Apr 092013
 

TORONTO (April 8, 2013)—The First Annual Feminist Porn Conference was held at the University of Toronto on April 6, 2013 and drew nearly 250 attendees. This one-day conference brought together academics, cultural critics, performers, directors, producers, sex workers, activists, students, and fans to explore the emergence of feminist porn as a genre, industry, field of study, and movement. The event, the first ever conference devoted exclusively to feminist pornography, featured 45 different presenters from around the world.

Professors Kevin Heffernan, Constance Penley, and Bobby Noble

Professors Kevin Heffernan, Constance Penley, and Bobby Noble

Presenters included leading professors whose work spans multiple disciplines from history, sociology, film and media studies to comparative literature, sexuality studies, and feminist studies, including Kevin Heffernan from Southern Methodist University, Lynn Comella of University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Ariane Cruz of Pennsylvania State University, Jill Bakehorn of UC Davis and UC Berkeley, Nicholas Matte of University Toronto, Emily Nagoski from Smith College, and York University’s Bobby Noble as well as scholars from CUNY, UCLA, Northwestern, and Ohio University.

Madison Young presents "The Politics of Kinky Porn and Feminism"

Madison Young presents “The Politics of Kinky Porn and Feminism”

Several panels featured some of the most well-known producers and performers working in feminist porn today, including Jiz Lee, Courtney Trouble, Madison Young, Sinnamon Love, Dylan Ryan, April Flores, Carlos Batts, Loree Erickson, James Darling, Carrie Gray, Tobi Hill-Meyer, Tina Horn, Arabelle Raphael, Quinn Cassidy, Jes Sachse, and Bianca Stone. The international conference drew presenters from around the world, including Liesbet Zikkenheimer and Marije Janssen from Dusk TV, an erotic TV channel for women in the Netherlands and Australian webmistress and director Ms. Naughty of ForTheGirls.com. Carol Queen, PhD, co-founder of the Center for Sex and Culture and Good Vibrations’ sexologist, spoke on two panels: “Conspicuous Consumption: If We Sell It, They Will Come,” about the connection between feminist porn and sex-positive retail stores and “Feminist Perspectives on Sexual Identity and Sexual Health in Educational and Feminist Porn.”

Tristan Taormino, Shar Rednour, and Nan Kinney

Tristan Taormino, Shar Rednour, and Nan Kinney

Award-winning filmmaker Shine Louise Houston of Pink and White Productions screened her documentary Shiny Jewels to a huge crowd. A screening of Lesbo Retro: A Dyke Porn Retrospective, a clip show of lesbian porn from 1960-2000, was followed by a question and answer session with its curator, Shar Rednour and special guest Nan Kinney, co-founder of On Our Backs and Fatale Media and recipient of the 2013 Trailblazer Award at The 8th Annual The Feminist Porn Awards on April 5.

Professor Mireille Miller-Young was one of the keynote speakers

Professor Mireille Miller-Young was one of the keynote speakers

The keynote was delivered by feminist pornographer Tristan Taormino and Professors Constance Penley and Mireille Miller-Young (both from University of California-Santa Barbara). As three of the four co-editors of The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure, recently published by The Feminist Press at CUNY, they discussed how feminist porn has shifted sexual representation and pondered what the future holds for feminist porn. “The goal of our book was to put academics and sex industry workers into conversation with one another to discuss critical issues about feminism, sexual media, representation, sexual agency, and labor. This conference took those conversations to the next level,” said Mireille Miller-Young. “We hope it mobilizes academics and sex industry workers to create coalitions to support each other’s work,” said Constance Penley.

“The event exceeded my expectations,” said Tristan Taormino, who produced the conference. “I was inspired by the diversity of voices from professors and students to performers and fans. The enthusiasm for dialogue about feminist porn issues was overwhelming, and I am already planning next year’s conference.”

The Feminist Porn Conference was sponsored by the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Good for Her, The Feminist Porn Awards, and The Feminist Press.

Photo credits: Tania A.

