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Archive for the ‘Porn’ Category

This great video details The Bechdel Test, which is a way of measuring how mainstream movies treat women. To pass the test, a movie has to:

(1) have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man.

The test first appeared in 1985 in Alison Bechdel’s comic Dykes to Watch Out For.

This site has a growing list of films that do pass the test. Films from 2010 include: Toy Story 3, Sex and the City 2 and, perhaps surprisingly, The Karate Kid. What’s more interesting is applying the test to your favourite movies. It makes you realise that the male point of view has become so normalised that we’re often blind to the marginalisation of women in films. Worse still, this whole attitude seems to be entrenched in Hollywood and is actually taught in film schools.

The idea of applying the Bechdel Test to porn films seems almost ludicrous; porn films are usually about one or more women “discussing” a man, nice and hard. Still, it’s another useful way of revealing just how male-oriented most porn can be.

via Erika Lust.

In yet another example of their opaque censorship policies, Facebook has removed Violet Blue’s Our Porn, Ourselves page, even though it had over 3000 members and was obsessively policed by Violet. It seems the anti-porn zealots may have been behind it. Read more about it over at Violet’s blog.

Like other member’s of that group, I’m reposting Violet’s letter to Facebook, questioning the page removal. A shit storm is about to get started, folks. Will be interesting to see how FB reacts.

Hello,

I’m Violet Blue: bestselling and award-winning author, and educator who speaks from UCSF and UC Berkley (Boalt) to Google Inc. Tech Talks on my field of expertise — exactly what this Facebook group page was about.

My page did not violate any of the reasons stated for deletion. It was under constant attack by people who disagreed with our point of view, and constantly reported our posts and images, even though we were very careful not to violate your Terms. May I find out why the page was removed? It is my utmost priority to follow and uphold Facebook community rules and standards. With national media attention to the page, questions will be raised and I hope to be able to furnish answers. Especially with a higher minded page of over 3000 members seeking community and discussion around a topic that did not target any group, threaten anyone, or link/depict/suggest inappropriate content. In fact, I policed the posts hourly for spam and attacks on our members, of which there were many. We never posted obscenity in links or images, though innocent user photos seemed to be increasingly mysteriously removed.

I feel that our page was targeted, and that we did nothing to violate the community standards of Facebook, which we sought to uphold. Any help to find out why this has happened would be deeply appreciated. I do not want to be talking to press about this in the next few days and be left guessing. We sought a safe place to discuss sex culture in media, and that is all.

I sincerely hope we can resolve this. Salon and Examiner wrote about our page as a signifier of community organization around women’s empowerment, calling it a new movement for women’s rights. I could tell we were under attack by those who violently opposed our discussions and representation as a community intersection for enriched discussions about important women’s rights issues. This development is confusing and saddening.

This fostering of group community around female empowerment and the page topic stems from my work as a talkshow guest (Oprah), international conference speaker, and columnist for various national and international magazines and publications (Oprah Magazine, Forbes.com, MacLife, etc) and media pundit (Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Esquire, Redbook, Wired, etc).

Please help me understand what I can tell media outlets asking about this, and the over 3K member we had in the page group.

Sincere thanks,
Violet Blue

I remember when I stopped reading Cosmopolitan in my first year of university. It was one of the best things I ever did. The endless fashion, diets and super-skinny models always left me feeling bad about myself so I decided that it would be best if I just disengaged from that aspect of “women’s culture.”

It’s 20 years on and Cosmo hasn’t changed. Still, it’s a hugely popular magazine that many women do enjoy and when they come up with a sex survey, I can’t help but be a little curious. If you can get past the very first question which reveals that absolutely none of the respondents identified as gay, there’s some interesting titbits in there.

Naturally I leapt on this statistic:

Have you ever watched porn?
37% said yes, I love it
23% said yes, but only with a boyfriend
15% said yes, once – but I didn’t like it
14% said no, but I’d be open to it
8% said no, I hate the idea.
3% said no, because it’s exploitative

That’s statistically larger than a lot of other surveys suggest. The average figure seems to be 30% (a la Nielsen Netratings) but UK Cosmo women are keener on their porn – whether enjoying it by themselves or using it as a tool within their sexual relationship. That’s 60% right there. Add the other 14% who didn’t have a problem with the idea and you’re pretty much saying that 75% of Cosmo readers are OK with porn. Quite the impressive statistic.

