Sex-positive and feminist-friendly porn is not necessarily porn made by women or even marketed to women – it simply takes women into account as viewers and presents sex as something pleasurable for everyone involved. Pornographers aim to treat the stars of the films well rather than exploiting them. Many performers have complete control over their scenes which results in a truer picture of real eroticism, something that is often missing in mainstream porn. Sex-positive porn also features diverse body types, races and gender fluidity, allowing viewers to find something that suits their specific preferences and ideals.
**mostly queer focused
*mostly hetero focused
Abby Winters **
Features more “conventional” looking women without much variation in race or body type. This site is popular in the mainstream, but does feature a more “natural” feel – pubic hair, no fake breasts, minimal make up, no special outfits. They offer three types of videos: girls masturbating solo, girls masturbating together, and girls having sex with each other.
Fetish and BDSM films produced by filmmaker Maria Beatty. Very artistic, high quality films that explore a wide range of fetishes. Bondage, spanking, tickling, teasing, foot worship, strap-on sex, latex, leather and medical play are all featured. These films feature predominately white, cisgender women.
Blue Artichoke Films is a small group of film enthusiasts dedicated to making artistic, unusual erotic films that portray sexuality in an emotionally realistic way. Whether documentary, fiction, or experimental, Blue Artichoke films borrow from traditional film languages and styles to represent sexuality in new ways.
Candida Royalle Films (Femme Productions)*
Candida Royalle is widely recognized as the first porn producer to make movies specifically for women and couples. Her work is considered “softer” porn that focuses a lot on sensuality and female pleasure, as well as romance. Great for those who are nervous viewing porn or individuals who want more of a story line. No close up “insertion” shots and no rough sex play. These films feature mostly white, straight couples, though there are some that do include people of color (such as “Caribbean Heat”) in non-tokenizing way.
“Real people, real life, real sex” is how these films are described. They each feature one couple and they are interviewed documentary style. These are usually sweet, loving videos and show lots of shots of how each couple actually gets it on. Though there are few films produced by Comstock, they feature a nice variety of relationships and ages!
Created by feminist pornographer BrenRyder, GoodDykePorn features real amateur, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer sex. Once the cameras start rolling, the performers are in complete control of what they want to happen, which creates films that showcase the authentic sexualities of real dykes who identify as lesbian, queer, bisexual, transgender, butch, femme, in-between and/or other.
Their two main lines of films are ReelQueerProductions (“Documenting authentic, edgy, queer sex and culture with relevant, intelligent films inclusive of the many sexualities that identify as queer:) and HeartcoreFilms (“Offering artistic alternatives to formulaic features with films by independent artists with fresh, diverse content”). Made by Good Vibrations company, Good Releasing showcases up and coming independent pornographers. April Flores, Dylan Ryan, and Madison Young are part of their team. A diverse cast, featuring a wide variety of bodies and behaviors, so there is a lot from which to choose! Lots of artistic flair in these films, especially with the film DangerousCurves.
Their slogan is “lesbian sex with cinematic luster” and it shows; their films as well as the website show a clear eye for design. The website was made by and for queer women who wanted porn that found a middle-ground between “mainstream gay-for-pay porn” made by/for men and “dyke porn” that was more on the extreme side. Sensual videos and beautiful cinematography set Juicy Pink Box apart, and it doesn’t hurt that they have a star-studded cast on their side, too! Though the majority of the people in their lineup are cisgender women, there are some trans and genderqueer folks on their roster as well.
Unsatisfied with the way she was seeing women portrayed in porn, Erika Lust set out to make films that spoke to her own values, lifestyles and sexuality. She makes beautiful, artsy films that use porn as a tool for education, excitement and pleasure. Her films place importance on every detail from the clothes and underwear to fantasies, situations and scenarios. Most of her films feature white, cisgender folks in a variety of pairings. Many films are available to watch online with a membership to LUST Cinema. If you want to get a quick taste of some of her work, you can watch the short “Handcuffs” forf reeon Vimeo.
Indie Porn Revolution (previously known as NoFauxxx)**
NoFauxxx is part of Courtney Trouble’s Indie Porn Revolution. Founded in 2002, NoFauxxx set out to create and showcase porn that was ethical, authentic, diverse and hot. It continues to be a space to explore sex beyond gender binaries where casting is all-inclusive. This was the first porn site of its kind and lead to the creation of the “queer porn” genre. As Courtney herself describes it, they bring us “the best in indie porn, alt porn, and queer porn made by ladies, artists, queers, porn stars, trans folks, feminists, real couples, sexy men, smart women, kink experts, and more.”