 

Mar 282013
 

feminist-pornICON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO (March 28, 2013)—Producers of the 8th Annual Feminist Porn Awards (FPAs) and the 1st Annual Feminist Porn Conference will hold a joint media event on Friday, April 5 at 12 noon at The Holiday Inn Yorkville, 280 Bloor Street West in the Varsity Room on the 2nd Floor. The event will open with a panel of distinguished guests who will discuss their passion for feminist porn, the significance of their work, and their involvement with the 2013 Feminist Porn Awards (FPAs) and the 2013 Feminist Porn Conference; the presentation will be followed by a question and answer period. The panel will include: Carlyle Jansen, owner of Good for Her and producer of The Feminist Porn Awards; director/producer Tristan Taormino, who is the Feminist Porn Conference producer and co-editor of The Feminist Porn Book; performer Jiz Lee, 2013 Feminist Porn Award nominee and Public.Provocative.Porn special guest; director Matthew Clark, a 2013 Feminist Porn Award nominee and Public.Provocative.Porn special guest; performer Wolf Hudson, a 2013 Feminist Porn Award nominee; performer James Darling, the 2012 Feminist Porn Award Heartthrob of the Year winner; Nan Kinney, groundbreaking lesbian porn director/producer and featured guest at the Feminist Porn Conference; and Professor Mireille Miller-Young from University of California-Santa Barbara, co-editor of The Feminist Porn Book and a Feminist Porn Conference keynote speaker.

After the panel, an additional group will be introduced that includes FPA nominees, past winners, and presenters as well as Feminist Porn Conference speakers. Members of the media will have an opportunity to meet, interview, and photograph the panelists and special guests. Special guests include: Dr. Carol Queen, groundbreaking sex positive feminist and founder of The Center for Sex and Culture; performer/filmmakers Madison Young, Courtney Trouble, Tobi Hill-Meyer, and Carry Gray; filmmakers Shar Rednour, Carlos Batts, Nica Noelle, Shine Louise Houston of Pink + White Productions, and Ms. Naughty of ForTheGirls.com (Australia); performers Dylan Ryan, April Flores, and Sinnamon Love; Liesbet Zikkenheimer and Marije Janssen of DuskTV in The Netherlands; Professor Kevin Heffernan from Southern Methodist University and Professor Lynn Comella from University of Nevada-Las Vegas; and Professor Bobby Noble, Principle Investigator on the Feminist Porn Archive and Research Project, York University. Special guests’ complete bios here.

About The Good for Her Feminist Porn Awards
The Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards have pioneered the celebration of erotica with a difference. Founded in 2006, The Feminist Porn Awards are produced by Good For Her, a Toronto- based feminist sexuality education centre and sex store.  This event was started to celebrate, recognize and endorse filmmakers who who are creating erotic media with a feminist sensibility in porn for everyone to enjoy.  We all deserve to see artistic expressions that celebrate the diversity of who we are in all our glory, and artists deserve to have their work recognized for challenging stereotypes, expanding the boundaries of sexual representation and creating hot movies!

About The Feminist Porn Conference
The 1st Annual Feminist Porn Conference, April 6, 2013 at the University of Toronto, brings together academics, cultural critics, sex workers, performers, producers, directors, activists, and fans to explore the intersections between sex-positive feminism and pornography as well as the emergence of feminist porn as a genre, industry, and movement. Special guests include groundbreaking lesbian pornographers Nan Kinney (Fatale Media) and Shar Rednour (S.I.R. Video Productions), sex-positive leader Carol Queen, award-winning filmmaker Shine Louise Houston and forty other presenters. Professor Constance Penley, Professor Mireille Miller-Young and Tristan Taormino, co-editors of The Feminist Porn Book, will speak at the Keynote Luncheon sponsored by The Feminist Press. The conference is sponsored by Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Good for Her, The Feminist Porn Awards, and The Feminist Press.

About the Panelists

Since discovering orgasms in her late 20s, Carlyle Jansen has been passionate about education for everyone. She founded Good For Her in 1997, a sexuality shop and workshop centre where everyone could feel welcome and included, especially those who traditionally did not feel reflected in sexuality spaces. In 1996, the Good For Her team created and produced the Feminist Porn Awards. An eco-feminist, she believes in empowering people with knowledge to make the best choices for themselves. As the proud mom of 2 active boys, she loves kid play-time as well!

