Source: Adult Industry News
By: Rich Moreland
Feminist porn is a “movement, genre, and an industry” iconic filmmaker and feminist Tristan Taormino told a packed lecture hall at Baltimore’s Goucher College. Sponsored by the newly organized Goucher Feminist Collective, Taormino’s November 11 appearance was enthusiastically received by a predominately female audience that included gay and queer students.
The hour session began with Taormino recollecting her initial foray into adult film in the late 1990s. Guided by Porn Valley director and Evil Angel owner John Stagliano, the budding filmmaker created her first educational sex video, “The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women.” the film paved the road to a feminist directorial career widely recognized as groundbreaking in the industry.
Taormino described the movie as a personal journey, emphasizing her decision to appear on screen in its all-anal gangbang.
Characterizing herself as a “third wave feminist,” the owner of Smart Ass Productions said she has no second wave “baggage” to overcome, a direct reference to early feminism’s blatant dislike of porn. Becoming a pornographer seemed like a natural outlet for Taormino because taking charge of her sexual agency was always foremost in her mind.
Like most modern feminist adult film makers, Taormino has developed her own gonzo style. Throughout the industry gonzo is broadly defined, freeing it up to cater to the tastes of various studios and performers. This accommodation has allowed gonzo to become the best selling genre in porn, she said, allowing feminists to put their own stamp on it. For her part, the outspoken director believed almost two decades ago that gonzo needed a new cinematic vision to move beyond it’s original limitations she described as “mean sex” with a “jackass feel.” Thus, her film making mission was set.
Sex can be rough and fun as long as the performers give their consent and are present in the moment to take control of their actions. Taormino stressed that female performers in particular can choose their fantasies and if they come across as gonzo, then it’s definitely feminist.
Her presentation also focused on a definition of feminist porn. Most academics and others admit that the film making style is not easy to nail down. It tends to be fluid and flexible because if its richly varied voices. However, it does carry certain identifiable characteristics. Taromino emphasized that the “participation and collaboration of the performers” is a main tenet of the feminist product. For example, on her sets she concentrates on “fair and ethical labor practices,” giving talent consent, respect, and a safe environment in which to work.
Feminist porn has other traits. It welcomes performers of color, giving them “The power to represent themselves” on screen, Taromino pointed out. Feminist porn challenges standards of masculinity, letting male performers know that being macho is not necessary while acting more submissive is fine if that is what they desire.
Admitting that she cannot control how people interpret her films, Taormino defined her work as political activism pushing for a greater female voice in porn. Crediting the legendary feminist Candida Royalle with forging the path for women filmmakers today, Taormino conceded that the ole boy network of middle-aged white guys will always control the industry. However, since the turn of the twenty-first century, directors like Jessica Drake, Shine Louise Houston, and Spain’s Erica Lust among others, are refining porn by capturing real female orgasms and supporting the sexual agency of every woman they shoot. Does this include having cum splattered on her eyes? Yes, if that is her choice. Even the once vilified facial, thought to be the humiliating anathema of filmed pornography, is on the table now for feminist filmmakers and performers. Whatever they want, they are empowered to do.
Before the Q and a began, Tristan Taormino summarized her presentation by reminding the audience that there is no centralized image for feminist porn. Rather, it is an attitude that defies any “singular definition” of what feminism in adult film is, should be, or will become.
