Follow along with Jiz Week, where I’ll be posting random tidbits, as well as updates from the Feminist Porn Awards and events.

Have a burning question you want to ask about the Feminist Porn Awards and participants, or something you want me to write on? Let me know!

Follow me @jizlee on Twitter, or check out the hashtag is #FPA2012. And GirlzPorn.com will be live-streaming the Awards’ Ceremony.

What is Lady Porn Day? Rachel says it’s a day that encourages discussion and celebration of women empowerment from/with/in pornography. A large part of our culture still believes that women are incapable of owning our sexuality. This shows up in shaming of sexually active women, in degrading and criminalizing women who take charge of their bodies and their pleasure. As Rachel puts it, it’s a response to a “world where many girls still expect their first orgasm to come from someone other than themselves.”

Some of my favorite people are also blogging about Lady Porn Day, including Cindy Gallop, Dr. Carol Queen, Dodson and Ross, and Gala Darling. Everyone is encouraged to blog and post videos about any reaction that “Lady Porn Day” inspires for them, be it through personal stories, feminist theory posts, interviews, and more. Also note that “pornography” takes a broad definition that includes everything from adult movies to erotica and romance novels, to nudes on tumblr.

That said, when I was asked to participate in Lady Porn Day, my initial reaction was… mixed. I think this is mostly because I don’t identify as a lady. I identify as genderqueer, as neutral though I often play with gender. How I feel most comfortable is within androgyny. There’s a buzz around Feminist Porn, thanks to Toronto’s Good For Her creating the Feminist Porn Awards, soon to have it’s 6th annual ceremony. Part of me would have preferred the term be “feminist porn day” instead of “lady porn day” — or what I think is perhaps a more accurate term: “ethical porn day”. Because I feel that in essence, that is what is at the heart of Rachel’s project. People of all genders and sexual orientations — and this includes ethnicities, size, ability, kinks/desires — can find problematic issues within pornography in need of discussion, as well as can celebrate the porn they’ve found that works for them in a healthy way.

How can porn be healthy, when so much we see of porn is a 4-letter word shrouded in sexual shame? I talked recently at UC Davis as a speaker for their Generation Sex Week, and shared with students the powerful messages I had received from queer people who had viewed my work and written to me to express how impacting it was to see themselves represented on screen. It validated their sexuality in a way they had not yet experienced, and for a few — in some very personal and intimate letters — having found this validation gave them the strength to come out as queer and to get out of abusive relationships and paths towards a healthier life.

Those stories are something I hadn’t anticipated when I started doing porn. But shortly after The Crash Pad was released, I found my inbox with messages that shared these amazing stories. I’m grateful, and it’s informed a lot of my theories behind why queer porn is important, why pornography is important in general. Why pornography, and sexuality in a broader sense, and the ownership of our sexualities (no matter our gender) is vital to our health and happiness.

Here’s a video taken on the set at CrashPadSeries.com (while I was being massaged by the AMAZING Chocolate Chip) in response to one of the questions, how can porn be feminist:

So, in participating with Lady Porn Day, part of this project is to list our favorite porn/performers.

It’s actually great timing. Not too long ago, I was asked about the absence of transwomen in queer pornography. Though the subject is a complicated one for a variety of reasons, and because I don’t identify as a transwoman and can only assume what it is like to have such experiences, I feel that the best way that I can reply to this question is to simply share some of the women who I know are out there and whose work I love. With that in mind, here’s link love for Ten Transwomen in Queer Porn. Some of the links are to porn sites that have established themselves as “queer”, usually a mix of genders and sexual orientations… however I don’t want to define for others what queer means to them. This list is about sharing the links to openly trans women for viewers searching for performers whom they can identify with, appreciate, and love. If you happen to blog about queer porn, don’t forget these ladies! Also, this is not in any order.  If you know of others, please comment and share links to their sites!

Ten Transwomen Porn Star Superheroes

1. Pepper from No Fauxxx
In 2007, I wrote a blog post about Transwomen Porn Star Superheroes, and mentioned “Pepper” who has a photoset on NoFauxxx.com.