Also, I think I’ll gloat a bit that not a lot of Cosmo chicks are into Dworkinesque anti-porn feminism – a measly 3%. Seems the Stop Porn Coalition have a long way to go to win over your average woman into their “all porn is bad” campaign.

OK, so this was an online self-selected survey done by a commercial women’s magazine. The page doesn’t say exactly how many women did the survey (beyond “thousands”) or what the demographics were, so it’s not the most scientific bit of research out there. Nonetheless, if we consider the sheer numbers of women who do read Cosmopolitan, it certainly suggests that more and more women are openly enjoying porn.

Just to give an idea of some of the other trends, based on what was most popular:
Your average Cosmo woman has sex 2-3 times a week in the missionary position, doesn’t have an orgasm as often as she would like and rarely has an orgasm from penetrative sex alone (oral sex or manual stimulation is better). She will still fake orgasms occasionally, will rarely have sex on the first date and prefers men who make her laugh.

Want to talk about porn or your kinky lifestyles? An Australian documentary is looking into unusual sexual relationships. Here’s the info:

TV production looking for women to talk about their experience with Porn.

A Sydney-based television company is producing a documentary about different types of relationships and sexual practices. We’ll be profiling a diverse range of sexual choices, including celibacy, swinging, porn, polyamory and hopefully many more. Largely interview-based, the series will be an intimate and respectful look at what goes on behind the closed doors of the average Australian home.

We’re looking for people who want to share their stories with us. In some cases we may consider an anonymous interview. People don’t need to be Sydney-based to participate.

If you are interested in being involved or want to find out more please contact Jamie at jfoxx AT sstar.com.au

The time is short – if you want to be involved, talk to them very soon!

I want to say thanks to Violet Blue for working her butt off over the last couple of days, organising a new pro-porn group that she’s called Our Porn, Ourselves.

Violet was spurred into action by news of an anti-porn conference to be held in Boston by the Stop Porn Coalition, an organisation that calls itself feminist but in fact has hidden fundamentalist Christian roots. This “conference” is long on speakers who condemn porn but pretty short on alternative views or real science. They’re happily pushing the “porn addiction” paradigm which is, as I’ve previously said, bullshit.

Also this group were happy to make use of extreme hardcore images in their presentations without checking the age of viewers or obtaining 2257 records. Most of the images were taken from online sites without attribution. I recommend you read Violet’s article from 2008 for more information about this organisation.

I’m completely in support of Violet’s efforts to counteract the “Feminists Against Porn” (FAP) argument. Too much of it is based on dodgy science, hysteria and a real misunderstanding of sex and gender relations. Throw in a dash of religious fundamentalism and you have a dangerous ideology. And I think one of the worst effects of their Chicken Little crap is that this stuff gets in the way of real discussion about porn and what it means.

I call myself a feminist and I like porn. And yet I do have problems with a lot of the porn out there. I think we need to be talking about it and thinking about how to make porn better without it turning into a “them versus us” war. Unfortunately, the way this conference is framed, there’s no room for questioning the anti-porn line.

This new movement is a way for sex positive women to stand up and tell that world that not all feminists accept the Dworkinesque arguments pushed by these puritans. And I think it will also give us an opportunity to start a real dialogue about what we really want from porn.

So I’m standing behind Our Porn, Ourselves and For The Girls is sponsoring the film competition.

Please also check out Violet’s Facebook page for the movement (at least, until FB gets puritanical and takes it down).

You might also want to read a few of my previous posts about porn, feminism and “porn addiction”
Naomi Wolf talks porn… again
This load of guilt and shame brought to you by Dirty Girls Ministries

Here’s the little image I made for the campaign:

A couple of years ago I expressed disappointment that Naomi Wolf had come out and declared “modesty” in the form of religious veiling to be feminist. Before that I was sick of her endlessly recycled article on porn.

Now she’s touring Australia and is once again talking porn, this time in an interview in the Sydney Morning Herald. I waded in, begrudgingly and emerged with mixed feelings about what she had to say.