Kelly Shibari’s site dedicated to BBW (Big Beautiful Women – women who are considered overweight or even obese by mainstream standards) and kink. Featuring real, curvaceous women (many of whom are white, but the website does feature some women of color), Padded Kink covers bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism, as well as “softer” kinks and fetishes. The site aims to show that “ladies of all sizes can be kinky and beautiful!”
Production company of Shine Louise Houston. According to their site, “Pink & White Productions creates adult entertainment that exposes the complexities of queer sexual desire. Taking inspiration from many different sources, Pink & White is dedicated to producing sexy and exciting images that reflect today’s blurred gender lines and fluid sexualities.” They are best known for creating the CrashPadseries which features queer porn of all stripes. The performers have sex the way they want to and each week the site is updated with a new episode. The Crash Pad Series includes “real sex, real orgasms, real sweat, real bodily fluids, real laughter” and is “so utterly natural that the fact it’s being filmed seems nearly incidental.
Headed by multi award winning feminist erotic filmmaker, Anna Brownfield, Poison Apple Productions is an independent film production company dedicated to making creative and unconventional films. While its main focus is to create erotic, sensual films for a demographic of females and couples, with a truly Australian flavour that can also translate to the global market, Poison Apple continues to make highly arresting documentaries and fictional films. Working on principles of low budget filmmaking that produces high quality niche products, that can be accessed and enjoyed by all.
More mainstream, all girl on girl action. They only cast women who identify as lesbian or bisexual women in their day-to-day life (vs. “gay for pay” models). Many of their videos involve fantasy scenarios/locations, such as sex with the babysitter, hooking up with a hitchhiker, naughty sex in the office, and games of truth or dare. While the majority of their models are white women, there is definitely some diversity within the folks they cast in terms of race, age, and body type. If you peruse their models page, you’ll see some heavy-hitters in the sex-positive/queer porn arena, such as Nina Hartley, Dylan Ryan, Syd Blakovich, April Flores, Drew Deveaux, and Madison Young.
More mainstream, cisgender/hetero focused films. Made by the same people who make Sweetheart Video, so again, they create videos that discuss many folks’ taboo fantasies (sleeping with daughter’s boyfriend, the hot foreign exchange student, the babysitter, etc.).
As much as Trannywood Pictures is about porn, it’s also about safer sex education. Their goal is to bring together a diversity of trans as well as other queer men. Their models are men in different stages of transition (including those who don’t want or plan to take hormones or get any surgery), thus many different bodies are represented. The small San-Francisco based company also prides itself on showcasing safer sex within a harm reduction model, which involves people making informed decisions on what they do (using barriers, getting tested, etc.) and lowering harm instead of just stopping certain behaviors altogether.
French filmmaker and photographer who explores intimacy between queers from the underground European art scene, “far away from the clichés of the standard gay representations.” She hopes to show identities in their complexity as well as sexiness. Her award winning titles include Too Much Pussy and One Night Stand.
Female pleasure is the focus in these films. There are no acts portrayed that could be considered “degrading” (cumming on faces, forced fellatio, extreme anal). Mostly hetero films that show a variety of both male and female body types. Men are not cast based on the size of their penises, but on their ability to pleasure women.
Tristan Taormino is feminist pornographer, author, radio host and lecturer among other things. Her company, Smartass Productions, has generated a number of sexy, educational videos that promote sex-positive values such as ethical working conditions and performers who love their jobs having consensual, organic sex. These videos ainclude the Chemistry Series and Expert Guides (pegging, anal sex, female orgasms, fellatio, cunnilingus, the g-spot, rough sex, hand jobs, bondage, positions and threesomes).
While Nina Hartley is a performer, she is also an educator and has a series of guide videos. She teaches about everything from threesomes to sex during pregnancy to strap-on sex. She is also the author of Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex. She also has live shows (in many of which she performs) on her website.
Jiz Lee is a genderqueer performer who is also a sex educator, an advocate for sex-positivity and an activist for sex workers, queer and kinky folks. Jiz is one of the major stars of the queer porn movement and they have worked with Courtney Trouble, Nina Hartley, Tristan Taormino, Madison Young and more.
Real life nerdy couple that set out to create porn “that could get people off without perpetuating racism or homophobia – porn that shows the world that making sexy videos is not synonymous with exploitation.” They produce videos, but also a lot of other interesting content on their site. Sometimes the films feature one or both of them, and sometimes guests (e.g. James Darling) appear with them.
A self-proclaimed kinky girl next door, Madison Young has performed in and directed tons of alternative films. She is all about honest documentation of authentic sex between queers, kinksters, sex geeks, sex workers, real couples and more. She’s also the founder of FeminaPotensArtGallery, a nonprofit art gallery and performance space in the Bay Area that serves the queer and kink communities.
