Ms Naughty Porn for Women Blog
Ms Naughty looks at porn for women, the adult industry and sex in general.
Boom Chicka Wow Wow: Music In Porn
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012I’m tits-deep in editing male masturbation scenes at present and currently feeling generally stressed about colour correction and exposure levels. Like you do. And then the other day I lost several hours perusing royalty-free music sites trying to find some ambient background music for a scene. Nothing seemed to fit. On a whim, I asked Twitter what people thought about music in porn.
It seems the resounding answer is no thanks. From what I’m seeing, porn viewers can do without having music playing over the top of sex scenes. They would infinitely prefer to hear the sounds of sex – the oohs, aahs and sundry squelching – than listen to the director’s latest musical thang. I did a bit of Googling and found similar thoughts here, here and here. Dutch women’s porn channel Dusk also said their surveys had found something similar. No music, thanks.
Obviously this isn’t a universal thing – some people don’t mind music if it adds to the general buildup or atmosphere. And others are real fans of the old boom chicka wow wow 70s stuff (although here’s a long rant against it).
I’ve used music in several of my porn scenes and I sometimes edit it into pre-existing non-exclusive porn clips. There’s a couple of reasons for using music. One is that it can add an extra emotional or dramatic element to a scene. I’ve got one male solo scene that’s been made moodier and more sensual thanks to a quiet backing track, one that could perhaps be described as an ambient drone. I’ve also seen indie porn scenes where the blaring rock song in the background helps to identify the location or the characters within the scene. In Petra Joy’s The Female Voyeur, the medieval orgy scene is made more exotic thanks to its intense, Middle-Eastern inspired soundtrack. In these cases the music rarely covers the sounds of sex; it’s there to complement rather than detract.
The other reason for using music is to cover up cuts and dodgy sound. In some cases the director may be issuing orders in the background which tends to spoil the fantasy a little. I’ve seen some clips where there’s no natural sound at all, just the music.
I can see why that would be annoying. And because many people listen to their own music while surfing – be it porn or something else – a standard backing track can be a hassle. It can also be jarring to have someone else’s musical taste inflicted on you.
This little bit of research has been useful to me. I still want to use music when it’s appropriate and when it enhances the scene. But if most people aren’t that keen on it, I’ll be looking to edit more “natural” soundscapes from now on. If nothing else this will save time and money, and that’s always a good thing.
By the way… is it Bow Chicka Wow Wow? Boom Chicka Wah Wah? Or Wakka Chikka Wakka Chicka? Whatever, I’ve included a vid of the classic 70s porn music above. Worth a listen just for the way Ron Jeremy talks about “a happy ass” at the start.
In searching for an image for this post I’ve found numerous porn music albums on Amazon. So here they are:
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I.M. In Love Trailer
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012Just before Christmas I finished my latest short film I.M. In Love and hurriedly submitted it to the Cinekink film festival in New York. Then I went on holiday.
I’m pleased to say that the film has been selected to screen at Cinekink during the “Coupling” Program on 10th February 2012. And since this has happened I had to get off my butt and edit together a little trailer for it, above. I’ve also made a page for it on my Indigo Lush film site.
I.M. In Love is a cute movie involving cybersex and geekery… but not is all as it seems.
This short film only offers a glimpse of the larger scene starring Aeryn and Theo which I am still editing together. Suffice to say it was gorgeous and full of laughter and I can’t wait to get it out into the world. In the meantime, there’s the trailer and the short film. Enjoy.
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Cabaret Desire Is Like Visual Erotic Fiction
Monday, December 19th, 2011
As a writer and editor of erotic fiction, I’m a big fan of sexy stories. Written erotica is at its best when it has the freedom to build characters, emotions and motivation before the inevitable sex scene, allowing the reader’s imagination to colour the scenario with fabulous detail.
Alas, the same can rarely be said for porn films. If the creators bother with any kind of plot, it’s often arbitrary and shallow. The “story” usually exists only to throw together flimsy reasons as to why people should fuck. There might be 3 minutes of “plot” before the inevitable 20 minutes of sex.
Cabaret Desire, the latest film from Erika Lust, is different. Here, the story is the main attraction. The film features stories about sex, to be sure, but the sex is part of the journey, not necessarily the ultimate goal. In switching the focus to the more traditional filmic aim of telling a story, Erika Lust shows us just how good – and how arousing – porn movies can be.