2. Julie from Crash Pad Series
In 2007, Julie and Michelle Aston took the world by storm in a rough and raunchy scene that caught the attention of the Feminist Porn Awards and was awarded Hottest Trans Sex Scene. Since that scene, several transwomen have appeared at the Crash Pad, including Tobi Hill-Meyer, Drew DeVeaux, Maya Mayhem, and Juliette Stray.

3. Tobi Hill-Meyer & “Doing It Ourselves”
Tobi wrote the book on women who were frustrated with a very limited visual representation of what it means to be sexual as a transwoman. Only in this case it wasn’t a book, per se. It was a movie, produced on her own via Handbasket Productions, called “Doing it Ourselves: The Trans Women Porn Project“. The video was later produced and is carried at a number of venues including Good Vibrations and HotMoviesForHer.com. Last year, Tobi was honored as the Good Releasing Emerging Filmmaker at the Feminist Porn Awards. Tobi also appears at my birthday party shoot.

4. Mandy Mitchell
Mandy is a whipsmart porn producer who runs her own website and is making some of the queerest porn on the planet and I hope to be in her videos soon. My fav picks: her and Syd Blakovich in a sauna, or her clothespin shoot with Princess Donna.

5. Maya Mayhem
Maya is a porn performer and cam girl who I had the pleasure of meeting at my birthday party at the Crash Pad.

6. Drew Deveaux
Drew is a brilliant, blonde bombshell. Starting off in Tobi’s film and then working for Crash Pad Series and Queer Porn TV, and in Courtney Trouble’s Roulette Toronto. She’s also a budding mainstream crossover star. I can’t wait to see how her visibility will change the industry for the better. In the meantime, check out her PSA on Prostate Cancer with Buck Angel!

7. Juliette Stray
Juliette is a kinky performer whose identity is fascinatingly the Post Human Barbie Doll Transformation Project. I love running into her in San Francisco; she is quite the instigator. While her own site is in the works, check her out with Mandy on Crash Pad Series, and other sites.

8. Yasmine Lee
Yasmin performs on TSSeduction.com, which is a Kink.com website run by a transman and like many of Kink’s websites, there’s a high level of respect for models and seems to take the mainstream “fetish” of transwomen into new and definitely kinky directions.

9. Bailey Jay
Though I missed seeing Bailey at the AVN Awards, I am glad that my friend Syd was able to get a chance to meet her and snap a photo. Recently I had the pleasure of going on Bailey’s radio show and chatting with her and Matt. I adore Bailey!

10. Wendy Williams
Wendy may be one of the most popular porn performers. I’ve yet to meet her, but watched her announce at the 2010 AVN Awards with Margaret Cho. I believe she was the first transsexual porn star to make a silicone mold sex toy.

Besides the links above, also check out GoodVibes.com’s Trans Movie selection. Because all the movies at Good Vibrations are pre-screened, it’s a decent selection for finding a title that has a transwoman in it who is not unethically objectified. The category is a mix of transmen and transwomen (and some genderqueers too! ) and has both mainstream and indie transwomen in porn. (Vaniity is so hottt!)

You can see the articles here — bigger view by clicking on the image — or by scrolling through the files at this online YuDu Library.

If you want to learn more about these female pornographers, check out some of the DVDs by Erika Lust, Shine Louise Houston, and Courtney Trouble at GoodVibes.com or HotMoviesForHer.com.

They also run membership sites such as CrashPadSeries.com (Shine Louise Houston); No Fauxxx.com (Courtney Trouble); and GoodDykePorn.com (Bren Ryder).

Also a shout out to female pornographers not mentioned in the article, those in the past who set the first groundwork for others to follow, and also a nod to those I’ve worked with including Tristan Taormino, Belladonna, Joanna Angel Kathy & Shoosh of Triangle Films, MadisonYoung, and newbies like Tobi Hill-Meyer and Jincey Lumpkin and so so so many others!

Tomorrow I’ll be dishing out body shots (whether it’s tequila or a slap in the face it’s up to you) at the kink booth for QueerPorn.tv‘s “You are a Queer Porn Star” fundraiser at El Rio.