Tristan Taormino is an award-winning author, columnist, editor, sex educator, radio host, and feminist pornographer. She is the author of seven books including The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women and True Lust: Adventures in Sex, Porn and Perversion. She runs the adult film production company Smart Ass Productions. She has directed and produced twenty-four adult films, including the groundbreaking series based on real female kink fantasies, Rough Sex and the Expert Guide sex education series, which she created for Vivid Entertainment. The winner of multiple Adult Video News (AVN) and Feminist Porn Awards, she was the first female director to win an AVN award for Best Gonzo Movie for the first film in her reality series Chemistry. She received the Trailblazer Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Feminist Porn Awards in 2010. She is the host of Sex Out Loud, a weekly radio show on The VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network.

Jiz Lee is a genderqueer porn star known for their androgynous look, female ejaculation, vaginal fisting, strap-on performances, and fun sex-positive attitude. The award-winner performer prefers the pronouns “they/them,” and advocates for ethical pornography that creatively and authentically reflects queer sexuality. Ever fascinated by the radical potential of sex, love, and art, Jiz runs a personal blog and philanthropic “Karma Pervs” paysite at JizLee.com. They are the editor of the upcoming anthology How to Come Out Like a Porn Star: Essays from the Porn Industry on Family Matters.

Matthew Clark is the co-creator and writer/director/editor of the award-winning crip porn short KRUTCH, his first adult film. Made with collaborator and star Mia Gimp, it explores issues close to Matthew’s heart: disability, perception, authenticity through representation and auteurship. He studied Film and Media Arts at Temple University and currently resides in Philadelphia.

Wolf Hudson is a Dominican crossover adult performer. He’s known for appearing in straight, gay, bisexual, queer, trans and fetish porn. One of the few openly bisexual male performers to successfully transition between genre’s of porn, he’s demonstrated an appetite to push the envelope of sexuality and delivering passionately driven scenes that has gained him a diverse fan base. He’s won numerous awards, including “Best Personality” at The Cybersocket Web Awards and has appeared in acclaimed films like My Own Master. He is also known for being a talented dancer. Hudson runs his own pay site at WolfHudsonIsBad.com.

James Darling is a transsexual male porn performer and sex worker based in the Bay Area. He won the 2012 Feminist Porn Award for Heartthrob of the Year Transguys.com Sex Performer of the Year 2010 for his work across multiple porn genres. James is also the owner and director of FTMFUCKER.com, a porn site dedicated to trans men.

Nan Kinney is the president and co-founder of Fatale Media. She is also the executive producer of Fatale’s lesbian porn and adult educational videos and DVDs. With Deborah Sundahl, she co-founded On Our Backs magazine.

Mireille Miller-Young is associate professor of feminist studies and affiliate associate professor of black studies, film and media studies, and comparative literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research explores race, gender, and sexuality in visual culture, media, and the sex industries in the United States. Her forthcoming book, A Taste for Brown Sugar: Black Women, Sex Work, and Pornography, examines African American women in pornography.

Contact:

Tristan Taormino, feministpornstudies@gmail.com
Carlyle Jansen, 416-588-0900, carlyle@goodforher.com

Mar 152013
 

feminist-porn-257x300-2

Queerie Bradshaw wrote a great piece for Vice called “Lascivious: For the Love of Porn.”

By definition, queer, feminist pornography is the work of activists. Anything that portrays something this far beyond the mainstream has no choice but to be activism. Hairy pussies, big butch women, men with vaginas, women with penises, fat rolls, strap ons, gender play, and all the things that other people fetishize are portrayed in a real way: portrayed by us for us.
We are these people. We are fat, hairy and really fucking gay. We are not a fetish.
I am not a fetish.
Queer, feminist pornography teaches me that my body and the bodies of the people with whom I have sex are more than just something to gawk at. We are sexy as fuck and we are sexy while fucking. That’s the exact opposite of what I’m told by mainstream media.
Mar 102013
 