Cabaret Desire is set in an uber-trendy Bohemian salon called the Poetry Brothel. Patrons pay the poetry “whores” to tell them erotic stories. As the cocktails are served and the cool jazz continues, we settle in to hear four different sexy adventures, each told via means of a voiceover and luscious cinematography. We meet a queer woman having simultaneous affairs, a woman with a full-body gimp outfit and a passion for theft, a young woman given a tantalizing birthday gift and an estranged couple meeting for a fresh date. Each story quickly introduces its characters but doesn’t stint on building atmosphere and tension. When the protagonists have sex, you know exactly why they are doing it and how they feel about it. Naturally this makes it a more compelling experience.
The sex itself is hardcore but doesn’t linger on gonzo style shots. Indeed, the editing is just right. You never get bored with endless pumping.
The sets are sumptuous, the lighting and cinematography high-class, the music stylish and well suited. The actors are natural, good looking in their own way and never stilted or self-conscious.
In short, I really enjoyed Cabaret Desire. It’s like collection of women’s erotic fiction with an added visual element, beautifully told and executed with an artistic flourish. I am a fan of Erika Lust’s work and I think this movie is her best yet. Certainly it raises the bar in terms of what can be accomplished with erotic film. I watched it and wondered how I can ever make porn this good. I guess the best I can do is try.
You can download or buy Cabaret Desire at Erika’s site Lust Cinema.
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Berlin Porn Film Festival Documentary
Sunday, November 20th, 2011OK, it’s done. This is my mini documentary about this year’s Berlin Porn Film Festival.
Most of it was shot on a Sony Cybershot HX9V – a pocket camera that takes rather good HD video but not so good sound. I actually bought it at the airport on my way to Germany.
And thank goodness I did. Our large video camera ended up being damaged, possibly dropped when in luggage storage before we got to Berlin. A lot of the footage I shot at the festival using the big camera was half out of focus and consequently useless. You’ll probably notice that the interviews with Adrianna, Aiden and Jen look rather fuzzy. They were shot with the big camera and I did my best to salvage the footage.
We noticed that something wasn’t quite right with the camera while in Germany but it didn’t seem too bad. It’s only when I got home and uploaded the files that I saw how dodgy it was. The left side of the frame is very fuzzy but the bottom right corner is in focus. It’s incredibly frustrating to have that kind of equipment failure.
I also shot a solo male scene in Berlin and some of that footage is also no good. But the Cybershot has saved the day. Lesson learned: don’t discount the new generation of little cameras. They’re actually quite good and are worth using for B roll or as a backup.
In any case, I think I managed to capture some of the vibe of the festival in this little doco. I downloaded the film excerpts from Youtube and Vimeo so some of them aren’t the best quality. I wanted to just give a small idea of the kind of amazing films we saw in Berlin.
The films:
Smoke by Claudia Romero
Black Rose Tango by Richard Kimmel
Curuk: The Pink Report by Ulrike Bohnisch
Skallamann (Bald Guy) by Maria Bock
Orchids: My Intersex Adventure by Phoebe Hart
The Female Voyeur by Petra Joy
Gang Bang Barbie by Joanna Rytel
Festival trailer by anton Z risan
A longer version of this doco will appear at For The Girls on 29th November. It features the X-rated footage I couldn’t put on Youtube plus more interviews. And images from the amazing Chatroulette session that turned into something of a live sex show.
By the way, there’s some great photos of the festival now available at the official site.
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Films From The Berlin Porn Film Festival
Monday, November 7th, 2011I did a bit of surfing and found a number of short films online that were featured at the Berlin Porn Film Festival.
Rosamour
This amazing little film features only the bellies of two male dancers. It’s not digitally enhanced, though it looks like it in places. It’s bursting with erotic sensibility without showing any “rude bits”. I met the two guys who made it and they were gorgeous. This film was in competition but unfortunately it didn’t win.
Room 33
Erica Lust once again proves how talented she is when creating erotic films. This short isn’t explicit but it’s still throbbing with desire. The perfect cinematography enhances the whole thing. A couple book into the “Love Hotel” and are joined by a third man. More info on the film here.
Room 33 - Director's cut by lustfilms
A Mona Do Lotacao
This was part of the Fun Porn program and I like it’s simplicity and sense of humour. A woman gets on the bus and her inherent sexiness infects everyone on board.
Smoke
A short and sweet animation that is bursting with sassiness.
King Of Fools
Another piece of animation with a wry sense of humour.
