiritual than I expected. I thought it’d be the life and times of a porno queen but it’s a decent show.”
AMANDA GARLAND, 29, film producer.
“I didn’t know what to expect but it was nice to see sexuality brought out so openly and presented so positively.”
ROBERT SKAPPEL, 50, interior decorator.
“I liked the fact that she included spirituality into her sexual experience. I’m all for that message.”
DIANA COXSHEAD, 35, naturopath and pharmacist.
“She seemed most comfortable in the last part of the program, going into the spiritual, tantric side.”

- The Age, 31st March 1996

Annie’s Happy Ritual
By Jim Schembri
…The reaction to the show has been strictly divided, Sprinkle says. “I’ve had the best audiences in Australia and the worst press. The audiences have been the most appreciative of anywhere I’ve been in the world and the press has been the most vicious.

“I’ve been misquoted here in Australia more than I’ve ever been. I wouldn’t say (the coverage has been) the most conservative, (but) I would say (it’s been) the most misinformed, the most taken out of context, the most uneducated. And very judgmental, extremely judgmental.”

Sprinkle says she’d never bring Post-Porn Modernist back to Australia because of the stress of bad press, but will bring her new show MetamorphoSex here. “I would have to think hard if I’d want to bring something back that has that potential to be controversial. The bad press inspires a lot of hatred.

I’m a lover, not a fighter.”
- The Age, 4th April 1996

In deep water with Annie
By Emma Tom

NOT LONG into the all-nude Annie Sprinkle bath-house interview, I wish to inform Houston that we have a problem.

Note-taking in a ginseng bath is turning out to be almost as difficult as the well-documented “where the hell do I put my wallet?” nudist nightclub dilemma.

Plus, for some weird reason, the unclothed subject matter is not proving conducive to family newspaper photographs. No matter how low we sink in the spa or how strategically placed the sauna towels, there’s always a stray nipple or three vying for camera attention.

This is Annie Sprinkle, live performance sextress and former porn film starlet, after all. Asking her to keep her money- makers out of the camera would be like asking Eva Cox for a lap dance. Just wouldn’t seem right…

- The Age, 29 March 1996

Reading through some of the other pieces I’m somewhat depressed that Australian society hasn’t progressed in the 13 years since Annie’s visit. A 1996 article called “Have We No Shame?” used Annie’s public cervix announcement as an excuse to bewail the alleged decline of society’s morals. You could easily reproduce the piece in today’s papers and the conservatives would happily nod along. The visit by the police was reproduced during the Henson art gallery censorship incident in 2008. Seems that Australia’s attitude to sex is still very furtive and juvenile.

Annie hasn’t come back and I don’t blame her. Looks like I’ll have to make the effort to go to the US and seek her out. Maybe then I can finally get that photo of her boobs on my head.

This is an ad for Diet Coke from the 90s. Now, I abhor Diet Coke but this ad almost makes me forgive it for all its sins. That’s because this ad is a showcase for the female gaze – the idea of shooting from a woman’s point of view. Yes, it’s only advertising, but think about how often ads assume the viewer is male and trot out the standard bikini girls.

And the guy is kind of hot.

I’ve created a new site called The Female Gaze where I’m hoping to look at ads, photos and films that give priority to a female perspective. It’s still in its early stages but it will grow, I’m sure.

I hate being late to the party with these things but I’ve only just heard about the European Feminist Porn Award which is being held on Saturday 17th October in Berlin. Yes… I’m going to miss them, dammit, but despite my general divineness and best efforts at omnipresence I’ve discovered that I just can’t be everywhere at once.

So this is essentially a party and film night to honour the feminist pioneers of porn: Candida Royalle, Annie Sprinkle, Maria Beatty, Shine Louise Houston and Petra Joy. The lovely Jennifer Lyon Bell from Blue Artichoke Films will be there as well.

In October 2009 the first Feminist Porn Film Award will be presented in Berlin. The initiators set themselves off against sexist, mainstream pornography. “We want to revolutionize the erotic film market”, says Laura Meritt – sexpert with a doctorate in communication sciences. Awards will be given for high quality erotic movies “with a wide range of portraying female sexual lust and in which women play an important role as producers.”