Now, while I think that there’s a difference between a “porn star” and a “porn performer” — which some relate to the number of shoots someone has done, or their notoriety — I LOVE the idea that you, me, and everyone we know can be a star, that it’s all in the attitude, porn is OURS to own, and as queers we have the power to own it. To be sexual exhibitionists, to make DIY pornography, to hustle out there as performers, to be worth it.

And to celebrate! Please come. Here’s the facebook event announcement and a very cute flyer of James Darling and Wolf Hudson. Hubba hubba.

What is Queer Porn TV?

QueerPorn.tv is an upcoming porn site by Courtney Trouble (of nofauxxx.com fame) and her cohort Tina Horn. They say the launch date will be as early as next month. I will definitely be posting about it when it launches. Until then, they’ve started posting free content such as profiles, blog posts, and interviews to the site. I did a star profile and interview with them during my time on set to shoot with the lovely Papi Coxxx.

While I feel much more comfortable articulating my thoughts via this blog, I think I did an okay job in this interview. It’s a bit on the long side, but I hope you’ll watch. I always feel after a video interview that I left out a million things, so let me know if you have questions or feedback.

For example, I was interviewed by Rosalie Scolari for The Scavenger recently and was so happy about the way it turned out. Rosalie asked some great questions, and it was nice to have a chance to give some props to my friends and colleagues — people I really respect. I am digging The Scavenger’s “Queer” category on the site. Definitely keeping an eye on them for good reads about sex, gender, and sexuality diversity.

While I didn’t choose the title of the interview, I’m pleased with it. I’ve been using the phrase “Genderqueer” a lot — it’s my intention to add visibility to the word and our experiences. Read the whole article at TheScavenger.net.
Here’s a clip:

Now to find a cute German-speaking friend to translate…

On the show, some of the things we talk about which have links (let me know if I missed anything!):

• Queer Porn Director Courtney Trouble
• Award-winning Director Shine Louise Houston (who won Good For Her’s Feminist Porn Awards‘ Visionary Award) films:  The Crash Pad, Champion
• We talk a lot about CrashPadSeries.com and about what a deal it is to get the Level 3 membership so you can download episodes (over 70!)
• Recent films: Belladonna’s Strapped Dykes, Dangerous Curves, Billy Castro Does the Mission
• Upcoming Work: Tristan Taormino, PaddedKink.com
• Nenna of NennaPresents.com (Her film is  Tight Places: A Drop of Color, which I posted about.)
• Opportunities to get into queer porn
• My interview with Jasper James on Good Vibrations Magazine
• Jasper wants to review sex toys — Good Vibrations Affiliate Program (or Babeland)
• My Karma Pervs project! (With sex toy contest sponsorship by Sugar — Lesbian-owned, women and trans -run sex toy store)
• And the question on everyone’s minds… MASTURBATE-A-THON!

I get so shy and was happy to hear all the people who called in. For those of you who found out about me through the show, thank you for coming to my site!
Also, I’m on Fetlife, Facebook, and Twitter.

I love sharing my thoughts and am thrilled that students are creating dialogue about queer sex, pornography, and are questioning the interpretations of sexual media. And I love reading their final papers!

So from here on out, I’ve got a new approach to interviews with students. I’m going to post each finished paper that is sent to me with this permission by it’s author, and possibly share it with other queer/feminist academic sex sites.

The most recent one I’ve received is by Mikayla Dennis. Thank you for sharing your work and allowing me to post it!

Women and Pornography

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines taboo as “a prohibition imposed by social customs.” Every culture has its specific taboos. In Judaism, it is taboo to eat to pork.  In Egypt , it is taboo to eat an entire plate of food; it is seen as impolite. Blowing your nose in front of others is a taboo is South Korea . Universal taboos do not exists, but a vast majority of cultures do not condone incest, murder, suicide, or pedophilia. Taboos change with time in the United States . What was taboo one hundred years ago could be widely accepted today? Divorce is an example of a taboo that has changed with time. In 1909, divorce was practically unheard of. Only 12 percent of all marriages ended in divorce in the early 1900’s. Today, 50 percent of first marriages, 67 percent of second marriages and 74 percent of third marriages in the United States end in divorce. Repression of female sexuality was very commonplace one hundred years ago. For women, sex was only for procreation purposes and those who yearned for sexual gratification were considered to be living outside the Will of God. Today, women are allowed to express their sexuality freely. As the sexuality of women continues to evolve, women’s influence in the pornography industry continues to increase.

