You Should Pay for Your Porn
In the past few days, I have had some fascinating conversations about porn and sex work. I remember when I was little pornography was always very accessible, and it was always free. Things have not changed.
Growing up, I started questioning the ethicality of the free porn that is consumed and why it is worth it to do a little research on the studios producing the porn, and how host sites perpetuate racism and sexism within the industry.
Image by Taras Chernus
DOES ETHICAL PORN EXIST?
Yes, it does. However, as you can imagine, it is not free, because SEX WORK IS REAL WORK. No one offers services for free just for the fun of it.
Capitalism makes us look solely at the product at the low price, but it never makes us look into the production of such a product. This is true for fast fashion, just like it is valid for porn. The reality is: if something is free, you should look into the production.
Image by Dainis Graveris
As in most industries, many models in porn are exploited, underpaid or find themselves in very uncomfortable positions because the production company does not safeguard their wellbeing.
As Self puts it: “When you support the work of porn producers who prioritise the physical, emotional and financial health of the performers they work with, you make it more viable for other producers to do the same.”
We need to start looking at ourselves as consumers. My take is that watching free porn without knowing anything about the production company and nothing about the models, results in the objectification of those on the screen.
We watch, we get aroused and we close our laptop soon after. Nothing supports the work that the people have put into the making of that streamed snippet.
FINDING ETHICAL PORN
I can guarantee that there are many people out there creating quality sex content who are open about their production and will make you realise that paying for porn is a better idea.
For instance, XConfessions by Erika Lust provides ethical porn that features many categories to satisfy everyone’s secret fantasies: from menstruation to rituals to anal. The production of these videos ensures that the performers are in a safe sex environment where they are not pressured into doing anything they do not want to do.
As a queer person myself, I always found girl on girl sex far from real queer sexual experiences. It was catered to a male audience, rather than considering a female audience as well. Pink and White Productions produces queer porn made with the LGBTQ+ community in mind. The company is also open about sexual health and the way they pay their performers.
What is excellent is that Pink and White Productions “collaborate with performers to shoot based on how they’d like to be presented. Performers come up with the episode plot (to ad-lib a script, or skip straight to the sex), and negotiate boundaries to decide on mutually consensual actions prior to filming, informing the crew of what they would like to do.”
SO WHY PAY FOR YOUR PORN?
Paying for porn is also a way to finally break the stigma around sex and sex work. Instead of sneaking around opening porn websites that offer free content, be proud of supporting the ethical sex industry that values time, health and the quality of the work.
Porn can be a form of fine art too; after all, there is nothing more beautiful than the people enjoying their body or other people’s bodies.
There is a long way to go before sex work will be free of stigma, but you can start doing something right now. You can start paying for your porn and support industries and sex workers because sex work is real work.
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Written by Cloe Grampa