The feminist film prize is initiated and organized by Sexclusivitaeten, the first women-oriented sex enterprise and sexual communication centre in Europe, together with the Freudenfluss network.

I have to say, I really like their criteria for feminist film. I think these are rules that all adult films should uphold!

• A sex-positive attitude, no de-humanising or misogynistic portrayals

• Roles in collusion with those involved / no crossing of personal borders

• Ethical work conditions / safe sex is encouraged

• Those involved will be shown in relation to one another – eye, skin, hand, and body contact, energy exchange.

• Emotions and declarations of love are encouraged, doable, and showable.

• Diverse camera settings, light and shadow games

• Variations of sexual practices in joyful transitions, not an achievement test, broadening of the stereotypically portrayed spectrum.

• A variety of body types, ages, genders, sexual orientations and ethnic backgrounds.

• Authentic sound recordings or music. No gender-stereotypical amplified dubbing of moaning.

• Portrayal of lust and pleasure, focus on female lust and its diversity.

• No schematic portrayals of the “sexual curve” – that is to say no straight zoom in on the male ejaculation, no emphasis of the male cum shot. Orgasms are not the only goal.

• Women are significantly involved in the production of the film as producers, directors, or camerawomen.

This week sees the premiere of Dirty Diaries, a new feminist porn film helmed by filmmaker Mia Engberg. The movie features twelve shorts created by different women, each offering their own version of what’s sexy. The above pics are stills from three of the films: Skin, For The Liberation of Men and Flasher Girl On Tour.

“Erotica is good and we need it,” says the Dirty Diaries manifesto. “We truly believe that it is possible to create an alternative to the mainstream porn industry by making sexy films that we like.”

Mia talks about her film in this article from a Swedish news site.

Throughout the history of art, the image of woman has been created by men. The gaze has been a man’s gaze and female sexuality has been limited to a few identities that have suited the patriarchal system (and the male artistic ego): whore, wife, mother, muse.
…
We have been faced with many questions. Is there a female sexuality that can be differentiated from its male counterpart and, if so, what does it look like? Is it possible to be subject and object at the same time? How can we liberate our own sexual imagination from the commercial images we see every day and that seep into our subconscious minds?

Unfortunately, some people have objected to the film. They’ve taken exception to the use of public money to fund the project and also have a problem with it being approved because it’s feminist.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Art is subjective. For the state to decide that feminist porn is art but ‘regular’ porn is reprehensible is little more than paternalistic moralising and sends out all the wrong signals in the equality debate. Equality is an important issue, but it should never function as a cloak for state funding of ideologies that are somehow deemed correct in the eyes of the authorities.

Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have public funding and the subsequent abuse. In Australia we could go to jail just for MAKING feminist porn.

In any case, I welcome yet another addition to the growing pantheon of feminist porn and I can’t wait to see Dirty Diaries. Will try and review it soon.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been in contact with Suraya Singh who is the editor of the newly launched Filament magazine for women. She’s been on a PR blitz that’s seen her receive excellent coverage in mainstream media and across the web.

When I first found out about the magazine I must admit to being a little skeptical about its chances, mainly because it’s a print magazine. Already it has encountered a number of difficulties from printers and distributors because of the magazine’s cover and content. In this interview, Suraya reveals her reasons behind that particular decision.

I was happy to receive a copy of the first edition and I’m very impressed with the whole concept, partly because I can see it’s a revival of the ideas and philosophy of my old favourite mag/employer, Australian Women’s Forum. I applaud the fact that Filament doesn’t want to make you feel bad about your body by featuring diets or fashion or cosmetics. It’s great to see something that’s about stimulating the mind – and the nether regions! The photography is artistic and moody. Some of the guys were definitely not to my taste but that’s just me.

So without further rambling, here’s the interview:

What do you hope to achieve with the mag?
When I stopped reading mainstream women’s magazines, I stopped having body image issues, but why should an entire media format be off limits to women who want to feel good about themselves? I want Filament to provide a genuine alternative for women – to be sexual without your own body necessarily being the subject of that.