Trailers/Previews
Skallaman (Bald Guy)
My favourite short film, this is a musical about acceptance. The song is infectious and the full movie inspired cheers and much applause from the audience.
Man With A Bolex Movie Camera
Another fun film that sends up the eager pretensions of some film lovers. And makes me want to get a Bolex camera just for fun.
And just in case you’re curious, here’s the trailer for my film The Thought of Her which screened in the Female Porn session.
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The Amazing, Inspiring Berlin Porn Film Festival 2011
Sunday, November 6th, 2011
I’m home again, jetlagged but also bursting with inspiration and motivation after my visit to this year’s Berlin Porn Film Festival. All up I may have spent about six days travelling to and from Berlin but it was totally worth the time, effort and money just to be there and be surrounded by so many fascinating ideas and creativity. And, of course, I got to meet some wonderful people and reconnect with old friends like Petra Joy and Jennifer Lyon Bell.
The festival was a huge success this year with over 5000 visitors attending, more than in previous years. Many of the sessions were sold out well in advance and the cinema always seemed to be packed. It feels like the Berlin Porn Film Festival is set to become something of an institution in that city, which is fabulous.
Pic: Opening night party in the cafe at the back of the Kino
I was thrilled to meet Jiz Lee and honoured to get a hug from one of the best-known queer porn stars. Jiz was there to judge the short films and I got to chat with Jiz a few times, although my hopeful attempts to snag an interview were lost due to Jiz’s busy schedule.
Pic: Jiz and Adrianna discussing Tristan’s films.
I also got to meet adult stars Adrianna Nicole and Aiden Starr, two incredibly talented and smart women who are really switched on to the possibilities of porn. Both of them are “typical” looking porn stars – blonde, beautiful, sexy. They were actually rather an unusual sight at the BPFF (look! mainstream porn stars!) and I could well imagine that they are perhaps dismissed as being lightweight because of their looks. Not so. I had some wonderful conversations about the politics and problems of porn and they had plenty of interesting points to make during the discussion panel about the future of lesbian porn and at the screening of Tristan Taormino’s films.
Unfortunately, I missed out on seeing a few other porn directors. Tristan couldn’t make it – she had to cancel at the last minute due to ill health. Nica Noelle had also pulled out the week before and Anna Span also changed her plans. It was disappointing to miss out after coming all that way but I guess I’ll meet them another time.
I saw some amazing films although I would have loved to have attended more sessions. Perhaps my favourite short film was the mini musical Skallamann (Bald Guy) which is about a young man who makes out with a bald guy. His parents are horrified, mainly because said guy is bald. The song is an earworm and I found myself singing it for the entire week I was there.
I also adored the documentary Orchids: My Intersex Adventure. It’s by Phoebe Hart, an Australian woman who was born with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome which meant she had testes inside her abdomen (since removed) and female genitals. The doco was so moving and intensely personal, depicting first-time conversations about the issue with Phoebe’s family. She was there to answer questions about the film and I found out that her parents live very close to me. Small world. The doco received an extended ovation and has received multiple awards at festivals around the world. Phoebe found out that the film had won an award in Copenhagen so she flew out to the screening of it the next day. Here’s an article on the film.
There’s always a few “over the top” films at the festival. The winning short film Gang Bang Barbie (video here) packed a punch. It involves Barbie dolls “raping” a man’s penis with mini dildoes. It was funny but also disturbing and I’m not sure I liked it due to the issues of consent involved.
Meanwhile, in Stuffed we were treated to the rather strange (and amusing) sight of a man inserting a fake vagina masturbator into a stuffed fox and then fucking it. I sat there wondering what the good moral arbiters at the Australian Classification Board would make of it; no doubt I was being forever corrupted and harmed just for watching it. Afterwards the film’s creator and star, Rudy West Junior smiled and said that the film was not about bestiality at all. “The fox is dead, so it’s necrophilia,” he said.
I’m going to do a separate post featuring some of the films on offer (update: post is here) so you can get an idea of the diversity of content on show at the BPFF. Sure, there was plenty of on-screen fucking but there were also films that dealt with relationships, sexuality, religion, fertility, death and even incest. The entire festival shows just how differently and creatively filmmakers can approach the topic of sex.