Put briefly, Naomi Wolf still thinks porn is bad, mmmkay. Her reason for this is that “it’s definitely affecting young women and men’s sexual development deeply, deeply, deeply.” She argues that seeing porn from an early age is changing the way young people have sex and that it is not encouraging women to embrace their sexuality properly. She bases this mainly on anecdotal evidence, tales of female students fronting up to doctor’s offices with anal fissures after a first date. She says: “Young women do compare themselves to pornography and they do have porn running in their heads when they’re in sexual situations. I’m not a prude, but I don’t think that’s good for their sexual confidence or confidence in their bodies.”

I’m conflicted about these kinds of statements because I do acknowledge the concern there. Mainstream porn can send a lot of negative messages about body image and sexuality and we need to be talking to young people about it.

What I’m uncertain about is whether all these frightening anecdotal stories of girls being fucked over by ignorant porn-loving guys are true on a large scale. Are young people really imitating what they see in porn? Have anal and facials really become de-rigeur? Or are today’s young people actually more sex-, tech- and porn-savvy than that? Where’s the actual research?

One of the things that’s never mentioned during these “teens look at porn!” panics is the idea that, alongside all that easy access to porn is a simultaneous easy access to information. Girls in my day (and Naomi’s) weren’t able to find porn within a few keystrokes but we also weren’t really able to easily find information about sex. Cosmo “101 positions” articles and Dolly sex advice columns were about the best we could do.

Now things are different. Your average teen can easily look up information on any aspect of sex (type “sex advice into Google”). There is a vast amount of sexual information available on the internet, including sites like Go Ask Alice and Scarleteen that are specifically focused on young people. Add to that the many feminist sites discussing porn and sexuality and even sites like Make Love Not Porn which seeks to counter misconceptions about sex and porn.

So while I’m happy to acknowledge that it’s a problem if teens are using porn as sex education, I’m wondering if they’re really the startled ingenues everyone assumes them to be.

And I guess the question is: if we are worried about how young people use porn, what’s the response? I’m all for education and communication, talking about sex and the way that sex is depicted in porn and in society as a whole. Naomi’s solution, unfortunately, is abstinence:

Research shows that pornography desensitises; if you consume it a lot, you need more or more extreme or more and more intense images in order to get the same sensations over time… The best thing we can do is try to persuade young women and men that it’s not good for their sex lives, it’s not good for their self-confidence, and they’ll have better sex if they choose not to let this stuff shape their sense of sexuality.

My question is: what research? Are we talking the same research done by those earnest Christians who are out to prove that porn is “addictive”? Because their philosophical position and Naomi’s end up in a similar place: Porn is bad, mmmkay. (See my previous post on Dirty Girls Ministries to see just how similar their arguments can get.)

Naomi was asked about where non-mainstream and queer porn fits in. Interestingly, she acknowledges that some porn can be liberating and self-affirming but then she quickly skirts around the issue, returning to her main argument that it is desensitising. It’s not surprising she brushes past the topic because I think it’s one of the great sticking points in her case.

There are plenty of people who are enjoying non-mainstream porn and discovering new aspects of their sexuality through erotic imagery and writing. Porn can revive relationships and help women to orgasm for the first time. It can showcase different sexualities, different body types, different techniques and different experiences and this can be very reassuring to see. Porn like the films of Tony Comstock can also affirm the beauty of the sex act and the way it expresses love and intimacy. I simply can’t accept that fact that porn is, in essence, a completely negative thing that will always impact badly on a person’s sexuality. This assertion is just not true.

It really keeps coming back to the idea that porn is this giant, heterogeneous thing, something that only ever shows hetero sex where the woman is submissive or abused. Sure, there’s far too much of that out there and we do need to be talking about it and discussing its merits or lack thereof. But to dismiss the whole idea of porn as automatically damaging is far too simplistic an argument.

I’ve long considered the idea of “porn addiction” to be bullshit. Now I’ve got another example of just how bullshit it is.

Dirty Girls Ministries (I’m not going to link to them) is a new website created by evangelical Christian group the Westside Family Church. It aims to “help women struggling with pornography addiction” through “confession, prayer support, resources for accountability and many other tools.”

