Nina Hartley is a feminist icon and sex-educator. She teaches women of all ages that sex positive feminism is important for a growing woman to understand. The kick? Hartley’s a porn star.
The terms “porn” and “feminism” don’t seem like they should go together well, or it may seem like an oxymoron. But it’s far from it. Porn is practically an enigma when it comes to feminism. Within the context of feminism, there are two main perspectives on porn that dominate.
Anti-porn feminists believe that porn is dangerous and not to be trifled with. The argument stands that sex has become a product for consumption, and therefore women have become objects instead of autonomous beings. Additionally, porn often depicts an inaccurate view of how sex actually works in real life. Given the heavy lack of sex-education in today’s youth, a lot more youth are turning to porn for their sex ed, and are therefore not getting the proper education about consent, sex, and their bodies.
On the other hand, pro-porn feminists see in between the lines of these aspects. They believe that there’s no use in censoring an idea so essential to human life. There is porn available that is “female-friendly” that depicts a side of porn in which both parties have equal acts on each other, if not more acts performed on the woman in the film. The films are based around the woman and her pleasure. Although the sex isn’t as realistic because of the pauses for camera angle and lighting, the films make an effort to challenge gender roles and sexual stereotypes all the while making sure that the filming is ethical, practical, and enjoyable for both the actors and the viewer.
Porn actress Stoya, in an interview with the Huffington Post, holds that porn takes the cake when it comes to gender roles in Hollywood film.
“That’s one of the things where typical porn actually is pretty feminist. The women are the stars. So if you’re going to focus a movie around your star and they’re female, it sort of inherently does tend to drag along a little more complexity.”
Feminist porn stars like Stoya and Nina Hartley are only beginning to challenge the way people look at porn. I, for one, am pro-feminism and pro-porn. Porn helped me learn about sex and helped me explore my body before anyone else got the opportunity. Porn is not a male-dominated field. Sex workers are humans too, even in the porn industry. Patriarchy isn’t to blame.
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