There were also workshops and panel discussions. I attended Jennifer Lyon Bell’s discussion of DIY Feminist Porn which was really interesting and informative. I couldn’t get into the fisting workshop as it was booked out (indeed, many of the workshops and films had waiting lists, thanks to the popularity of the festival this year). The panel discussion about the changing depiction of lesbian sex in mainstream porn was fascinating, with contributions from Jiz, Judy Minx, Adrianna, Aidan and Emilie Jouvet.
Pic: Aiden Starr, Jiz Lee, Judy Minx, Adrianna Nicole and Emilie Jouvet discussing lesbian porn
One of the more fascinating sessions involved playing around with Chatroulette – the random webcam site that many people use to anonymously masturbate with strangers. A purely experimental idea, the session turned out to be hilariously successful. The organisers rigged up a laptop and webcam so that it could be seen on the big screen. They then turned the cam towards the packed audience. Most of us were clothed but a few brave souls got naked, including Maria Llopis, who was one of the organisers and whose film Chatroulette screened in the Female Porn session a few movies after mine.
Pic: Meat/ing on the internet session with Maria Llopis
To begin with we weren’t sure what was going to happen. I’d heard of Chatroulette but pretty much dismissed it as an exercise in developing low self esteem. Random strangers can look at you and dismiss you in a second… it sounded rather depressing to me. But the introductory video by Ariel Efraim Ashbel showed that Chatroulette is actually a cunning way to play practical jokes and mess with people’s heads via presenting a weird performance to said random strangers. I like that.
In this case, we were presenting a cinema audience and nude women to whoever was lucky enough to click “next”. Suddenly, we were all feeling rather thrilled and giggly. It was an excellent jape and we all started waving and yelling at anyone who appeared on screen.
Early on we encountered a woman who was masturbating and eager to have fun. She didn’t baulk at the idea that she was exposed to a big audience and happily showed us her boobs and pussy. Cue the applause. She then started asking guys at the front to get naked. Things got really interesting when Maria asked if anyone wanted to help her put on the show. A guy stepped up, started kissing her, got nude and suddenly he was giving her cunnilingus, right there in the middle of the cinema. Everyone became deadly quiet until Maria had an orgasm and then we all clapped. Meanwhile, the girl on the screen was typing orders demanding certain types of sex which ended up being ignored. She was rather unappreciative and pushy, to be honest!
After that we cruised through Manroulette, the gay site and saw various nude men and erect cocks but very few of them stayed to play. A lot of them hurriedly reached for the NEXT button when they saw what was going on.
All up, the session was a fun experiment with this new area of online sexuality and I’m glad I was there.
I also ended up chatting to the guy who got it on with Maria. Turns out he also appears in Petra Joy’s film The Female Voyeur. I asked him if he’d perform for me and so we shot a solo scene with him on the Monday, winging it by buying a cheap halogen lamp from the hardware shop and filming in our hotel room. I’ll be editing it in the next few weeks.
I didn’t get to many of the after parties this time around, partly because we were too tired and partly because smoking is still permitted in clubs in Germany I just can’t handle breathing in cigarette smoke anymore, it makes me physically ill. So I missed the various performances. Still, I loved the simple process of sitting in the back bar of the Moviemento Kino, drinking wine and chatting with fellow filmmakers, performers and porn lovers.
A few other things that happened:
* I went up to director Bruce La Bruce and apologised on behalf of all Australians for the stupid banning of his film LA Zombie.
* I introduced myself to cute queer porn actor Pau by giving her a Freudian compliment. She was wearing black angel wings affixed with black gaffer tape, applied in a “cross your heart” pattern over her lovely bare boobs. I said “I like your things… I mean, your wings! Your wings!” Laughing helplessly, I told her I liked her boobs as well. They were just asking to be tweaked. Pau later gave me a great interview about her experiences in porn.
* Some of the cinema staff got into the spirit of the porn festival by wearing very little clothing. Gorgeous Valkyrie Francesca made waves by announcing the waiting list for films wearing only Gerbera flowers on her breasts and a feather fanny covering, held on by I don’t know what. And the guy selling beers in the cinema (I have forgotten his name, dammit) had me drooling with his various shirtless sexy outfits.
* I had more great conversations with veteran Dutch porn director Willem Van Batenburg who was there with his original star Diana de Koening. I also saw his film ‘N Schott In De Roos (Bullseye) which is a delightful 70s classic full of discussions about “free love” and hilarious retro situations. Interestingly, I found it turned me on more than most porn.