Yes folks, the loony Christians have discovered porn for women and they’re determined to put a stop to it. A Focus On The Family website, promoting Dirty Girls, reported with horror that: “Porn producers are actually producing this erotica for women. It’s more based on relationships, more storylines, things like that.”

Dirty Girls Ministries offers a forum for women to confess their “addiction”, a blog that talks an awful lot about Jeeezus, a filtering program to “fight internet temptation” and podcasts. And, surprise surprise, there’s a link to a “30 day purity program”, an online workshop available for the low low price of $99. Yes folks, you too can be pure, but only if you’re prepared to pay for it.

As you click through the site you’re constantly bombarded by the words “sin”, “dirty”, “pure”, “clean”. This site declares looking at porn to be adultery, it’s absolute sin that you must turn away from and, of course, embrace the church instead. Preferably with your wallet open. Dirty Girls Ministries offers to replace your porn “addiction” with a shitload of guilt and shame. Check out this blog post:

I will always be dirty. In reality. My cleanliness has NOTHING to do with what I watch or don’t watch. It has everything to do with the condition of my heart. My heart, when left on its own, will drift back to dirty.

Yes, I won’t view pornography again and I won’t have an extramarital affair, either emotional or physical, but whether or not I’m a DIRTY GIRL has less to do with what do and more to do with what direction I face my heart.

If my life is faced toward the Cross, if that is where I truly place my eyes, then the unkemptness of the world has less of a hold on my heart. I will desire good things and the ick of immorality sicken my stomach.

This kind of guilt trip is pretty much a modus operandi for many religions. If they can make you feel bad about natural human desires and needs, then you’ll think the church is your only hope for redemption.

Here are the facts: Addiction is a physical condition, a medical diagnosis. It’s the body’s response to certain chemicals. Nicotine, alcohol and drugs create addictions. Porn doesn’t.

Porn offers arousal and sexual fantasy. It usually results in masturbation or sex. If a person enjoys that response, there is nothing wrong with that. It is perfectly natural for a human being to enjoy sex and to want more of it. That’s what we’re biologically designed to do. There is nothing sinful or shameful about it.

Of course, some people can develop an obsession or compulsion, which is entirely different to addiction. If someone spends too much time with porn and it puts their life out of balance, then there’s a problem. But it’s not the porn that’s the cause, it’s that person’s obsessive personality.

Fact is, plenty of people can look at porn, enjoy it and then get on with their life. They can happily make use of it as a tool in their sex lives, just like a vibrator. And then it’s put away and done with. Most people are also able to make critical judgements about what they’re watching, decide if it’s good or bad, and make decisions about where porn belongs in their life.

There are some people, however, who can’t do this thanks to their obsessive personalities. Those people should be seeing qualified counsellors to get their life back together. They absolutely should NOT be handed over to religious nutjobs who make the situation worse by inculculating the victim with further guilt and shame… and then extract cash for the privilege.

This is why the regular use of the term “porn addiction” (and “sex addiction”) is so troubling. It’s actually part of the religious right’s wider anti-sex agenda. They’re opposed to porn and they will use any devious means necessary to get rid of it. The usual arguments about “sin” started to fall on deaf ears so they began to couch it in medical terms, in an attempt to garner support for bans.

Thus you end up with Judith Reisman telling the US senate that porn produces poisonous “erototoxins” that damage the brain. According to Wikipedia, Reisman defined “erototoxins” as being the natural chemicals and hormones testosterone, adrenaline, oxytocin, glucose, dopamine, serotonin, and phenylethylamine.

That’s right. These people actually think testosterone and the pleasure-producing chemicals serotonin and oxytocin are harmful. They also push the idea that masturbation is sinful and addictive because, according to the X3pure website: “Studies have shown that ninety-nine percent of all masturbation involves lust and mental fantasy*, which disconnects you from real relationships with real people. Despite these difficulties, masturbation can be conquered. If your desire is to change, God can heal and bring restoration.”

And these fundamentalists will keep pushing their message that all porn and pleasure is dangerous because it is ultimately gets more people through the doors of their church and paying 10% tithes into the church coffers.