Female sexual practices in the United States have also changed over the years. During the Victorian Era, it was believed that only men could derive pleasure from sexual activity. Women were not allowed to engage in sexual activity freely. Extreme lack of sexual fulfillment and understanding of female sexuality lead to many women being diagnosed with “hysteria.” Hysteria is defined as, “a condition of extreme excitement characterized by emotional disturbance, sensory and motor derangement and sometimes the simulation of organic disorders” (Company 517.) It was believed that nearly three quarters of all women suffered from hysteria. Symptoms of hysteria included a sense of heaviness in the pelvis, tendencies to indulge in sexual fantasies and “excessive” vaginal lubrication (Lerman 101.)  Physicians would treat hysteria in women by giving patients vulvular massages. The goal of these massages was to achieve “hysterical paroxysm” also known as “sexual orgasm.” After treating numerous women a day for hysteria, physicians grew tired and began to seek assistance in achieving the desired results. By 1870, a clockwork driven vibrator was available for use by physicians to treat hysteria and by the turn of the century battery powered vibrators were available for private purchase. They were being used as masturbatory aides but were not marketed as such. Vibrators were marketed as a domestic appliance in periodicals. This lasted until the 1920s when they began appearing in pornographic movies.

Pornography is currently defined as the depiction of explicit sexual subject matter for the purpose of sexual excitement. The previous definition of pornography related exclusively to prostitution. In 1857 the English medical dictionary defined pornography as “a description of prostitutes or prostitution, as a matter of public hygiene” (Dunglison 783.) Before the invention of the movie projector in 1876, pornographic material was only available through print (photographs and magazines.) Almost immediately after the invention of movie projectors, pornographic movies were created. The first sexually explicit movie was released in U.S. theaters in 1970. By 1982, movies were being produced on videotape. Videotape allowed viewers to watch sexually explicit videos in the privacy of their homes. Although the internet was invented in 1957, it was not accessible for popular use until the early 1990s. The availability of internet for home use allowed for even more privacy than videotapes. As of 2006, there were 4.2 million pornographic websites and 68 million pornographic search engine results (Ropelato.) The internet allows people to access pornography and remain anonymous. Research has found that 1 in 3 adults who access pornographic websites are women (Ropelato). Theresa Flynt, the vice president of marketing for the men’s magazine “Hustler” states that women account for 56 percent of their business (Blue.)

The roles women play in pornography have increased drastically since the 1980s. Before then, women’s roles in pornography were limited to on-screen positions. Over the past twenty-five years, women have become very active off-camera. One of the first women producer/director of pornography is Candida Royalle. Candida Royalle began her career as a pornographic actress but shifted her focus to director. In 1984, she founded the company Femme Production to “create materials that bespoke a more loving and healthy attitude toward sex and women” (Nagle 156.) Belladonna, Stormy Daniels and Devinn Lane are examples of additional female pornographic actresses who followed suit. As of today, there are over 50 female pornography directors and/or producers. Many of the films produced by women, focus on the sexual activity between the actors instead of the climax of the male actor, also known as the infamous “money shot.”

Some people and groups express negative attitudes toward pornography. The anti-pornography movement was sparked in 1969 when the Supreme Court decided that people can watch what they desire in their own homes. After this ruling, groups such as Women Against Pornography and Women Against Violence Against Women sought to educate the general public of the ways pornography harm women. These groups believe that pornography incites rape and other violent acts against women. Major players in the anti-pornography movement are Catharine MacKinnon, Andrea Dworkin and Gloria Steinem. In an interview, Catharine MacKinnon said she believes that pornography desensitizes people to violence against women (Jeffries.)  In 1986, TIME magazine published an article titled “Pornography: the Feminist Dilemma”. The primary reason many people and groups object to pornography is because of the belief that pornography degrades women. Avid anti-pornography protester Jon Leo stated: “By its very nature it tends to degrade women and treat them as sexual playthings for men.”