I also hope that Filament will present a genuine challenge to the magazine industry, and the erotic market generally. Women have been put in the ‘too hard’ basket for too long, and the market needs to start taking catering to the female gaze seriously. We’re not gay men in skirts, nor are we merely the wives and girlfriends of the heterosexual male market – erotica producers who want to cater to women have to start by seeing us as women.

Why did you choose print?
I wanted to offer a true alternative to other women’s magazine, and offering the hot shirtless men that were literally in amongst challenging articles was important – like 70s Playboy, but for women. If Filament was just photography, or the articles were shorter and chattier, we almost certainly would have gone for web.

What problems have you encountered getting the mag up and running?
We did everything on a budget of basically zero, so everyone involved is giving their time for free, which has its own problems – you can’t pay people to get it done within a particular timeframe, nor can you pay for photographic environments or anything like that. The fact that Filament turned out better quality than a lot of fully professional publications is a huge credit to everyone who gave their time.

Photographing for the female gaze is uniquely difficult because we’re really inventing a new style of photography – there’s no one’s work you can look at and say that’s a perfect example. Getting photography that works on this score is always a challenge.

Distributors have also been really negative about our choice to have a man on the cover. Their view is that women don’t buy magazines with men on the cover. This may be true, but how are things ever going to change if those magazines are never distributed? So right now we’re selling Filament entirely through our website. At the end of each day I print out our order list and put them all in envelopes and send them out, which I quite enjoy actually.

Were you surprised by anything in your online research?
Most of the research we use is published academic research, but we do supplement the finer detail with primary research via our livejournal community. That type of research is pretty unscientific, but it does give us a steer in terms of what to try. For example, glasses on men got an extremely high approval rating – almost 90% of the women we asked thought men are hotter in glasses. Bondage, visually speaking, seems to polarises women – we either love it or hate it.

How do you approach your models?
These days they are approaching us more and more, but I still go up to men that I see in the park or in clubs with a Filament postcard – I suggest they check out the details on the site and if they’re keen, email me some snaps. It’s great now that it’s summer (in the northern hemisphere) as there are more lads around with their tops off. If anyone reading this knows any hot men who they’d like to see in Filament, tell them to get in touch!

What’s your vision for women’s porn?
I’d like to see all those who are producing erotic image of men for women working together to share ideas and cater effectively to different niches. One of the ‘problems’ with the heterosexual women’s erotica market is that women’s tastes are so incredibly diverse – but so are men’s: I think we should share and specialise – I don’t think there’s anything to be gained in trying to compete. I love being able to direct someone who wants something Filament can’t offer to a publication or website that offers that. So far I’ve had great conversations with Syzygy Mag, Shot with Desire and now For the Girlsabout what we do. Long may it continue.

You can get Filament here. Pic of Suraya from the Filament site.

Romance novels have long been considered to be trashy, something that plenty of women read but should not brag about. Now there are feminists standing up for their right to read good romantic fiction. Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches Guide to Romance Novels recommends the good stuff. There’s a great interview with the author here.

I liked this quote.

MV: Why should feminists read romance novels?

SW: It’s a 50-plus-year-old industry comprised mostly of women writers operating their own businesses and producing a genre about women’s self-actualization, pursuit of autonomy, and acquisition of sexual agency for an audience made mostly of women, who buy over $1.4 billion dollars worth of books a year. No, no, nothing feminist or even subversive about that.

Here’s a relatively long video report from the Feminist Porn Awards, held on the 25th April. The video is by Xtra which is a queer friendly site and it gives some great interviews from award participants.

What it doesn’t do, however, is give the viewer a complete picture of the awards, mainly because it focuses solely on the queer performers. And I’ve noticed that in the last week, almost all the reports, blog posts and Tweets concerned themselves with the lesbian, trans and queer films that received awards. Even my recent blog post about how the lesbians are creating amazing porn was in the same vein.