Unfortunately, Dirty Girls Ministries was given a publicity boost this week thanks to a credulous New York Times article about it. The “journalist” John Leland didn’t bother to interview any actual psychologists or skeptics for opposing viewsand the NYT was perfectly happy to include links to several religious anti-porn organisations.

I’ve said it before in this blog: I think today’s mainstream porn is extremely problematic and it is well worth discussing its meaning in our society. But the fact remains that it is not addictive. And if the media continues to push this religiously-defined way of thinking about porn, the results will ultimately be far more harmful than any scare campaign the churches can think up.

For a different and more humourous perspective on the religious idea of “porn addiction” please visit my site ExExExChurch.

* What does the other 1% involve?

This, my friends, is the full cover of Petra Joy’s new DVD Her Porn 2 which has been unleashed onto the world.

Aside from the general fabulousness of this movie, which includes short films from famous directors such as Candida Royalle, Annie Sprinkle, Shine Louise Houston and Maria Beatty, it also includes my film That’s What I Like!

Yes folks, it’s finally on DVD, along with the other finalists from the Petra Joy Awards. So this must mean I’m a REAL pornographer now. 10 years online and a hugely successful paysite doesn’t count. I’m now on a hard copy digital format so I must be real.

Here’s the official blurb:

This compilation celebrates the best porn made by women for women: from sensational porn classics by pioneering directors to the latest erotic flicks by new female directors from around the world.

HER PORN seduces with nearly three hours of sensual viewing pleasure.

What do women want in sex and porn? HER PORN has the answer. We hope you will enjoy the many different flavours of female-made porn – from vanilla to kinky, straight to queer and soft to hard.

The film is in the process of being distributed and I can’t really name any online places to buy it beyond the European store Openerotik.com. And of course, you can order through Petra’s site.

I’ll do another post soon with the trailer for the film, plus a bit more information. But for now, just enjoy the cover. Yes. That’s Mia and Andy right underneath the big red letters. Ooh, I feel all funny.

Sexy genderqueer porn star Jiz Lee has started a special side project for charity called Karma Pervs. The idea is that each month she’ll be offering an exclusive photoset of herself plus a number of extras to members.

She’ll then use the money raised for worthy causes, such as the Stop AIDS Project. The price is $7.99 for a month. Because it’s new you won’t get many back issues for that money, but think of it as a donation with benefits. Here’s a peek at the April photo shoot.

I’m an unabashed fan of Jiz Lee. She’s smart, articulate and very sexy, the perfect lesbian for any straight girl’s “conversion” fantasy. Last night I saw her in Madison Young’s The Thin Line Between Art And Sex. Her sex scene is amazing and the film also features a lovely interview with her. Did you know she’s originally from Hawaii and used to do hula dancing?

You’ll find out more about Jiz on her official site.

On Saturday the 10th in Toronto, Good For Her announced the winners of the 2010 Feminist Porn Awards. They are:

Best Bi Movie – Fluid: Men Redefining Sexuality | Madison Young | Reel Queer Productions
Hottest Dyke Movie and Hottest Kink Movie| River Rock Women`s Prison | Kathryn Annelle | Triangle Films
Most Deliciously Diverse Cast | Dangerous Curves | Carlos Batts | HeartCore Films
Hottest Feature Film | The Band | Anna Brownfield | Hungry Films
Most Tantalizing Trans Film | Speakeasy | Courtney Trouble| Reel Queer Productions
Sexiest Short | Handcuffs | Erika Lust | Lust Films
TheSmutty Schoolteacher Award for Sex Education | Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men | Tristan Taormino | Vivid Ed and Smart Ass Productions
Best Direction | Des Jours Plus Belles Que La Nuit | Jennifer Lyon Bell & Murielle Scherre | Blue Artichoke Films + La Fille’ D’O
Sexiest Straight Movie | The Deviant | Nica Noelle | Sweet Sinner Video
Good Releasing Emerging Filmmaker Award | Tobi Hill-Meyer
Heartthrob of the Year | April Flores
The Boundary Breaker | Jiz Lee
The Visionary | Shine Louise Houston
The Trailblazer | Tristan Taormino
Hottest Website: Rubysdiary.com

Honorary mentions
Dirty Diaries: 12 Shorts of Feminist Porn
Women Love Porn
Sensual Massage for Pregnancy
Cocksucker

Congratulations to all the winners. You’ll find more info about them and their films on the GFH website.

