How Women are Dominating the Ethical Porn Revolution
Everyone’s heard the term ‘Sex Sells’; the trading of goods or money for sexual experiences is the oldest profession in the world, tracing back Biblically. These days industry as a whole has come to encompass a lot more than its original description of brothels and concubines, for its better and worse counterparts. Contemporarily, our society’s obsession with sex really took off in a vivid way with the inception of the internet and social media in the late 20th century, creating a world with access to as much pornography as they could desire. Nowadays, you’re hinted towards adult content every time you turn on your phone, whether it’s via explicit pop-up adverts, your favourite Instagram models OnlyFans page, or TikToks promoting sustainable porn site Bellesa; coming a far way from the once-taboo nature of the subject.
At a time where sexual liberation is promoted and even monetised, those producing content for public consumption have been put under more and more pressure to perform. But the industry we’re so obsessed with, has been going through a well-needed transformation under the radar.
“But the industry we’re so obsessed with, has been going through a well-needed transformation under the radar.”
The adult entertainment industry has had a long-standing negative reputation for how everyone, especially women, are treated within it. From issues such as lack of diversity and lack of realism within its content to blatant lack of consent, use of minors and lack of ethicality, the porn industry has needed to renovate from its contentious stereotype for a while. Popular website PornHub recently removed over half of its content on the server, millions of videos, for child abuse, as well as non-consensual behaviour in unverified videos uploaded to its platform. Add to this the industry’s prolonged links to sex trafficking, public pressure has now grown to a boiling point on the field to adapt to a more ethically considerate model.
Most adult-based content has been traditionally produced by men for men, leaving most positions of authority in the industry thus occupied by those same people. Because males have traditionally been the demographic that porn was made for, this initially made sense – men producing what they know other men enjoy, especially in the mid-1900’s when Playboy kick-started easy access to pornography, all awhile it was still taboo for women to even mention the subject. An industry built by men left most of them in positions of power. Subsequently, this has often forced the younger, often female, actors and stars into more submissive and malleable roles; creating a breeding ground for control and manipulation, without any real consequence and little regulation. Couple this with the stereotypically young age of many women who get into adult-entertainment, and an atmosphere for grooming is created, where a power dynamic completely in favour of those in charge is instilled, with the same men being responsible for making and breaking careers at a whim.
“An industry built by men left most of them in positions of power. Subsequently, this has often forced the younger, often female, actors and stars into more submissive and malleable roles; creating a breeding ground for control and manipulation”
Making it even harder to prosecute perpetrators within the industry, there are loose laws and low sentencing rates around sexual assault cases where the victim is a sex worker. Statistics by VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) in London from 2019 showed that only 3% of reported sexual assault cases in London ended in a guilty verdict. The uneven power dynamic that the porn perpetrates is only one of the many reasons the field is slowly being forced to adapt, particularly within the last decade, with more whistleblowers detailing their painful experiences under the contracts of their male managers.
Many young women who enter the industry do so with a strict set of internal morals and boundaries that they don’t wish to cross, as PornHub’s most searched porn-star Lana Rhodes has often said. Rhodes has explained most enter the industry wanting to do ‘soft porn’ or ‘girl on girl’; whatever it is that they’re comfortable with emotionally and physically. However, as has been documented time and time again, many young (mostly) women are faced with pressure to go in a direction they aren’t comfortable with, promised with fame and fortune, thus blurring their own boundaries and thus suffering trauma in one way or another. A huge stigmatism around suicide, mental health and drug addiction has grown associated with the industry, with many stars taking their own life or dying of drug overdoses due to what they’ve experienced. Most performers who take their own life do so at a young age of 37 (this average was aggregated from deceased performers), and there is research to suggest that those who don’t take their own life still live a much shorter life than the average due to knock-on effects from the trauma they’ve experienced.
“Most performers who take their own life do so at a young age of 37, and there is research to suggest that those who don’t take their own life still live a much shorter life than the average due to knock-on effects from the trauma they’ve experienced.”
Pornography has often been associated with creating a false impression of what sexual intercourse is actually like. And this falsity has been widely criticised for influencing and wrongly educating the younger people who consume porn, especially when considering their expectations and how they act when they start having their own sexual experiences. There has been extensive research to suggest that violence, aggression or lack of consent in porn can normalise these behaviours outside of that false reality, creating extremely unsafe spaces for predominantly women, and consequently creating a safe space for toxic masculinity. As most of us recognise, the majority of pornography produced is completely dramatised and not a representational depiction of the reality of intercourse; however, as young people consume this type of entertainment at formative ages, it can normalise micro-aggressions within intercourse, such as excessive hair-pulling, spanking, hitting or choking; traditionally ‘degrading’ acts that are seen as desirable within the porn industry, when in reality many women aren’t comfortable with those levels of aggression.
