feminist pornographer speaks eloquently on porn and women

Britain's first female porn director Anna Span has had the opportunity to say quite a few wise things in the past and lately about porn, women, and men. Most recently, she was interviewed by Women's Views on News, after which she contributed with another piece to The Guardian. Excerpts:

From Women's Views on News (WVoN) | “'Porn is an obsession with female pleasure' says woman porn director":

WVoN: You call yourself a feminist. Why do you think so many feminists are so angry about porn?

Anna: I think because it’s about power. I think the leftwing is in denial about power. They have an egalitarian, almost communist, ideal. But this hasn’t given women equality.

Women and men are different, they have different powers. Men have the power of physical strength, women have fertility power. Power is something that excites us – it’s a huge part of all our lives.

second international erotic film award for new female directors

Petra Joy flanked by the 2009 winners

Petra Joy has announced the second Petra Joy Awards. This award is "for first time female filmmakers who would like to create erotic films that dare to question porn clichés and show sex in innovative and creative ways." Winners will receive prize awards and will also have the chance to be published on the upcoming Petra Joy compilation Her Porn Vol. 4.

Petra organized the first Petra Joy Awards in 2009, which Louise Lush (aka Ms. Naughty) won for That's What I Like for its focus on female pleasure.

Explains Petra about why she decided to launch the Petra Joy Awards:

“I would like to inspire first time female film-makers to take control, get behind the camera and share their female perspective of erotica and porn with us. My wish is that this award will help to make more female fantasies visible and more female erotic film-makers seen and heard!”

I see this as very much a worthy endeavor. As Petra points out, women are largely excluded from seeing their visions on screen:

how porn can serve relationships

Author, columnist, and reporter Liz Langley recently wrote an intriguing piece for AlterNet on "Why Porn Can Be Good For You (And Society)" based on interviews and recent research. I have already elaborated on how the re-visioned and transformed porn by women I look at in my book can affect us in ways that are positive and empowering rather than negative and degrading (see for instance here and here). Langley does consider the positive effects of women creating a different kind of porn, but she also invites us to look at the ways in which porn in general can do us good:

In The Sunny Side of Smut, Scientific American’s Melinda Wenner Mover says the research in several studies suggests that “…moderate pornography consumption does not make users more aggressive, promote sexism or harm relationships. If anything, some researchers suggest, exposure to pornography might make some people less likely to commit sexual crimes.” [...]

my new job as film consultant and festival curator

I was offered a new job this week by Cupido, Norway's leading progressive sex positive lifestyle magazine and online shop, to select and present all the films they sell, and to help curate a festival devoted to progressive sex films produced in the last decade. I've served as a contributing film writer for Cupido since 2006, and will now also report on cultural news that pertain to sex and lifestyle, in addition to reviewing films for their magazine.

I'm really excited to be joining Cupido in this more extensive position. Always recognized among sex educators and sexologists, Cupido has in recent years also received growing respect from the mainstream media for the positive work they do. Most recently, Cupido served as a consultant for the popular television show on sex and youth Trekant, which last fall featured masturbation activist Betty Dodson giving one of the young cast members a private lesson in masturbation. I was interviewed by Trekant for their episode on pornography.