For The Girls was nominated for Best Website but I’m not really surprised we didn’t win. Maybe when this bastard of a new member’s area is done and we are finally able to forge ahead with all our plans for new content… next year we’ll get the gong. And even then if we don’t, not to worry. To me, seven years of amazing success and happy members is reward enough.

Edit 13th April: Here’s a couple of news stories:
The New Pornographers – Torontoist
San Francisco’s 2010 FPA Winners – The Examiner
Beyond that, there wasn’t much press coverage.

You may have noticed that my blog was kinda dead for a week. That’s because I’d tripped off to Melbourne to attend the Global Atheist Conference.

I wasn’t going to write about it on this blog. After all, it should be about porn, right? And I don’t want to alienate any of my readers who may be religious in their own way. But I feel the need to have a bit of a ramble about myself and what I experienced at the convention because it touches on the two things that define this blog: feminism and porn.

As a teenager I was a Christian but we never went to church. My family were very liberal in their beliefs and we didn’t go in for all the hymn-singing and praying stuff. As the years went by I whittled down my idea of religion into a fairly nebulous blob of “spirituality”. I thought that I’d probably go to heaven when I died because I was nice and surely God would see that. Beyond that, I didn’t think about it much. I’d read my bible, knew a lot of it was horribly violent and nonsensical but figured I liked the philosophy of Jesus. He was a good guy, like Ghandi. Still, I had serious problems with his followers and their idea of morality, particularly sexual morality.

It all changed when I read the God Delusion last year. I couldn’t fault the argument of Richard Dawkins against the existence of God/gods. I realised that I was actually an atheist but I hadn’t really examined my beliefs properly up until that point. It was confronting to realise that yes, I was going to die and that would be the end of me. At the same time, that realisation is rather freeing. I’ve got one life, I need to make the best of it. When I die, my non-existence will be exactly the same as it was before I was born.

SO… what’s this got to do with porn and feminism?

Fact is, religion is a major factor in the way we approach sex and gender. Unfortunately, the impact of religion on sexuality has been largely negative. The Christian/Jewish/Muslim view of sex as being sinful and dirty informs how we construct our own sexuality; it shapes what we find to be sexy. The idea of women as either Madonnas or whores is reflected in porn’s treatment of women.

You see the results in the very language of porn: how women are sluts and whores, how porn titles often use the words sinful, secret, dirty, filthy. I’ve seen people say that sex is best when it’s dirty. There’s so much guilt and shame surrounding the act that we rope in these emotions and fetishize them. The result is sexual expression that is often problematic, sexist, unrealistic and demeaning.

On top of that, so much of the opposition to porn comes from religious people and is informed by a religious morality that dictates a very narrow view of sexuality: that monogomy is the only acceptable form of relationship; that homosexuality is wrong; that “promiscuity” is sinful; that certain sex acts such as anal sex are evil; that masturbation is harmful. The push to label all porn as “addictive” has its roots in the desire of some religious people to control the sex lives of others.

Similarly, I find that the lives of women the world over are negatively affected by religion. All the monotheistic religions, Hinduism and even some strands of Buddhism teach that women are inferior. The entire basis of Islam seems to rest on the idea that men cannot control their sexual desires but it is women who are responsible for the sexual behaviour of men. Across the world oppression, violence and rape are regularly perpetrated against women in the name of God.

One of the best things about the atheist convention was that it was openly feminist. There was no animosity towards the concept of feminism whatsoever. The equality of men and women was accepted as self evident by everyone there. It occurred to me that I’ve rarely felt so comfortable with expressing feminist ideas. There was no animosity, no nervousness from the guys, no hesitant expressions of “I’m not a feminist but…” It was all relaxed and intelligent. Imagine how far we could get if all discourses on feminism were like that?