* I caught up with Liesbet from Dusk, the cable erotic TV channel for women and found that the station is growing and in need of more good content. I also met Ellie from Dutch adult store for women Mail and Female.
* I met Ena, the editor of Bend Over Magazine, a sexy journal of “feminism, sexuality and queer art” that features great photography.
* I met and chatted to Katharina Szmidt who made Cum Different, a documentary about the growth of feminist porn, made mostly at the 2009 BPFF. There was also a feature length doco about feminist porn called Mutantes (Punk Porn Feminism) but the session was sold out and it only screened the once so I couldn’t review it.
* I spoke to BPFF curator Manuela Kay about her contribution to Fucking Different XXX, which debuted at the festival. Manuela’s film shows the romantic side of anal fisting and – I must admit – had me feeling a little clenched thanks to its two-handed extravagance. She told me that she’s fascinated by fisting because it’s a universal sex act. Everyone has hands and everyone has an ass. I think it’s a very good point.
* I also chatted briefly with queer director Courtney Trouble about her great short film What Makes Us Queer. She also had a short in Fucking Different XXX that finished the film and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen an audience applaud an orgasm. It made me laugh.
There’s plenty more I could write about but I’ll leave it for now. I’m going to be editing another little doco about this year’s festival so keep an eye out for it, I’ll put it on Youtube.
All up, I loved it. The festival has given me so much confidence about my filmmaking and the possibilities. I can’t wait to go back next year, especially now that I’m determined to make my feature film, come hell or high water.
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Off To The Berlin Porn Film Festival 2011
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011It’s a bit much really. Just weeks after coming home from a holiday in France I’m about to fly back to Europe to attend the Berlin Porn Film Festival. It’s costing me way too much money and I’m not looking forward to another 23 hours on a plane but I felt like I’d be missing an important opportunity if I didn’t go.
My short film The Thought Of Her is screening in the Female Porn session (Thu 27/10 at 13:45 and again on Sat 29/10 at 19:45) and my essay on feminist porn was recently published in the German film magazine Schnitt to co-incide with the festival.
On top of that, I’m keen to meet feminist porn legends Tristan Taormino, Jiz Lee and Nico Noelle, among others. I’ll also be catching up with filmmaker friends Jennifer Lyon Bell, Anna Span and Petra Joy. I’m also really hoping to shoot some erotic content when I’m in Berlin. Nothing has been planned but given the cheerful and easygoing vibe of the festival, it’s a real possibility. If nothing else, I’ll shoot some interviews and other footage for small documentaries.
I’ve been to the Berlin Porn Film Festival twice before, in 2008 and 2009. The latter was especially fabulous, as you can see in the little doco I made about it:
The festival is one of the few opportunities to meet with and discuss emerging ideas about porn, film and sexuality. It’s not a commercial expo like the Venus exhibition which was on a couple of weeks ago in the same city. Instead, it’s a more intellectual and artistic endeavour and one that is becoming increasingly popular. There’s something very liberating about sitting in a packed theatre and watching dirty movies with other people. It’s such a shame we can’t do anything like it here in Australia due to our ridiculous censorship laws (although change may be on the horizon, fingers crossed).
In any case, I’ll be scarce for a couple of weeks. When I come back, I plan to finally kickstart my filmmaking plans and hopefully have a real feature finished in 2012.
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The Thought Of Her – Trailer
Thursday, July 28th, 2011The Thought Of Her - Trailer from Louise Lush on Vimeo.
A month ago I made a new short film. It’s a male-masturbation video called “The Thought Of Her” and it features the gorgeous Adam. I tried to go beyond the standard jerk off video and include something of the mental processes involved in self-pleasure. I did this via a monologue, detailing what might go through a man’s mind as he masturbates.
I also decided to go for more arty close ups and strong cross lighting with a black background, similar to Fucking Is The Only Prayer. What can I say, I like how it looks.
The film is currently available in full at For The Girls. I’m also going to create a longer version of it in the near future.
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I’ve Been Censored By Youtube
Sunday, July 24th, 2011
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I have had my first video removed from Youtube. It’s a trailer for “That’s What I Like” that I edited so it was incredibly tame (see above). Essentially it consists of shots of Mia talking about sex alternating with images of her kissing Andy. The closest the video comes to nudity is bare shoulders. And you can see that they are on a bed. Apparently that’s far too rude for the good people at Youtube.