JT on FEM PORN
Justin Timberlake returned for his fifth hosting gig on Saturday Night Live this past weekend and he ended the evening with a historic pop culture reference. In the “Moet & Chandon” skit, Timberlake played porn star Ricky V.I.Penis in an infomercial for Moet & Chandon champagne hosted by two former porn stars. He said, “I do feminist porn because I know how to treat a lady right.” The writers of Saturday Night Live routinely incorporate current news, events, and trends into their skits, and the show itself takes the pulse of popular culture. Not only is this the first ever reference to feminist porn on Saturday Night Live, it’s the first time the term has been said on a non-news program on network television. And it happened just three weeks after the release of The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure, which was published last month by The Feminist Press. Coincidence? I think not. Finally, the door is open to accomplish what my co-editors and I hope this book can do: bring awareness about feminist porn to a mass audience.

Listen, I realize the skit is very problematic. Its portrayal of porn stars as drunk, illiterate bimbos is typical, callous, offensive and anti-sex worker. Plus it’s not that funny. But it was thrilling nonetheless to hear the words ‘feminist porn’ come out of Justin Timberlake’s mouth. When SNL makes fun of you, you know you’ve arrived. I don’t know if the writers have seen The Feminist Porn Book or followed the media coverage surrounding it, but getting on their radar is a huge honor. Want to read what all the fuss is about? Check out The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure.

Mar 102013
 

fantasies_01

Internationally celebrated filmmaker Candida Royalle® continues to support the work of up-and-coming female directors with the release of ‘Female Fantasies’, the second Petra Joy feature to be distributed in the United States and Canada by Royalle’s Femme Productions®. Says Royalle, “We received such enthusiastic response to “Feeling It…not Faking it!” (the first Petra Joy feature released by Femme Productions), I couldn’t wait to release another one of her movies!”.

“…unique erotic stories that are completely different from typical porn clichés…Impressively artistic.” – EUROPEAN ADULT NEWS.

Winning awards from the Barcelona International Erotic Film Festival – “Most Erotic Film” – and the Toronto Feminist Porn Awards – “Hottest bi scene” – Petra Joy continues her exploration of women’s rich erotic fantasy life with ‘Female Fantasies’, a visually stunning tableau of sensually-shot scenes.
From being pleasured by several lovers at once to getting your just-desserts on the kitchen counter, secretly spying on some tasty eye-candy and a hilarious parody of a car-wash gone triple-X, “My films are based on erotic fantasies that women from all over the world have shared with me”, explains Petra. “I believe in a return to sensuality, and portray sex that is enriched by intimacy, creativity and humor.”

“Petra Joy lives up to her name, creating JOYOUS, uninhibited erotica for women. This film breaks the mold and creates a vision of sexual pleasure for today.” – Annie Sprinkle, Ph.D., Filmmaker, Sex Educator and Ecosexologist

Shot with non-professional real-life lovers, ‘Female Fantasies’ captures authentic chemistry and desire. Unlike traditional porn, explains Joy, “there is no list of positions to tick off, so the sensuality can develop slowly, based on the enjoyment and passion of the performers.”

“So, if you’re still wondering, ‘what do women want?’”, suggests Candida Royalle®, “sit back and have a look. “Female Fantasies” brings you a glimpse in to the inner workings of the erotic female mind”.

Petra Joy is an award-winning erotic filmmaker, photographer and writer. She began her career in television as an independent producer of a wide variety of programs from travel shows to documentaries. She is now one of the leading European female erotic film directors creating what she calls “artcore” porn from a female perspective.

Considered the pioneer of woman-friendly erotica for couples, Candida Royalle® launched Femme Productions® in 1984 and produced and/or directed eighteen internationally acclaimed movies. Currently working on her memoirs, she is the author of, “How to Tell a Naked Man What to Do: Sex Advice from a Woman who Knows (Simon&Schuster/Fireside) and co-founder of the Natural Contours® line of groundbreaking intimate massagers. A sought-after speaker featured in countless TV & print media, Royalle is a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).

