Representation In Porn, Or A Lack Thereof, And Why It Matters

I get tired of conventional porn sometimes, and I want to see porn with women especially, but people in general, who aren’t going “ooohnnnn ooohhhhhnnn ohhhhhnnn” like seals throughout the movie, or who aren’t skinny, or who aren’t young, or who aren’t white, or who aren’t conventional-looking, or who are engaging in sex acts that they really, really, really love of their own accord rather than being just sort of down to do because it’s their job. That’s why I love Beautiful Agony (just assume that none of the links in this post are safe for work) — it’s all orgasms, it’s all very understated, it’s a pure celebration of pleasure, and lots of different kinds of people are represented. It’s also why I love the Art-Porn Tumblr: there’s at least some diversity, there’s a lot of kink — real kink — and many of the photographers and directors portray sex in a way that doesn’t feel so … I don’t know. Gratuitous. There’s nothing wrong with gratuitous, conventional porn, of course, I just get tired of it. It’s made for a male audience, and I’m not male. I want to see something different.

Other “art porn” sites like Yes.XXX and The Art Porn are disappointing, to me. Part of it has to do with the fact that a lot of their videos are soft-focus and saccharine, and for someone who likes kink, it’s really uncomfortable to watch. But it doesn’t even seem that different than conventional porn. It’s supposedly more woman-friendly, but that’s only true if you assume that all women like soft-focus, slow-panning porn with cheesy romantic music. Oh, and white people. Because “art porn” sites are very, very, very, very, very, very, very white.

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