One of the highlights for me was the speech by Bangladeshi author and feminist Taslima Nasrin who is currently in exile from her home country and under the threat of several fatwas from Islamic fundamentalists. She was forced out of India in 2007 because she dared to write an article criticizing the burka and the way women are treated by Islam. She said: “Religion is made for the pleasure and comfort of men. I don’t know why any woman would subscribe to it.” For her, there is no compromise between Islam and feminism. She believes that a woman who wears the veil cannot call herself a feminist because she hasn’t properly analysed the religion that seeks to oppress her. This is from a woman who was brought up as a Muslim.

As she described the pain of living in exile and the constant fear of assassination, I blinked back tears. The audience gave her a standing ovation. Here is what feminism is really about, I thought. Here is a woman risking death in order to speak her mind, speaking out against women’s oppression.

And then I thought, I’m a feminist because I’m an atheist and I’m an atheist because I’m a feminist.

At the convention, we discussed a lot of things: philosophy, ethics, evolutionary biology, science and politics. While there was a huge diversity of opinion on show, one thing we all agreed on is the idea of a secular society. Church and state need to be separate. Political action should be based on evidence and reason, not personal belief.

Everyone has the right to their own religion (or lack thereof) but they should keep it to themselves. When we start telling each other how to behave according to religious beliefs, conflict and oppression are the inevitable result.

Every day I see examples of the way that religion is exerting too much influence on our society and causing harm. The bans on gay marriage, the growth of abstinence-based sex education in the US, the Catholic church’s sex abuse scandals, the Pope saying that condoms are not the answer to AIDS, the plan to censor the internet in Australia, the ongoing oppression of women in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan and Iran, the widespread practice of female genital mutilation, the attacks on reproductive choice and the right to abortion for women, the tax-free status given to churches so they can prosletyse, the death threats against those who speak out against Islam. The murder of Dr Tiller. The whole Arab/Israeli conflict. 9/11… I could go on.

Because I oppose these things, I’m an atheist. And it’s part of my larger philosophy, one that includes feminism and what the psychologists stupidly call “erotophilia” – an enjoyment of sex without shame. I’m also a humanist; I believe in a secular society, freedom of speech and universal human rights.

I hope that there are religious people out there who also believe in these things and will stand up for them. In that we have lots of common ground.

I hope this post hasn’t put off any of my readers; I realise this is one of those issues that can be confronting and I certainly didn’t want to upset anyone with it. Rather, it’s simply a statement of where I’m at right now, and why I felt it important to attend that convention.

I think that the path to atheism is a very personal thing; you can’t really “convert” people to this way of thinking. They have to be ready to go there themselves. There’s no dazzling miracles on display, no mystical experiences to be had. Only the wonder of the physical universe and life on Earth and a sense of amazement at the improbable fact of your own existence.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled porn.

I’m a little late with this news: British porn film director Anna Span, now going by her real name of Anna Arrowsmith, is running for parliament at the upcoming British elections, due to be held in May. Anna is standing as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats party in her home electorate of Gravesend.

It’s perhaps not surprising that the mainstream media have leapt on the story with a vengeance. A few of the articles reporting her candidacy:
Would-be MP: I’m proud of my porn films – Independent
Porn career? It won’t worry my collegues says Anna Arrowsmith – Times Online
Sex movie boss Anna Arrowsmith porn-again Lib Dem – The Mirror
Nick Clegg defends former porn director Anna Arrowsmith – The Guardian

Anna has had her own say here:
Why I’ve gone from porn to politics – Anna’s piece in the Guardian
The comments are pretty sarcastic, unfortunately.

I met Anna in Berlin last year and have reviewed several of her films. While they’re not necessarily my thing, I’ve long considered Anna to be a pioneer of feminist porn and worth supporting. Her fight against the UK classification board over female ejaculation showed her determination to stand up for women’s rights.

I think she’s going to face a baptism of fire by putting herself out there like this; she’s very brave. I applaud her tenacity and determination to follow through with her beliefs and I hope she does well. Who knows, maybe she’ll get in and show the conservatives in the UK that not everyone is as uptight about sex as they are.

I’m now wondering… is this it for Anna Span the porn director and Easy on the Eye? Anna has started a new line called “Women Love Porn” which features other directors. Perhaps she’s settling into the background now.

If you’ve seen any porn in the last 25 years, you’ve probably encountered adult legend Nina Hartley. Nina has starred in countless porn films and created her famous line of instructional videos.

