Watching porn provides viewers with an unintentional high that lasts for hours – this is because watching releases dopamine, the „feel good” chemical in their brains.
Researchers have also noted that those who watch porn are more likely to want to rape women. This could be because those who view such content may hold misogynist views about sexuality and have preexisting misogynist views about who should mate and when.
Ethical Porn
Ethical porn is a term commonly used to refer to pornographic works that emphasize sexual pleasure as an experience rather than as physical act. Ethical porn rejects male gaze in favor of representing different body sizes, races, ages, abilities and sexualities portrayed onscreen.
Ethical porn is seen by many feminists as an opportunity to redefine and reclaim pleasure by breaking free of traditional conceptions of what sex should look like and by centering people of color, LGBTQIA individuals and those with disabilities.
Although „ethical production” and its definition can be difficult to pin down, one thing remains true: any act of producing porn must be conducted fairly and with consent of all involved. This is particularly essential when working with performers who may lack experience performing sexually-explicit material.
Ethical porn requires that, in addition to paying performers fairly, all members of the production team – including performers – remain safe during filming sessions and their personal needs met at all times. This is crucial as performance industries often make women, nonbinary people and trans men feel unsafe or inaccessible when trying to participate on equal terms with their cisgender counterparts.
Ethical porn is defined by its creation with enthusiastic consent of everyone involved, including actors, actresses, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors and any other key staff.
Consent is often an issue on mainstream porn shows that is difficult to resolve. Sometimes it can be hard to discern if an actor or actress has given their approval; furthermore, last-minute script changes can sometimes cause tension on set.
While it’s essential for performers to express their needs and desires clearly, audiences also deserve their consent respected. Therefore, before viewing content provided by an actor or actress it’s often beneficial to verify whether they have submitted a video interview indicating this consent.
Although it’s impossible to know with absolute certainty whether all content produced with consent of all performers, ethical porn generally has an excellent record on this front. A number of websites and companies have led this charge, such as Lust Cinema productions who has implemented an extensive duty of care process with all performers as well as on-set intimacy coordinators who ensure all actors remain safe during shoots.
Mainstream Porn
Mainstream porn is defined as productions created and distributed by large production companies that appeal to most viewers of porn. It typically features sexual scenes that appeal to most of those watching, and can easily be distinguished from independent porn which typically features sexual practices that do not resonate with mainstream society.
Feminist porn is defined as content that presents an alternative view of sexuality and culture from a feminist viewpoint. It brings sex-positive people together through compelling films.
Feminist porn is distinct from mainstream porn in that it addresses ethical values and exploitative practices, providing performers with fair pay, communication channels, safety precautions, and consent forms. Feminist porn also typically emphasizes alternative body types, non-binary sexualities and visions of queer/straight sexual activism.
Sexuality-themed films present their own set of ethical challenges and problems. At times, film creators may exploit performers or filmmakers working under difficult or unsafe conditions.
„Deepfakes,” videos created with artificial intelligence-generated imagery that have become more accessible, cheaper, and easier to use — are another major problem facing society today. Many popular porn sites host these videos that are regularly uploaded.
These videos are illegal but also a massive moneymaker for websites hosting them. Every month, around 1000 deepfake videos are uploaded onto porn websites; even if these were to be removed permanently, their profits would remain.
However, there is an effective way to combat such videos: only watching content produced ethically.
Ethical porn aims to produce erotica that realistically portrays our fantasies of sexual encounter, so viewers can still enjoy watching. You’ll still experience sexual stimulation and self-discovery while discovering kinks you might never have before in a safe, respectful setting.
If you want to discover more ethical porn, take a look at the Feminist Porn Awards. Established ten years ago to address gender issues within porn, these awards provide valuable information about what ethical content looks like and how to ensure its production ethically.
Ethical Adult Films
Ethical adult films provide a safe, enjoyable alternative to mainstream pornographie. Their performers are treated respectfully, given safe working conditions and paid fairly. Ethical films also promote consent, pleasure and diversity while encouraging healthy human relationships.
These movies were made as an alternative to mainstream porn, which often objectifies women, exploits minorities and portrays inauthentic representations of pleasure and sex. Their producers strive to create an environment which is safe and empowering for actors while representing their identities accurately.
Prioritize the health and wellbeing of their cast and crew by providing ample food, rest, and treatment equally. They do not force performers into performing sexual acts against their wishes and ensure they have input into production of scenes they are involved with.
Most ethical content companies also require customers to pay in order to gain access, as they value their workers and aim to ensure everyone involved in producing films receives fair wages and working conditions. It is essential that these sites remain transparent about their practices and values by clearly displaying these on their websites.
According to Sarah Melancon, PhD – a sociologist, clinical sexologist, and resident expert at The Sex Toy Collective – these production companies strive for fair wages, bodily autonomy, communication, and consent among their workers as well as eliminating exploitation and trafficking practices prevalent within adult industries.
These producers tend to be female, meaning that they tend to take an approach more favorable towards female sex than mainstream porn can, which often favors male sexuality and can result in typecasting of actors. Queer individuals should find this helpful.
These films often focus on sex and pleasure, making them generally considered feminist. These movies focus on celebrating people assigned female at birth (AFABs) and trans women while rejecting mainstream porn’s male gaze focus.
Further, they frequently showcase various body types and skin tones as well as different ages and races – an unexpected difference from mainstream porn, which often only depicts individuals of legal age with the intention to attract male audiences.
Ethnic Porn
Ethnic porn is a subgenre of pornography that depicts interracial sexual interactions. While productions may feature performers of any race, its focus usually centers on relationships between white- and black-skinned individuals.
Racial diversity in adult filmmaking is nothing new, yet as the norm moves beyond Playboy bunny stereotypes it has become more noticeable in terms of how stars and genres are created.
Searches of popular porn websites reveal that most popular videos on these platforms feature performers of color; on Pornhub alone, 9 out of 28 most-watched pages featured actresses of color as performers.
Digital Playground’s website featured 10 out of 20 performers of color, according to business development manager Jeff Dillon of GameLink adult website, while beauty standards among top-selling stars have evolved as the industry has moved away from depictions of bunny bodies towards those featuring more diverse bodies.
Although ethnic porn is an industry trend, it has its share of controversy. Some critics have voiced concerns over its lack of inclusivity; black actors seldom receive top billing and only receive half as much pay than their white counterparts do.
Other concerns associated with ethnic porn are its fetishization of non-white bodies and its remnants of colonialism. While race categories exist across many online sites, only porn ties race directly to body size.
Critical reflection on media depiction of non-white bodies is an integral component of contemporary society and remains prevalent within porn. Tying race to size indicates an ongoing racism that persists within western societies and remains pervasive within porn.