For more information about “Female Fantasies”, Candida Royalle® and the rest of Royalle’s Femme line of erotica from a female perspective, go to: http://www.CandidaRoyalle.com.

To set up an interview with Candida Royalle or Petra Joy: Inquiries@CandidaRoyalle.com

Sales will be handled by Royalle’s distribution partners, Adam & Eve Distributors. For wholesale inquiries: rthomas@pheinc.com

Feb 242013
 

tumblr_m3si82Ye7s1r07nexo1_1280

Eastbay Express posted an article, When Porn Goes Public, about Nenna Joiner’s new ongoing series of film screenings at Feelmore in Oakland.

As such, Joiner said she’s planning on showing an impressively diverse number of movies at the monthly film night, including Buck Angel’s Sexing the Transman, a documentary about transmale sexuality; Japanese anime porn; the deep kink fantasy The Fashionistas; the sex worker documentaryWhore’s Glory; and even a pornographic claymation film from Amsterdam. It’s a totally mixed bag, to be sure, but “that’s Nenna’s strength,” said New Parkway owner J. Moses Ceaser: “making things that seem foreign more accessible, making the experience inclusive, welcoming Oaklanders to learn about things that they might otherwise shy away from.”

If you live or are visiting the Bay Area, be sure to check it out!

Feb 042013
 

Feminist_Porn_cover
The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure
is co-edited by Celine Parreñas-Shimizu, Constance Penley, Mireille Miller-Young, and me
and is published by The Feminist Press

The Feminist Porn Book brings together for the first time writings by feminists in the adult industry and research by feminist porn scholars. This book investigates not only how feminists understand pornography, but also how feminists do porn—that is, direct, act in, produce, and consume one of the world’s most lucrative and growing industries. With original contributions by Susie Bright, Candida Royalle, Betty Dodson, Nina Hartley, Buck Angel, Lynn Comella, Jane Ward, Ariane Cruz, Kevin Heffernan, and more, The Feminist Porn Book updates the arguments of the porn wars of the 1980s, which sharply divided the women’s movement, and identifies pornography as a form of expression and labor in which women and racial and sexual minorities produce power and pleasure. Check out the book’s official website to read the table of contents and see what people like Melissa Harris-Perry, Laura Kipnis, Jack Halberstam, Lisa Duggan, Carol Queen, Annie Sprinkle, and other luminaries have said about it. I am so unbelievably excited that The Feminist Porn Book is here! This is a project that is five years in the making, and I cannot believe it’s in print.

Inspired by the book, I am producing The Feminist Porn Conference, a one-day event on April 6, 2013 at the University of Toronto during the Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards festivities. Speakers include Lynn Comella, Ariane Cruz, Loree Erickson, April Flores, Kevin Heffernan, Tobi Hill-Meyer, Shine Louise Houston, Jiz Lee, Nicholas Matte, Mireille Miller-Young, Ms. Naughty, Nenna, Bobby Noble, Celine Parreñas-Shimizu, Constance Penley, Carol Queen, Dylan Ryan, Tristan Taormino, Courtney Trouble, Madison Young, and more to be confirmed soon. Registration is now open, and Early Bird Registration Rates are good through March 1, so register today! Our host hotel is the Holiday Inn; get our special discount code here. Special thanks to our sponsors Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, Good for Her, The Feminist Porn Awards, and The Feminist Press.

Jan 272013
 

0701

The Journal of Sex Research published the findings of a new study that may surprise people who have held onto certain stereotypes about porn stars.

Adult entertainers were found to have higher self-esteem, a better quality of life and body image, and to be more positive, with greater levels of spirituality. They also had higher levels of sexual satisfaction and, perhaps unsurprisingly, many more partners than other women.

