One of the best ways you can support sex workers is to watch ethical porn. Here’s what you should know before you give your next paw.

First of all, I know the term “ethical porn” makes you think of porn for women – super artsy stuff that just blows your mind.

“Unfortunately, the term ethical pornography has the same connotations as corporate social responsibility,” said Cindy Gallop, founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, a subscription-based user-generated content adult video platform. (She prefers to use the term “social sex” to describe her platform.)

But while the term sounds boring, in reality, ethical pornography is much more exciting and interesting and contains everything from BDSM to blockchain technology.

What is ethical pornography?

Most of us were exposed to unethical pornography in the 2000s, when sites like Pornhub became the standard way the population consumed adult films. You could access porn movies with a single click, without knowing how they were made or who uploaded them to the site.

Fortunately, after several awareness campaigns and the criminalization of “revenge porn”, many sites have removed illegal and pirated content, and many debates have been sparked about the ethics of porn

Although there are a bunch of definitions for it, ethical pornography is basically pornography where sex workers are treated ethically. “It means their rights are being respected,” explained sex educator Evie Plumb. “Money, safety and the way they are treated come first. Consent, sexual health and the rights of sex workers are paramount.”

What makes ethical pornography ethical?

“To decide when pornography is ethical, you need to know what is unethical. Revenge porn is not ethical, nor is filmed sexual abuse. This kind of content needs to be removed from all platforms,” ​​said Lilly Sparks, founder of ethical porn site afterglow, referring to sharing sexual content without the consent of the person or persons involved.

“Then there’s the pornography created by scumbags who don’t want to do anything illegal, but they’re doing it for the money. It’s that mainstream , classic pornography. And then there’s ethical pornography, where producers care about the impact of their films.”

Ethical pornography can be divided into three broad categories. It’s content produced in a safe environment where everyone is of age, has given their consent , and is enthusiastically participating. And artists are paid fairly for their effort and work. The final – and probably most debated – aspect of ethical pornography is the content itself.

For many feminists, ethical pornography is not performative – it’s inclusive, includes very diverse bodies, and doesn’t care what men think. Many ethical porn sites are founded on these principles and hope to eradicate the unrealistic expectations about sex promoted by mainstream porn and shatter the stereotypes promoted by it.

Sparks emphasized that it’s important not to shame others’ kinks and recognize that the same thing can be humiliating to one person and empowering to another. “It’s not ok to be disgusted by what someone else likes. If an actress wants to be paid two hundred dollars to show a guy her legs, who are you to tell her that’s unethical?”

How do you know if the porn you’re watching was ethically produced?

Unfortunately, there is no committee that approves films from this perspective, although there are associations like the Free Speech Coalition that protect the rights of employees in the workplace.

However, there are some telltale signs that the film you’re watching was ethically produced. For example, the site MakeLoveNotPorn requires users who upload material to the platform to prove with documents … Read the rest