Performer and co-producer with Pink and White Productions, Syd is a multi-media digital artist who explores the tensions between art and porn in their work, considering the work “hybrid” because they aim to build bridges and not “distinguish between the two.” Starred in the award winning film Champion: Love Hurts along side Jiz Lee, Madison Young and more. Also appears in the Crash Pad series, and works to increase positive and authentic representations of people of color (especially those who identify as hapa) in the porn industry.
A self-proclaimed mix of golden boy and dirty, rotten pervert. Considered “the World’s next FTM porn star,” he has starred in three films produced by Courtney Trouble: Bordello, Speakeasy and Billy Castro Does the Mission.
Identifies as genderqueer person of color to give face to the fact that queerness has become associated with whiteness and a privileged socioeconomic status when, in reality, it is for/about/by/of everybody. In addition to starring in films such as the Fuckstyles of the Queer and Famous and Mommy is Coming, they are owner and founder of Poly Potato Productions, an organization dedicated to “producing sex-positive workshops, performance pieces, play parties, panel discussions, teach-ins, social/political groups and educational opportunities that are specially geared toward queer women, transgender, multi-gender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming and gender variant folx of color.”
FTM porn star who won Feminist Porn Awards 2012 Heartthrob of the Year. Founder of FTMfucker.com, a sexy place to celebrate the bodies and sexualities of transmen in a respectful and affirming way.
Awarded the Feminist Porn Award’s 2010 Heartthrob of the Year, April Flores is an erotic performer who has starred in a myriad of films including Belladonna’s Toy Box and Courtney Trouble’s Nostalgia. She graced the cover of publications such as Bizarre and AVN magazine
Tina Horn is a BDSM professional, kink educator, queer pornographer sex writer and a self-proclaimed all-around macho slut. She co-created Queer Porn TV with Courtney Trouble which won Best Website at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2010. She has appeared in the Crash Pad series as well as a number of films directed by Courtney Trouble and Madison Young.
Wolf Hudson is a Dominican American performer who is known for appearing in both queer and hetero films. He does a lot of work online but has also appeared in films such as Fuckstyles of the Queer and Famous.
Mickey Mod has appeared in the Crash Pad Series, performed in videos for kink.com and starred in a variety of films including Frisk Me and An Open Invitation. He also appeared the Official Guides to Fellatio and Cunnilingus with Madison Young.
Porn superhero Dylan Ryan, named the 2009 Feminist Porn Awards’ Heartthrob of the Year, has starred in films for Shine Louise Houston’s company Pink and White Productions such as Superfreak and the Wild Search. She also appeared in Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Pegging. She has also appeared in the Crash Pad series.
Kelly Shibari is the creator of BBW Kink site Padded Kink and is a Fleshlight Girl. In addition to being an advocate for sexy ladies of all sizes, she is President of the PRSM Group which consults entertainment industry clients on public relations and social media strategies to increase brand recognition and how to think outside the box and utilize non-traditional marketing strategies.
The Art of Blowjob is a site devoted to videos and photos focused on the sensual oral sex skills of Camille Crimson. These blowjobs are an expression of love and passion between Camille and her boyfriend, photographer and videographer Mike Flirt.
Shows only the faces of people during masturbation and orgasm.
Features folks of all genders and orientations having strap-on sex.
Women masturbating while menstruating.
For the Girls is an erotic site geared toward women that combines a huge selection of sexy photos created and selected for women.
Good for Her – Feminist Porn Awards
Great resource for some of the best in sex-positive porn.
Pay per minute porn made for women, by women.
Real women masturbating and having real orgasms.
Nude self-portraits submitted by a variety of women.
Part of Courtney Trouble’s TROUBLEfilms network. Free, user-uploaded content by and for queers and allies.
Much like Queer Porn Tube, but not free.
Site showcasing porn made by and of vegans and vegetarians.
A Shine Louise Houston creation for the purpose of masculine appreciation. Heavenly Spire focuses on capturing genuine pleasure and appreciating masculine beauty and sexuality and how it manifests on different bodies (cis as well as trans).
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It is the mission of Anteros Media to conceive, create, produce, and disseminate adult-themed media so as to use sexuality as a tool to negate the destructive thought processes and low self-esteem that are frequently part of the lives of so many LGBT people. They also seek to foster a sense of true community into which LGBT people can feel connected, valued, and understood. They go beyond the desire to simply satisfy personal urges; however, they are not anti-erotic, they are Anterotic.
This is a guide to feminist porn including directors, films and sites run by Louise Lush.