“As young people consume this type of entertainment at formative ages, it can normalise micro-aggressions within intercourse, such as excessive hair-pulling, spanking, hitting or choking; traditionally ‘degrading’ acts”
Similarly, there is a mirroring of unrealistic depictions of intercourse from the female actresses standpoint too. You can say the same of dramatisation when considering women making excessive noise within porn, usually to perform and adhere to the male ego of their co-stars. This has a created a false narrative in contemporary culture that women are only enjoying intercourse if they excessively moan, a narrative that has been learnt from performance adult-entertainment but has seeped into modern-day expectations. Most porn enforces the male gaze as men are directing and producing the content, reinforcing the idea that male pleasure is more important than female pleasure. Consequently, most porn has never focused on how to help woman climax, leading to the coined “Orgasm gap” between men and women.
If fake performance wasn’t enough of an issue within the industry, a huge impact of adult entertainment is the often unachievable expectations it has instilled about what is perceived ‘conventionally attractive’. Many of the most popular female adult entertainers admit to having cosmetic enhancements, and it’s evident that certain body types are pushed as more admirable and popular within the industry, creating a clear lack of diversity. Young consumers of porn therefor have preconceptions of what women should resemble naked and/or during intercourse, a lot of the time this not being reflected in the diverse nature of what both women and men naturally look like, in all their shapes and sizes. This has led to a rise in cosmetic surgeries, especially in women. Breast augmentation has been steadily on the rise since the 1960’s when the surgery became accessible, and more recently there’s been an increase in labia reduction surgery for women – labiaplasty. The uptick in this kind of surgery has also been contributed to the growing normalisation of retouching pornographic images; as Cheryl Iglesia, MD and specialist in the field of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (as per her book title reads) explains “[H]ighly-curated, and extensively retouched, images on social media and the mainstream media are leaving many women and men with little idea of the real range of normal female external genitalia”.
However, for all the faults the industry has instilled, there are formative and conceptual platforms, as well as inspirational trailblazers aiming to break these ingrained stigmas within the adult-entertainment industry.
Sites like Bellesa, Afterglow and even OnlyFans are revolutionising women producing content that they are comfortable with, breaking sexual stigmas and making porn more realistic in every way. Bellesa Films describes itself as weaving “critical concepts thoughtfully into its scenes- notions like equal pleasure, consent and navigating power dynamics”. It seems in an industry which was purposefully set up so women didn’t have the power to say no (or risk their careers in the process), powerful women are joining the conversation and changing the way porn is made and consumed, slowly shifting the power dynamic in the industry. This is only enhanced by the fact more and more women are readily consuming pornography than ever before.
From hiring actors and actresses that resemble more diversity, making sure it’s women filming from behind the scenes, and regulating ethical standards, these companies are paving the way for a more ethical and sustainable consumption of porn, and are normalising the difficult questions the industry has been avoiding for a while. Consequently, start-ups like these are making sexual pleasure more realistic, enjoyable and safer for everyone.
Bellesa, a company founded by Michelle Shnaidman in 2017 has evolved into the most visited porn website for women globally (as reported by Buzzfeed in November 2020). The young company has come into the industry hoping to become “the Netflix of porn”, making adult entertainment not only more accessible for women, but catered for women. Not only this, but they’ve pledged to only producing ethical and sustainable porn and the company prides itself on putting the power of the industry back into the hands of the people it wouldn’t run without, the women. The company and founder Michelle, regularly reiterate that Bellesa aims to shift “portrayals of women from objects of conquest to the subjects of their own pleasure, our mission with Bellesa Films is to continue inspiring women around the world to embrace, explore and celebrate their sexuality – unapologetically and on their own terms.”
Bellesa aims to shift “portrayals of women from objects of conquest to the subjects of their own pleasure, our mission with Bellesa Films is to continue inspiring women around the world to embrace, explore and celebrate their sexuality – unapologetically and on their own terms.”
Bellesa does what most would agree is the bare minimum for company regulation in such a polarising industry, however what most large companies have sacrificed by becoming server based. Bellesa Films check all the ages of its performers, not allowing any underage actors to slip through the cracks; continuously making sure consent is recorded or verbalised when filming; and on top of this, allows all of its performers to choose what they do, and who they do it with. Bellesa is truly aiming to put the power back into the marginalised (more often that not) women of the industry. They’re creating and promoting an atmosphere which is not only more comfortable for female performers but allows them a space in which to say “no”.
By paving the way in strict procedure, Bellesa are inherently putting pressure on their less regulated counterparts; in turn facilitating a conscious choice, that leaves consumers guilt-free on how and where their porn is produced, raising the median standard of what’s acceptable. Coupled with internet induced ‘cancel culture’, there’s been an added pressure on companies that fall short ethically to be blacklisted; this can not only damage reputation, but also viewership and thus revenue for traditional server-based porn sites, such as xVideos, YouPorn or PornHub.
