Run-of-the-mill porn can be fraught with issues. Much of it is still centered on the male gaze, women are often depicted in demeaning ways and consent can feel iffy at best. Enter ethical porn, which, according to experts at Sssh.com, an adult content site, is porn that encompasses better business practices, including but not limited to fair wages for performers and crew, respectful treatment of performers, a safe, private set and more. Ethical porn is “fundamentally sex-positive,” says Angie Rowntree, the founder and director of Sssh.com, and emphasizes female pleasure as much as male pleasure. Learn more—including where you can find it—below.
Ethical Porn Just Might Be the Best Way to Get Your Jollies if You’re a Feminist
•
Published Apr 14, 2023
Meet the Expert
Angie Rowntree is the founder and director of the award-winning site Sssh.com, a destination for sex-positive, ethical porn made from a woman's point of view.
onion/getty images
What Is Ethical Porn?
Ethical porn is focused on fair wages for performers and crew, respectful treatment of performers (always respecting boundaries, stopping if they need to, etc.), as well as a safe, private set. Ethical porn studios also tend to be conscious about marketing, meaning they avoid harmful tropes and stereotypes about performers, and are always sex-positive and inclusive. Here are five ways ethical porn differs from traditional, mainstream porn.
1. You Pay for It, So the People Making It Can Earn Fair Wages
“More often than not, you’ll find ethical porn is always behind a paywall, because the people who bring you pleasure deserve to be paid fairly,” Rowntree says, adding that ethical studios know that it costs money to ensure casts and crews are compensated for their labor.
2. Performers Have Creative Agency on Set
On sites dedicated to ethical porn, like Sssh.com, MakeLoveNotPorn and Bellesa, ethical porn films are typically character-driven stories during which “sex scenes actually help to move the story forward,” Rowntree explains. Additionally, performers have creative agency and input about their characters, making for a more authentic, genuine experience for the performers and consumers of the content. And, of course, enthusiastic consent is paramount.
3. Performers Are Often Real-Life Couples or Content Partners Who Choose to Work Together
Speaking of authentic, genuine experiences, Rowntree says that, unlike traditional porn can feel awkward when the performers are clearly not interested in each other, Sssh.com likes to bring real-life partners together on camera, or allow performers to choose the scene partners they want to work with. “We find that this practice also helps to encourage open communication and respect, as performers readily share their ‘dos and don’ts’ for each scene before ever stepping foot on set,” she says. “Moreover, even if ‘faking it’ works in most Hollywood rom-coms, connection and chemistry simply cannot be ‘faked’ during actual live sex.”
4. The Sex Itself Isn’t Formulaic or Stereotypically Porn-y
Compared to traditional porn, ethical porn often feels more natural and real. Think: no campy, stereotypical porn tropes (“Oops, I can’t believe my friend just burst through the bedroom door unannounced!”). Ethical porn, on the other hand, is focused on mutual pleasure, passion and chemistry. Rowntree says there’s no problem if you do like formulaic porn, but, “as an ethical studio, we are more about capturing those nuanced moments of pleasure and togetherness as the sex naturally unfolds.”
5. The Pleasure You’re Seeing Is Real and Relatable
“Whether the sex is ‘vanilla’ or more on the kinky spectrum, ethical porn scenes are always created from enthusiastic consent, transparency, chemistry and connection,” Rowntree says. In practice that means the sex you’re seeing in ethical porn is believable, relatable, doesn’t typically involve the usual cliches and emphasizes female pleasure as much as male pleasure. She adds, “ethical porn showcases pleasure in a way that is not just aspirational, but actually attainable.”
4 More Sites Where You Can View Ethical Porn: Bright Desire, Dane Jones, Dipsea, Quinn