This article did not mention pornography that depicts two women engaging in sexual activity. The anti-pornography movement has loss a substantial amount of support over the past ten years. The movement has made no impact on censorship.

As the anti-pornography movement began to fade, the support of pornography gained momentum. Groups such as the Feminist Anti-Censorship Task, Feminist for Free Expression and Feminists against Censorship Force publicly declared their support of it. Those who support pornography reject the idea that pornography harms women. The principal idea is that pornography demonstrated the sexual liberation of women. This approach to pornography became known as the sex-positive movement. The sex-positive movement advocates for the acknowledgement of individual sexual diversity. This includes the acceptance of heterosexuality, homosexuality, transsexuality, polyamory and masturbation. Gayle Rubin, Wendy McElroy and Carol Queen are several key players of the sex-positive movement. In her article, “The Necessary Revolution: Sex-Positive Feminism in the Post-Barnard Era,” Carol Queen explains her view of sex-positivism.

She states:

It’s the cultural philosophy that understands sexuality as a potentially positive force in one’s life, and it can, of course, be contrasted with sex-negativity, which sees sex as problematic, disruptive, dangerous. Sex-positivity allows for and in fact celebrates sexual diversity, differing desires and relationships structures, and individual choices based on consent. (2008)

Before researching this topic, I considered myself to be in support of pornography. I firmly disagreed with those who presented the argument that pornography posed a threat to “traditional” family values and that it incites violence against women. While researching this topic, I came across information that cemented my initial belief. I also learned that women are more involved in pornography production than I originally thought. The involvement of women in the production of pornography has increased drastically over the past one hundred years and will continue to climb. The industry created by males for male enjoyment has grown to include women in every aspect of production. With 13 billion dollars grossed in 2008 alone, the pornography industry shows no sign of slowing down.

If you have connections to a Space, Play-space / Dungeon where Poly Patao Productions can film on November 20th and 21st, please let them know. This would be a donated space that would allow them to film interviews and a play party specifically for the documentary.

Ignacio is looking to do a group interview and or smaller one-on-one interviews of Queer Kinky People of Color, and also those who are performance artists whose work expresses Kink, Transness or POC focus.

PLEASE let them know asap:
1. If you can participate
2. What day and time of the day is good for you
3. If you can forward this info via e-mail, text, calling…what ever is clever for you
4. If you know of a space
5. If you would be interested in being filmed at a play party created by us for the Documentary.
6. If you are a performer/ artist

Project Summary: “Shades of Kink” is a documentary featuring individual and group interviews of queer[1] people of color and their race and gender analysis of the kink[2] world in which they navigate.

Goal of “Shades of Kink”:

• Create a forum for Queers of all races to discuss via a political lens, a racial, class and gender analysis of the Kink world.
• Show wider issues of government control of bodies specific to individuals who identify as queer and kinky.
• Delve into the internal racism and transphobia within the kink world.

Contact:

Ignacio Rivera

917-554-5438
polypatao@gmail.com

www.IgnacioRivera.com
Facebook: Ignacio Rivera
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ignacio_Rivera
Fetlife: Papí_Coxxx

[2] Kink, in this context, acting as an umbrella term that encompasses many things, including but not limited to polyamory, BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, sadomasochism) practitioner, fetish, Leather, Non-vanilla player, etc

“Hi, I’m the dummy who fell for a plot to join what was most likely a fake lesbian porno, as chronicled in today’s feature from our Film Issue. I contacted some real queer porn pros to find out just where I went wrong. If you’re a homophobe, sitting at a desk and have a boss you’re scared of, or haven’t lived long enough to legally know what a dildo is, get out of here right now…”

That’s a killer intro, I am crushing on this writer already. I wonder if she’s cute? Liz’s interview commentary is great and the responses from the four of us range from empowered awesomeness to outrageous stories. Anyway, read more at Liz Armstrong’s “This Is How You Do It” feature in Vice Magazine.

P.S. Liz kicks off the article with a picture of twincest (my performance art project with Syd). Twincest is defunct — check out our epitaph at twincest.net — but I hope it is always remembered because it was a project of sex and media and art and that’s porn to me.