But you know what? I feel like this isn’t quite right. Sure, the queer films that won are fantastic and deserve to be lauded, but I feel as if the straight films didn’t really get much of a look in.

Mimi Balfour made an appearance at the awards and her film Man of My Dreams received a special award but she’s rarely been mentioned in the reports I’ve read. Tony Comstock has received his third Feminist Porn Award for Bill and Desiree but you wouldn’t know it unless you check back through the previous award pages. Intense Desires by Lennox Films won Sexiest Straight Film but I’ve got no idea what it’s about and no-one seems to have written about it whatsoever.

There’s a few reasons for the queer emphasis this year. One is that more queer and lesbian films won awards than straight films. That’s not a problem, as the Feminist Porn Awards have always had a large variety of categories that recognise the diversity of new wave porn. The award night itself was heavily attended by the creators and stars of queer and lesbian movies such as Syd Blakovich, Madison Young, Courtney Trouble and Dylan Ryan. Also, the people doing a lot of the blogging about this subject are lesbian or queer so that’s where their interest lies.

Even so, I feel the urge to wave the flag for some of the straight films that won awards and received honorable mentions (especially Jennifer Lyon Bell’s Matinee and Erika Lust’s Barcelona Sex Project). And I also hope that straight women new to the awards don’t write it off as a “gay event”, something that doesn’t involve them. Because that’s exactly the kind of division we don’t need or want.

I love the idea of the Feminist Porn Awards – that’s why For The Girls ended up sponsoring it this year. It’s an inclusive event that recognises ethics and excellence in adult films of all kinds – and yes, that includes straight movies as well.

The winners of the Feminist Porn Awards 2009 have been announced and, damn, if lesbians haven’t made off with a swag of awards this time around! The winners were presented with their awards at a gala evening on Friday the 24th, followed by a screening of some of the winning films on Saturday.

The Full List of Winners

Hottest Kink Movie
Perversions of Lesbian Lust Vol.1 | Madison Young; Madison Bound Productions

Steamiest Trans Scene
Crash Pad Series 2- Unlocked | Shine Louise Houston; Pink and White Productions

Sexiest Straight Movie
Intense Desires | Eli Cross ; Lennox Films

Hottest Mature Couple’s Movie
Bill and Desiree: Love is Timeless | Tony Comstock; Comstock Films

Most Sensual Softcore & Golden Beaver Award for Canadian Content
Man of My Dreams | Mimi Balfour; Cleopatra Productions

Steamiest Educational Series
Red Hot Touch Series | New World Sex Education

Sexiest Dyke Movie
One Night Stand (Pour Une Nuit) | Emilie Jouvet; Hyst Productions

Most Deliciously Diverse Cast
Roulette | Courtney Trouble; Nofauxxx Productions

Heartthrob of the Year
Dylan Ryan | For work in Strap-on Motel, Sex Mannequin, Crash Pad Series Volume 3, Champion, Perversions of Lesbian Lust: Volume 1 and Lesbian Life: Real Sex San Francisco.

Heartthrob of the Year
Tyler Knight | For work in Chemistry 4 and Intense Desires

Indie Porn Pioneer
Madison Young

Movie of the Year
Champion | Shine Louise Houston; Pink and White Productions

Honorable Mentions:
* Voluptuous Biker Babes | Carlos Batts; Adam and Eve Pictures
* Matinee | Jennifer Lyon Bell; Blue Artichoke Films
* Couch Surfers: Trans Men in Action | Trannywood Pictures; Brazen Garage Squad Productions
* Skateboard Kink Freak | Maria Beatty; Bleu Productions
* Barcelona Sex Project | Erika Lust; Lust Films

Here’s the Flickr photostream of the awards night.

Here’s a video of Dylan Ryan accepting her award:

Here’s a brief story from Torontoist about the awards.
Here’s BlogTOs pre-awards report complete with stupid comments.
And here’s a slightly sniffy report of the awards night from Eye Weekly.

Unfortunately there hasn’t been a lot of mainstream media press coverage of the awards this year, which is a bit of a disappointment. The swine flu outbreak has got everyone’s attention at the moment.