The official “warning” email and page that I received said:
The YouTube Community has flagged one or more of your videos as inappropriate. Once a video is flagged, it is reviewed by the YouTube Team against our Community Guidelines. Upon review, we have determined that the following video(s) contain content in violation of these guidelines, and have been disabled:
That’s What I Like Trailer – (indigolush)
YouTube is not the place for nudity, pornography or other sexually provocative content. YouTube makes limited exceptions for appropriate educational, documentary, artistic and scientific contexts, but only in limited circumstances where the purpose of posting is clear and any nudity it is not sexual in nature.
OK, so… “That’s What I Like” is an erotic film that could be said to be “sexually provocative” but it’s also a documentary and I think it’s rather artistic. Also, the trailer is extraordinarily tame and does not include any nudity or pornography or sexually provocative content. It’s just a bare-bones glimpse at a sexual documentary.
I suspect that this has come about because I complained to Google about losing the ability to login to my Indigo Lush Youtube account thanks to Google merging Gmail/Blogger/Youtube accounts together. Obviously I raised my head above the ramparts by doing this and I’ve been consequently punished for it. There’s no way for me to appeal the ruling or to try and discuss the issue with them.
Curious about Youtube’s policies I followed a few links and ended up on the “General Policy Enforcement” page where they talk about adding age restrictions to videos. It discusses the idea of what Youtube considers to be “sexually suggestive”:
Videos featuring sexually explicit content, such as real sex acts, are not allowed. Other content, such as nudity and dramatised or implied sexual conduct, may be considered sexually suggestive, depending on whether or not it is intended or designed to arouse viewers. Nudity includes exposed or partially covered genitalia, buttocks or breasts, as well as sheer clothing. Videos featuring individuals in minimal or revealing clothing may also be age-restricted if they’re intended to elicit a sexual response.
Additional considerations include a combination of:
Whether breasts, buttocks or genitals (clothed or unclothed) are the focal point* of the video.
Whether the video’s setting is sexually suggestive (e.g. a location generally associated with sexual activity, such as a bed);
Whether the subject is depicted in a pose that is intended to sexually arouse the viewer;
Whether the subject’s actions in the video suggest a willingness to engage in sexual activity (e.g. kissing, provocative dancing, fondling); and
If a subject is minimally clothed, whether the clothing would be acceptable in appropriate public contexts (e.g. swimwear vs. underwear).* Focal point is determined by factors including the length of time an image appears in the video (fleeting vs. prolonged exposure), especially relative to the overall length of the video, the camera angle and focus, the relative clarity of the images in the video, the lighting and the video thumbnail (content that appears in a thumbnail is also considered to be its focal point).
So. Kissing. The bed. The willingness to engage in sexual activity (thought crime!). The filmmaker’s evil intent to arouse. That’s enough to bring out the big stick on Youtube.
Interestingly, it’s pretty damned easy to find other videos that are WAAAAAY ruder than mine. Since I’ve become a fan of True Blood I thought I’d do a search to see if one of the many and varied sex scenes are on Youtube. Bingo. There’s a plethora of them. Like this compilation or this kinky Exorcist neck-twisting scene from series 3. I found the sex in the dirt scene has been age restricted but not banned.
Then there’s this College Humor video of a “realistic Hollywood sex scene” that’s fairly naughty but is now up to 24 million views.
I’ve also found a wide range of what’s “appropriate” when adding videos to my Sexy Short Films site. One of my favourite erotic films called Aprop is still up on Youtube and it’s got rather a lot of sexual suggestiveness and nudity. But it’s in black and white and it’s artistic so that makes it OK.
So really, what’s happened here is not that my video was too sexy or graphic. It’s just that it was a trailer for something that Youtube doesn’t approve of – a film about sex that also appears on an adult site. So far the rules are: Sexy HBO series: Yes. Arty lesbian images: Yes. Glimpse of an independently made doco about sex: No.
In any case, I won’t be uploading it again. It’s made me wonder what else might trigger the ban button. The application of the guidelines are all over the place so it’s all very hit and miss. Vimeo seems far more grown up about what can be uploaded so I’ll use that from now on. And I’ll still be only using very tame footage.
By the way, filmmaker Tony Comstock has already been here, done that.
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The Female Voyeur – Sneak Peek
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Petra Joy has spent over a year working on her latest erotic film, The Female Voyeur. She encountered huge difficulties in getting it made and ended up in hospital halfway through. Thankfully, though, it’s finally ready for release. She’s put the trailer for it here.