Bellesa, and Afterglow, have additionally used social media marketing to their advantage to push their profile and attract more educated consumers, who care about the behind-the-scenes of how the content they enjoy is produced. Bellesa has used TikTok to their advantage, going viral numerous times by partnering and sponsoring social media stars such as Tana Mongeau and Too Hot to Handle breakout Harry Jowsey. The company even partnered with Cardi B to promote their range of sex toys and porn to her mass following through her TikTok and Instagram accounts. They’ve also hitched a ride onto the explosion of podcasts, advertising on popular shows such as Call Her Daddy, 3 Girls 1 Kitchen and Tap In. They’ve strategically marketed themselves to younger consumers, who are more enlightened on what the industry involves, due to wide-read whistleblowing by ex-stars such as Jan Villarubia and Brittni Ruiz. With Millenials and Generation Z being stereotyped as more ‘woke’ than previous generations and more sexually liberated than ever, Bellesa have created a recipe for success; additionally calling out competitors by educating people on the negative side-effects of consuming unethical porn.
“They’ve strategically marketed themselves to younger consumers, who are more enlightened on what the industry involves, due to wide-read whistleblowing by ex-stars such as Jan Villarubia and Brittni Ruiz.”
Bellesa isn’t the only company putting the sex industry back into the control of the women who make an income from it. OnlyFans, which grew exponentially during the pandemic having a 553% growth in revenue in the year up until November 2020; also garnering a 15% uptick in traffic after Beyonce quoted the site in her remix of Megan Thee Stallions song “Savage”. The site now has over 120 million users and boasts a huge community of content creators and paying customers. The popular site prides itself on allowing its creators, and employees, to produce whatever content they’re comfortable with, in addition to making sure those same creators get paid directly, cutting out the need for traditional agents, who again are known for coercing their talent into doing things they aren’t comfortable with for larger payouts. Emma Jane (@fieryjalepeno on OnlyFans) an adult female performer from Ireland, turned to OnlyFans for her income when she lost her job due to the coronavirus pandemic but was surprised at how much she thrived on the platform. “I enjoy the money most” she told me when talking about the site, “but I also feel incredibly empowered”.
The company has been praised for its heavy regulation of creators, who are iD checked thoroughly before being able to produce any type of downloadable content. Furthermore, OnlyFans has been celebrated for handing the predominantly female work-base complete autonomy over their bodies, their content and people they engage with.“I enjoy making content (for OnlyFans) as I feel so sexy doing it. I learn so much about myself and it really does help with my confidence” Emma told me, “it’s my sexuality diary, in a way”.
“I enjoy making content (for OnlyFans) as I feel so sexy doing it. I learn so much about myself and it really does help with my confidence” Emma told me, “it’s my sexuality diary, in a way”.
Major success stories from the app have just helped boom its popularity even more, with many young women earning hundreds of thousands of pounds from selling their content, cutting out middlemen and only paying 20% of profit directly to OnlyFans. However, there have been reports of women on the app being approached by ‘managers’ who promise to raise their platform and fanbase; and the website isn’t faultless, it’s been accused of allowing its user-base to leak confidential content outside of the app, putting its creators’ identities and careers in jeopardy. “Everyone knows I do it (OnlyFans)” Emma told me “that’s the main negative, I can never tell what users are actually people who know me well, so you never really know who you’re sending content to”.
“I can never tell what users are actually people who know me well, so you never really know who you’re sending content to”
The popularity of sites like OnlyFans has been contentious, as it has undoubtedly made porn and explicit content more accessible to younger viewers, especially considering a lot of social media stars are turning to it for additional income; many of whom have younger fan-bases – as was the case when YouTuber and streamer Belle Delphine, known for her childlike looks, joined the platform. This was reiterated when former Disney Channel actress Bella Thorne joined the site, reportedly making over $1 million in one week; she also carried a young audience, many of which knew her from her days on Shake it Up and Wizards of Waverley Place – shows marketed towards pre-teen audiences.
But both of these sites have been successful for and reiterated how women dominate sex-based industries, emphasising how it simply could not run without them. They’ve embraced female autonomy and power in order to fuel conscious consumption on their relative platforms, promoting more realistic content in the process, making the industry actually resemble what it re-enacts.
“They’ve embraced female autonomy and power in order to fuel conscious consumption on their relative platforms, promoting more realistic content in the process, making the industry actually resemble what it re-enacts.”
The porn industry joining the discussion and normalising important, yet taboo topics has been long overdue, especially following the Me Too movement, and more recent social campaigns such as Our Streets Now, as well as the recent death of Sarah Everard in London, which brought forward an important discussion on female vulnerability in the face of men in positions of power. Pressure has been gathering on companies to discourage toxic masculinity and promote a society where consent is discussed in positive detail. And in this space, it’s extremely important that we do have adult-entertainment companies which take a serious stance on the subject and promote symbiotic respect between all genders. The porn industry isn’t going anywhere, and while it remains a formative one to those who consume its content, we should promote the ideals that we as a society strive for through it.