For The Girls was a sponsor of this year’s awards. It’s the first time we’ve been officially involved and it was great to get behind an event that honours filmmakers who are creating new and positive visions of porn. I’d like to congratulate all the winners for their efforts and to thank Good For Her for creating such a wonderful event.

PS. I’ve created a special page at Porn Movies For Women that lists nominees and winners of the awards from the last four years.

The Feminist Porn Awards are about to kick off in Toronto and I’m wishing I could be there for the screenings, workshops and awards.

Meanwhile, the enevitable “witty” comments are starting to appear. The awards are in their fourth year now, so I’d just like say that folks, your oh-so-clever remarks about how feminism and porn are a contradiction in terms are getting a bit old. We’ve heard them all before.

This from someone on Twitter:
“The Feminist Porn Awards? i take it thats women dressing like men fucking each other then?”

Or this from a blog commenter:
“Now this is what i call feminism…..girls objectifying girls for the male gaze.” They then went on to make laugh-out-loud jokes about how feminists must have learnt to use a razor.

Oh, the hilarity.

Come on, people. It’s not that hard to understand that porn and feminism can happily co-exist. Drag yourself out from the cumbersome weight of all those assumptions and try and grasp what we’re doing here. Making porn for women. Making ethical porn. Making BETTER porn. For everybody.

I guess what the comments reveal is how much people still assume all porn is for men – to the point that they can’t even imagine a feminist, female-friendly porn scenario. Porn is always about women getting fucked, right? And it’s always for a male viewer, because we all know how much women hate porn, right?

It it also shows how the “porn objectifies women” dogma has become so utterly tied to the concept of “feminism” that some can’t comprehend the idea that a woman would voluntarily consent and want to be involved in porn. In that world view, all porn is made by predatory men and all the women in it are victims. And if a woman moves behind the camera, she takes on the role of the evil, predatory male. And if a woman says being a porn star is empowering, she’s obviously been fooled or tricked or brainwashed somehow. She doesn’t know her own mind and needs to be saved.

Yep, heard it all before. And, no doubt, we’ll hear it all again in the next week as the FPAs hit the news again.

We’re feminists and we make and enjoy porn. Get over it.

Just wanted to get the word out that For The Girls is now a sponsor of the Good For Her 2009 Feminist Porn Awards!

This is the first time we’ve done anything like this and we’re just so pleased to be involved. The FPAs are a celebration of female friendly porn, preferably made by women. So we’re on the same page philosophically.

Unfortunately I’m not going to be able to make it to Toronto this time, despite promises to myself that I’d be there this year. I’ve got a lesbian wedding to attend and more porn to make after that.

Still, if you can attend, it will be well worth the effort. The awards will be handed out at a glamourous ceremony on Friday followed by a screening of several nominated films on Saturday. There’s also a panel discussion featuring Madison Young, Courtney Trouble, Mimi Balfour (director, Man Of My Dreams) Tobi Hill-Meyer (director of the upcoming film Doing It Ourselves:The Trans Woman Porn Project) and Joanne Loton who is researching porn for women at present.

Just a quickie post which I’ll expand on Monday when I have time:

Good For Her has released the list of nominees for the Feminist Porn Awards 2009. My little short, That’s What I Like, is listed.

This is fab, but I should reveal the facts behind it. I’ve actually withdrawn the film from competition because For The Girls decided to sponsor the awards after I’d posted off the movie. Given the conflict of interest, the film can’t really be in the running. Never mind, though, I’m planning to submit it to a bunch of other adult film festivals.

Oh, and For The Girls is very excited to be a sponsor. This is a great event that needs to be supported!