I downloaded it and took a few screenshots. The whole thing looks visually amazing and the fantasies on offer are very different from the usual porn fare. I can’t wait to see it.
Visit Petra’s site for more info. Or check out my Petra Joy page at Porn Movies For Women.
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Anti-Porn Feminists Can’t Acknowledge Feminist Porn
Friday, May 6th, 2011
A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed (in my Louise Lush filmmaking persona) by Alyssa McDonald and the end result was published today in the SMH: Feminist Porn Faces Hardcore Critics.
I had a decent chat with Alyssa and showed her my film which she enjoyed. I think the end result isn’t too bad, although I wish she’d included some of the other things I’d said. I also have an issue with this paragraph:
The vast majority of explicit material is made for a male audience; at best, it is degrading, and at worst it is often physically harmful to the women featured in it.
This is too much of a generalisation and not backed up by facts. Porn is not inherently degrading and it’s doubtful that porn is “often” physically harmful to the female performers. Not to say that these things are concerns but this is too much of a blanket statement.
My other problem is that last quote about “objectification.” It hasn’t quite come out right. I was questioning the entire concept and the way it’s always trotted out as a criticism of porn. No-one really questions what it means, or whether “objectification” is something that only happens in porn. I was pointing out that objectifying others is a human trait, it happens in everyday life all the time including when we’re at the supermarket.
And, I should say to all the shop assistants at the supermarket: you do an excellent job and thank you for doing it.
As all news articles will seek out an opposing opinion in the name of “balance”, this article features quotes from Sheila Jeffreys who is a professor of Political Science at the University of Melbourne. Prof. Jeffreys is an anti-porn feminist in the mould of Andrea Dworkin and she has also written about transgender issues, much to the consternation of some in the trans community. She is also critical of BDSM practices and has advocated lesbian separatism.
Unfortunately, anti-porn feminism doesn’t seem able to accept the idea that feminist porn might exist or be a force for good. I think this is because it’s founded on the belief that all porn is inherently sexist, harmful and bad. The existence of good porn undermines the basic premise, therefore it must be dismissed.
Anti-porn feminists do this by claiming false consciousness (”feminist pornographers are just regurgitating the same sexist ideas because they are unthinking tools of the patriarchy”), fake marketing (”feminist porn is just a term invented by the mainstream porn industry to sell the same stuff”), or by simply denying that feminist or ethical porn even exists.
Sheila goes for the false consciousness idea right off the bat:
The ideas of the [feminist] filmmakers have been constructed by mainstream pornography, so they don’t come from somewhere completely different.
Firstly, how does she know where feminist filmmakers get their ideas?
Secondly, why would it be wrong to look at mainstream porn, get an idea and then work from there? A lot of us look at porn and make a checklist of what NOT to do. That to me is a positive thing. Perhaps her issue is with the very concept of depicting sex itself; perhaps she believes that any image or footage of people having sex is inherently wrong. Given that anti-porn feminism concerns itself with heterosexual porn, perhaps we’re back to the old Dworkinesque concept that all sex with men is rape and therefore any depiction of it is wrong.
I’m also wondering what “completely different” porn might look like. Because, in the end, sex is sex and there’s only so many ways you can depict it. I’d actually love to hear more about Prof. Jeffreys’ idea of what porn that comes from “somewhere completely different” would look like.
And the culture pornography creates is a culture of violence against women… it’s a culture in which women are shouted at in the street, in which gang-bangs are ordinary in the Australian football league…
Cart before the horse. I actually think that the sexism of our culture sees some of its expression in porn and that’s the kind of porn I don’t like. But to say that porn is what causes footballers to be obnoxious rapists… um, no. Try harder, Homer.
Oh, but there’s feminist erotica. Oh, but there’s something else. And the fact is, thirty-five years on or whatever, I haven’t seen the something else that is completely different…
Again the call for something “completely different.” I’m fascinated as to how different porn needs to be before it meets the standards of Prof. Jeffreys. Poetry instead of dialogue? Unusual costumes? Disco lighting? No sex whatsoever?
I’d like Sheila Jeffreys to actually watch some feminist porn. Maybe not my films but I’m sure the work of Shine Louise Houston or Bren Ryder might be more to her taste. I’d really like to hear a refined critique as to what exactly is wrong with filming two consenting, happy lesbians having sex together and then watching it. (Or two straight people. Or three people. Or six trans guys, a hot gay man and their luscious female friend who has tied them all up and is making them pleasure her with their tongues… Um… what was I saying?)