She’s due to give a talk at SXSW on the 15th March about sex and social networking. The offficial blurb says she’ll be “discussing how the web has been both a blessing and a curse for industry players and how that’s now changing thanks to social networking technology.”

Nina is also about to launch her own social networking site called SexWise, an online space for discussions about all aspects of sex and sexuality (but one that won’t have porn on it).

Ahead of all this, Nina is giving interviews. And voila, I’m pleased to present a quick five minute encounter with La Nina just to whet your appetite.

You’re part of a panel at SXSW talking about sex and social networking. Why has this topic got you excited?

Sex education and promoting adult conversations about sex and sexuality is what my whole career has been about. Social media is just the newest, and potentially the most effective, way to do this. Only those who want to participate are included and even if I don’t have an answer to a particular question, the odds are good that one of the other people in the conversation will.

What possibilities to do you see for the future of social networking and human relationships?

Social media is so new I don’t think we’ve started to scratch the surface of what’s possible. I can have a conversation with someone half way around the world, in real time, about anything at all. This is amazing on the face of it. We can grow our circle of friends, even those who live on other continents. It seems like old-fashioned pen pals on steroids, since we can communicate with so many more people at one time, so quickly. No more waiting for that letter from Peru or Scotland to arrive in the mailbox!

The downside, of course, is how easy it is to misrepresent oneself in an online forum, or to lie outright. This can lead to a lot of hurt feelings. If one is looking for romance, in the end we’ll still have to meet face to face and be able to navigate that platform.

You’re a legend in the porn industry and something of a fairy godmother to the new wave of alternative and feminist erotica. Did you ever expect to last so long in adult? What’s your secret?

Actually, I did. My secret is that I’m here for more than just the party. I got into adult entertainment for many reasons, not the least of which was to get my message about sex, sexuality and sexual expression out into the world. I’m a nurse, as well, so I’m here to set an example of healthy sexuality, as well as to help others find their best sexual place/expression. I act as an advocate to those who aren’t at liberty to be as out about their sexuality as I am. If I had been here only for the attention or the money I’d have burned out long ago. I’m also exceptionally well-suited psychologically for a career in sex work, as it happens. I’m bisexual, non-monogamous, kinky, exhibitionistic and enjoy sex without having to be in love. Adult entertainment is NOT for everyone, but it is for me.

What are your plans for the future?

To continue advocating for sexual literacy and sexual freedom for all adults. To take the conversation about sex, sexuality and sexual expression to a wider audience. To do stand up about sex, sexuality and sexual expression (believe me, sex is also funny as hell). I’d like to go on TV and talk to the likes of Joy Behar, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, the women of The View. I want to continue speaking to colleges and universities about sex and sexuality and sexual expression. I want to engage as many people as are interested in the conversation to join it in my new community, SexWise, which is a safe place to discuss all aspects of consensual adult activity.

In short, I’ll be doing in the future what I’ve been doing for the past 26 years. I’ll just be taking it to a wider audience.
**

Thanks to Nina for her time!

Pic is from Nina’s Facebook page.

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.

Vice blog has some fascinatingg interviews with four of the main stars of the new wave of authentic lesbian porn – Dylan Ryan, Syd Blakovich, Madison Young and Jiz Lee. These women dish the dirt on what it’s really like to be a porn star, share anecdotes about bodily fluid mishaps and also give their views of feminist porn. Worth reading.

Here’s some quotes from Jiz Lee:

So you’re sincerely turned on when you’re working.
Yes, and I wouldn’t do it any other way. Being turned on and having a good time filming is one of the [major] reasons I do what I do. I also do it consciously knowing that I represent queer homo hapa faggy soft-butch dykes…

Even down to aesthetics like hair–I have hair, and I like the way it looks. Every now and then I’ll shave it ’cause I want to play, not because that’s the way beauty has to be. I’d say “Fuck The Man” but lots of straight dudes dig my work and my hairy asshole. I have words for them: All my pubes are my feelers, and the hair around my asshole is my wizard. And it is very, very wise. Some folks say that “disco bush” is back in style. Mine is “disco gutter.”