Update 30th March – Here’s the full list:

The Nominees for the 2009 Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards are (in alphabetical order – director first name)

1. Girls Lusting Girls – Abby Winters – Abbywinters.com
2. Voluptuous Biker Babes – Carlos Batts – Adam and Eve Pictures
3. Padded Cell – Cant Dog Productions
4. Roulette – Courtney Trouble – No Fauxxx
5. Intense Desires – Eli Cross – Lennox Films
6. One Night Stand: Emilie Jouvet – Hyst Productions
7. Barcelona Sex Project – Erika Lust – Lust Films
8. Exploring the O – Jamye Waxman – Adam and Eve Pictures
9. Monogamy without Monotony – Jamye Waxman – Adam and Eve Pictures
10. Toying with Pleasure – Jamye Waxman – Adam and Eve Pictures
11. Matinee – Jennifer Lyon Bell – Blue Artichoke Films
12. Head Shot – Jennifer Lyon Bell – Blue Artichoke Films
13. MySexTherapist.com 2 : Advanced Therapy – Kelly Holland – Chick Media
14. That’s What I Like – Louise Lush – Indigo Lush Media
15. Lesbian Life; Layover – Madison Young – Lesbian Life Productions
16. Lesbian Life: Real Sex San Francisco – Madison Young – Lesbian Life Productions
17. Madison Young’s Bride of Sin – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
18. Madison Young’s Tail of a Bondage Model – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
19. Perversions of Lesbian Lust – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
20. Undone – Madison Young – Madison Bound Productions
21. Strap-On Motel – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
22. Skateboard Kink Freak – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
23. Sex Mannequin – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
24. Post Apocalyptic Cowgirls – Maria Beatty – Bleu Productions
25. New Romantix – Max Royale – Babeland Premieres
26. Man Of My Dreams – Mimi Balfour – Cleopatra Films
27. Red Hot Touch: Genital Massage for Men – New World Sex Education
28. Red Hot Touch: Erogenous Zones and Orgasmic Massage – New World Sex Education
29. Red Hot Touch: Erotic Touch For Sexual Positions – New World Sex Education
30. Red Hot Touch: Exquisite Anal Massage – New World Sex Education
31. Red Hot Touch: Genital Massage For Women – New World Sex Education
32. Girls Kissing Girls – Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
33. Lesbian Noir: The Pool Girl – Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
34. My Little Minx: A (sort of) Silent Lesbian Farce Nica Noelle – Sweetheart Video
35. Feeling It! Not Faking It – Petra Joy – Strawberry Seductress Films
36. Pixie Licks – Pixie and Andy Ide – Sweetmeat Productions
37. Bag Ladies – Stelllaaa Kowolsky and BJay Pink – Jumbo Grab Productions
38. Champion – Shine Louise Houston – Pink and White Productions
39. Crash Pad Series 3 – Shine Louise Houston – Pink and White Productions
40. Doing It Ourselves: The Trans Women Porn Project – Tobi Hill-Meyer
41. Bill and Desiree: Love is Timeless – Tony Comstock – Comstock Films
42. Couch Surfers: Trans Men in Action – Trannywood Pictures – Brazen Garage Squad Productions
43. Tristan Taormino’s Guide to the G-Spot – Tristan Taormino – Smart Ass Productions & Vivid Ed
44. Penny Flame’s Guide to Handjobs for Men and Women – Tristan Taormino + Penny Flame – Smart Ass Productions & Vivid Ed
45. Chemistry 3 – Tristan Taormino – Smart Ass Productions and Vivid Entertainment
46. Chemistry 4 – Tristan Taormino – Smart Ass Productions and Vivid Entertainment

Amazing that there are so many amazing films to choose from this year! So many different viewpoints and ideas on display. It’s gonna be a great FPA this year!

Alison Lee of Canadian adult shop Good For Her has written an extensive article looking at porn for women, the feminist anti-porn movement and her own experiences with porn. It makes for great reading. A snippet:

Seeing the world of Big Porn showed me that not only are women left out, but men are presented with an incredibly bland palate to work from and to mold their own sexuality. I left my porn review gig believing that the world of porn shouldn’t be eradicated, but that it should instead live up to the boundless possibilities of the erotic, and that it should, and could, be able to reflect the diverse bodies, desires and dreams that make up human sexuality.

Alison is organising this year’s Feminist Porn Awards. Submissions are open until 24th February.