It really is a shame that anti-porn feminism feels the need to decry feminist or positive or ethical porn. The argument is too black and white. Fact is, the feminist pornographers share some of the concerns of people like Sheila Jeffreys with regards to how porn is made and what it depicts. We should be having a sensible discussion about the whole thing. Instead, we’re denied and derided, dismissed as shills for the mainstream porn industry and excluded from the realm of “true” feminism. It’s no way forward and ultimately doesn’t help women.
For more info on pro-porn feminism, I recommend Violet Blue’s Our Porn, Ourselves site.
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Room 33 Director’s Cut
Monday, March 28th, 2011ROOM 33 - Director's cut from Erika Lust on Vimeo.
Erika Lust has released the more explicit director’s cut of her short film “Room 33″. It features some yummy boy-boy-girl sexytimes. Enjoy.
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I’ve Been Nominated For A Feminist Porn Award
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
I just realised that I haven’t actually blogged about the news: my short film Fucking Is The Only Prayer has been nominated for a 2011 Feminist Porn Award. I’m rather chuffed. I suspect it won’t win as it’s only short and there isn’t a short film category. But it’s nice to be listed.
I submitted For The Girls to be considered for a website award but it didn’t make the list. Ah well.
All the nominees are on this page. I haven’t seen many of the nominated films although all the usual names are there. I do recommend Erika Lust’s Life Love Lust and Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide To Female Orgasms.
Fucking Is The Only Prayer recently screened at Cinekink New York and the Painted Lips and Lolly Licks festival in Canada. It is my second erotic short film. My first, That’s What I Like, was also nominated for a Feminist Porn Award. Both are currently available in full at For The Girls.
You can see the trailer and more screenshots here along with information about the film itself.
I’ve made it using the pseudonym Louise Lush but I’m thinking that I might abandon that name and just be Ms Naughty. It will help prevent confusion in the future.
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Room 33 By Erika Lust
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011Room 33 Erika Lust from boolab on Vimeo.
Here is Room 33, a new sexy movie by Erika Lust (as written about in this post from a few days ago). It just looks luscious.
And what I really admire is the way Erika can tell her story with minimal dialogue or none at all; she’s really good at getting ideas and emotions across through framing, editing and good acting. That’s the wonderful thing: Erika is a very talented filmmaker who has decided that her subject is sex. She has a discerning eye for sets and situations and she shoots with quality equipment like the Canon 5D. She sets a very high bar for the rest of us. I know when I’m planning my next film, I’ll be thinking about how Erika has done hers.
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Erika Lust Has Been Very Busy
Monday, February 28th, 2011
MAKING OF HOT HOTEL
Uploaded by lustfilms. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.
Above is the “making of” video for Erika Lust’s latest short film Love Hotel which is her sequel to Handcuffs.
A can only feel jealous as to the circumstances behind this film. A new boutique hotel in Barcelona called Casa Camper decided to invite six Spanish directors to create short films set in their hotel. Erika was one of those directors – and they obviously didn’t mind that she wanted to make an erotic film.
I feel dizzy even thinking about that kind of freedom and that kind of acceptance. I need to go and live in Spain.
Anyway, it seems that Love Hotel features a hot MMF threesome. I’m keen to see the whole thing. In theory it was released on February 25 but I the Casa Camper TV site goes 404. I guess Erika will release her film on her own site soon enough.
In other Erika news, she’s due to begin filming her latest feature Six Female Voices very soon. In October last year she put out a call to women, asking for ideas about what to shoot. I’ll be fascinated to see the result.
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For The Girls Sample Galleries
Ms Naughty On Twitter- msnaughty: @girlonetrack I couldn't empathise with any of the women. It all just seemed to be about fashion so they lost me. But I see your point.
- msnaughty: @girlonetrack I gave up on Sex and the City after half an episode because it shitted me.
- msnaughty: RT @girlonetrack: Hold on, I've seen something PINK. OMG. *scream* Must now GOSSIP with my GIRLS over BRUNCH. SHOES!!! BUBBLY! PINK!! *h ...
- msnaughty: My short film I.M. In Love is showing in the Couplings program at @cinekink NY Friday night!
- msnaughty: RT @CineKink: Fri 8:45 / COUPLINGS is a hot mix of two-somes, three-somes and more-somes! http://t.co/1DQli10P
