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 that the people in the films are of age and that they have given their consent to appear on the site.

Film directors should emphasize that they are aware of the actors’ experiences and limitations, and that they are excited about the content they participated in. “I send the actors a list of all the sex acts in advance and ask them to tell me what experiences they’ve had with them and which ones appeal to them the most or what they’d like to try from the list,” the director explained to me and privacy coordinator Paulita Pappel, who founded The Lustery and HardWerk studios. “Then I write the script according to their wishes.”

Healthy filming conditions are another important aspect: regular breaks and snacks on set are a sign that a production takes the well-being of its employees into account. They are not always publicly listed, but some companies, such as Pink & White Productions, have regulated paid livestreams where they offer access to the production process.

When it comes to sites with user-uploaded content, the presence of a moderation and curation team is a good sign. “Our curators watch every clip, end to end, and then approve or reject it,” Gallop said. Sites that use discriminatory language in their clip descriptions and advertisements are unethical and should be avoided.

Not all of this information is very accessible. Sometimes you need to document yourself a little. But the more we talk about ethical pornography, the more transparent the production companies will be about the filming process. And actors will be better able to denounce unethical practices in the workplace.

How to pay for ethical porn

Every person VICE spoke to emphasized that if you want to become an ethical porn consumer, you have to pay for the content you consume. Because in mainstream pornography you can’t know if the performers were paid fairly. When you pay for porn, this ambiguity disappears. Plus you reduce the chances of accidentally consuming pirated content, which hurts both actors and the industry.

“Just like you pay to go to the cinema, it’s fair to pay when you watch porn. The consumption of pirated pornography is harmful, it is disrespectful to the performers, whose sexual autonomy is affected”, said Pappel.

There are many ethical porn sites for you to choose from. I have made a list of them for you at the end of the article. If you’re interested in cutting out the middleman, you can directly pay certain actors you like.

“Content creators post and promote the films they’re proud of and you can buy them directly from them,” said Jet Setting Jasmine, a performer and psychotherapist who founded Royal Fetish Films with fellow performer King Noir. “When you find a porn actor you like, buy directly from them if you want to support them.” Or you can buy their branded products or buy them gifts from their wishlist. Any support helps.

Is OnlyFans ethical?

It’s impossible to write about pornography without mentioning OnlyFans , the site that revolutionized the way we consume explicit content online. Some industry players look down on OnlyFans because it identifies itself as a platform for fans, rather than adult content, but other creators, like Anne, are excited about the experience on the site.

Anne, who I spoke to on the condition of anonymity, has been doing online sex work since September 2022. She said one exploitative thing you can do is take content from someone’s OnlyFans channel and resell it or consume it such content through intermediaries rather than purchasing it directly from the source.

“Honestly, anyone who contributes to the exploitation of porn actors should be considered a criminal,” she said.

She was fed up with the number of times she had to contact various platforms and ask them to take down her content that had been stolen and uploaded by other people. He said it affected his mental health.

While there are monitoring services like Cam Model Protection that track down sites that violate copyright laws, you can make their job easier by reporting such pirated content yourself. Never visit a site that appears to steal content from creators without their consent. On OnlyFans, verified creators have a blue checkmark that they get after the site has verified their credentials.

How to diversify the adult content you consume

Most of the actors and directors I spoke to agreed that ethical pornography typically avoids stereotypes about people of color, LGBTQ people , and people with disabilities. It is essential for the production to ensure that everyone is represented fairly, as this affects both the actors and the consumers.

“When we consume pornography without context and dehumanize the people participating, we risk normalizing these behaviors in real life, where people are actually suffering. Unfortunately, many people learn about sex from porn movies, so we have a responsibility to educate people through these movies,” explained Jasmine.

If you want to diversify your porn horizons, you can try another format, such as audio porn, like Dipsea, a platform founded by women with very sexy narrated erotic stories and scenarios. The actors who collaborate with Dipsea are well paid and earn between two hundred and four hundred dollars an hour.

You can still consume pornographic animations, but make sure you support the artists who produced them and don’t consume AI-generated porn that is trained with images of sexual abuse.

Support sex workers

I don’t know what you learned in sex education at school, but abstinence is never the answer. Anti-porn movements would have you believe that you need to avoid porn altogether, but that’s a perspective that further stigmatizes sex workers, especially since porn addiction may not even be real.

“We don’t have access to basic necessities like bank accounts or email marketing – companies like Mailchimp and Paypal don’t offer us their services because they discriminate against us. If we want ethical pornography, we have to stop discriminating against the industry in the first place,” Pappel explained.

Jasmine agrees: “Normalizing pornography consumption will result in better working conditions for performers, less stigma and shame, and much higher quality content.”

You may still visit mainstream sites from time to time, but you must understand that pirated material hurts the content creators who provide our entertainment. So it can be said that choosing ethical pornography is an activist gesture.

Some ethical porn sites
CHEEX is a platform with realistic sex and erotic material, as well as audio content and workshops about sexual pleasure. It has many award-winning porn actors, no ads, and doesn’t sell your information to companies. All actors are adults, well paid and with up to date reviews.

Aortafilms is an award-winning porn studio specializing in queer cinema . They have actors with very diverse bodies and identities doing their reviews regularly. The actors have a say on the set, as well as in the writing of the scripts.

Dreams of Spanking is for spanking lovers. It’s a sex-positive and inclusive studio that pays its actors well and doesn’t do anything without their consent.