Read the article summarizing the study here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/porn-stars-and-the-naked-truth-8348388.html

Jan 242013
 

This call for submissions comes from @lastellanera at theyaretoremindme.tumblr.com so you can reblog from there, but I’ve also pasted all the information you need below:

~~~

So I’m trying to put together a publication on radical perspectives on sex/porn/sex work/kink that goes beyond the basic sex-posi feel-goodness, isn’t just a glossary, examines things from a variety of radical angles.

E.g., i’m co-writing a piece on the place of porn & kink “before and after the rev”* – what is problematic about porn & kink, what is functional-in-current-social-conditions about porn & kink, and what aspects of porn & kink would survive if systems of power/oppression were minimal/nonexistent.

I’m really looking for whatever people have to say from a radical & feminist or womanist perspective. It doesn’t have to be from an explicitly sex-pos standpoint, and can range from personal narrative to art to analysis/critique.

All sorts of printable media welcome.

I’m especially interested in featuring work by queers, people of color, trans* folk, disabled folks, and women.

If you’re interested, please get at my inbox or email me at lastellanera [at] gmail [dot] com

*”before the rev”= current white-supremacist/classist/misogynist/etc. society
“after the rev” = systems of power/oppression are minimal/nonexistent/destroyed

Please repost!

Jan 022013
 

lesbian curves

The newest TROUBLEfilms release is here! Shipping out to stores by January 11th and officially for sale on January 15th, Lesbian Curves is a full-length vignette-style feature that showcases curvaceous women getting each other off with bountiful body worship and hardcore sex.

On the shelf next to your best-selling Lesbian or BBW porn titles, Lesbian Curves fits right in with either, while also standing out on it’s own as a premier title that blends the two genres with perfect cohesion. This title will be easy to sell to your avid BBW fans as well as your lesbian porn aficionados. Lesbian Curves is a film that your customers will want to own on DVD, as it’s high definition content, gorgeous cover art, and fantastic bonus videos add special value to the hard copy.

This gorgeous film stars Courtney Trouble, Kelly Shibari, Betty Blac, Sophia St James, Sandy Bottoms, Kitty Stryker, Peppermint Fatty, and Eden Alexander and was shot in full HD.

Hard copy DVDs as well as digital screeners are also available to press for coverage or review. Request via email at info@troublefilms.com

To Order Lesbian Curves for your retail establishment:

Send Purchase Order to info@troublefilms.com
Lesbian Curves is $12/unit. We offer a 10% discount for over 15 dvds. There is a 10 dvd minimum.  We can mix and match with any other dvds in the catalog: http://troublefilms.com/ordering-information/ Please include billing and shipping information, and contact emails and phone numbers for your lead buyer and accounting/bill fulfillment representatives. For your ease, we’ve prepared an online ordering form you can use as well:
http://troublefilms.com/wholesale-order-form/

###

About TROUBLEfilms

Lesbian Curves is TROUBLEfilms 3rd DVD release. TROUBLEfilms garnered 3 AVN award nominations this year for thier film and web projects Live Sex Show on DVD, queerporntube.com, and indiepornrevolution.com. TROUBLEfilms is a porn production company that focuses on sex-positive, diverse, and authentic representation headed by award-winning pornographer Courtney Trouble. TROUBLEfilms also serves as a distribution point for other great porn projects, like James Darling’s FTMFuckers.Com website and the films of Handbasket Productions/Tobi Hill-Meyer.
Established in 2011.

TROUBLEfilms’ newest project is lesbiancurves.com. It is a full website about the film, with an affiliate-loaded blog with extra content and curated links to other fantastic lesbian and BBW porn titles and websites. The entire project is produced, directed, edited, and released by Courtney Trouble.

About Courtney Trouble

Courtney Trouble is a film-maker, adult performer, photographer, queer rights activist, DIY genius, and an award-winning feminist pornographer. Courtney is the founder of TROUBLEfilms, IndiePornRevolution.Com, and QueerPorn.TV, as well of the director of 14 full-length films, including the Reel Queer Production line through Good Releasing and 3 films through their own line at TROUBLEfilms. For current releases, please see TROUBLEfilms.Com

Queer Porn Icon Courtney Trouble has been producing, directing, and performing in Queer Porn since 2002, and is responsible for coining the term “Queer Porn” as a genre in the mainstream industry. Nominated for 7 AVN Awards, and winner of 5 Feminist Porn Awards, Courtney Trouble’s films speak to an extremely fluid, authentic, and hardcore version of graphic sexual imagery.