Kiya-Ellen Rose, Tanyel Mustafa
Trying to find porn that doesn’t compromise on your personal values is tough. The mainstream sites hardly prioritise female empowerment – if anything, quite the opposite.
Often women are degraded, virginity is fetishised, and the overall outlook is catered to the straight, cis male gaze.
But ethical porn is very different. It’s paid for, which means it’s safer for your device but more importantly, suggests performers are treated and paid fairly. The storylines are more female-friendly too, with any domination or submission being clearly consensual.
You might not have ever heard of it or know where to go, so we’ve put a handy list together to take out the guess work. If porn sites have always been off-putting or felt taboo, ethical porn is likely to make you feel much more at ease.
These are our top places to look for a self-pleasure session that don’t make you feel morally gross afterwards.
What is ethical porn?
“Ethical porn is a term used to describe porn that has been produced in a way that honours consent, treats performers with respect, pays fairly, and is created within a fair, respectful, consent-aware and pleasure-aware workplace. The pleasure, consent and comfort of the performers is a number one priority,” says SheSpot’s in-house sexologist and sex therapist Alice Child.
According to Child, ethical porn often aims to be more realistic. “It includes a greater range of diversity of bodies, skin-colours, age, and sexual desires and boundaries. It is often (but not always) created with female pleasure in mind, and the pleasure & communication will feel more ‘true to life’. Ethical porn is therefore an attempt at making a different type of erotic film — making porn more consensual, inclusive, authentic, pleasurable, diverse and creative!”
Lust Cinema
Erika Lust is a filmmaker championing what it means to be creating feminist and ethical porn within the industry. Lust explores “intimacy, love, and lust in sex,” in her films, which she shoots in a considered, cinematic way. Lust also features diverse bodies, genders, ages, and racial identities… can we get a hell yeah in here please? https://lustcinema.com
Make Love Not Porn
Make Love Not Porn is a platform that shows real sex among real people giving us LIFE (and body confidence) for not looking as slick as the contrived porn we have all been drip fed up to now. Couples willingly submit videos of themselves having sex, where half of the money will go back to the stars themselves. Make Love Not Porn encourages you to support their “battle to build the Social Sex Revolution”.
SPIT
There is no one size fits all to sexuality, and SPIT’s content confirms that the best porn should reflect this. SPIT content is dedicated to creating consensual, equitable, and intersectional feminist spaces in the sex industry. Which is why we should all be willing to pay the joining fee to ensure this practise continues.
Bellesa
At Bellesa, women can view sexual content that celebrates women as subjects of pleasure – not objects of conquest – in an unscripted, inclusive way. Bellesa is also a platform aimed at helping women understand, explore and fulfil their desires freely in a community of like-minded women, meaning they really value and respect what women have to say. FI-NALLY.
JoyBear
JoyBear prides itself on promoting complex, strong, interesting female characters who are respected and paid fairly – and is one of the industry OGs, since it’s been around since 2003. JoyBear want us to see a “world where sex is positive and not taboo” and their platform is a safe space to explore, enjoy and most importantly have fun – removing the fear of not being perfect during one of life’s greatest pleasures. Memberships are £25 for 30 days, or £50 for 90 days’ access.
A Four Chambered Heart
If you like your porn on the artistic side (we are pleased to announce that this is a thing) then A Four Chambered Heart offers stills that are pretty enough to hang on your wall and short films which make you forget you’re even watching porn. If you’re not already busy enough with ermmm… you know, getting off to it.
PinkLabel
PinkLabel can definitely be described as one of the most inclusive platforms for sexual content gracing the internet right now. Stars from the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and people of colour are all a huge part of PinkLabel’s community. To access Pink Label all you need to do is register for free to rent, or buy films individually.
Bright Desire
Sex is about connecting, and Bright Desire values this when releasing content on its platform. Focusing mainly on realism, intimacy, connections and laughter between partners during sex, Bright Desire’s scenes feature real-life couples – meaning mutual consent and respect.
Dipsea
Porn doesn’t have to be visual – sometimes all you need is some saucy audio to get you off, and that’s where Dipsea comes in. Think of it as a sensual approach to porn. Working purely through sound, the app has hundreds sex stories for you to pick from, so you can hear the build up between those involved and the sound of them having sex. There are also stories that centre you as the protagonist (hello), in the ‘Him + You’ and ‘Her + You’ series. You can get a free trial to check this style works for you.
Afterglow
Afterglow is a newer platform that promises high quality erotica with a focus on depicting pleasure for all those involved in the footage.
Dreams of Spanking
If spanking is a kink for you, this platform ensures those involved in filming consent and are treated with high moral and ethical standards. Pandora Blake runs the site, who’s a UK spanking performer and sexual freedom activist.
Lustery
Lustery is the home of real life partners filming their sex lives behind closed doors. Lustery caters for a community of people who enjoy watching real intimacy and emotion in porn making. It’s authentic, consensual and shows the joy of real pleasure.
Ifeelmyself
Ifeelmyself is all about female pleasure — and we’re talking real female pleasure, not female pleasure as traditional porn sometimes likes to portray it. It’s a platform that also allows users to share their own videos for payment.
Sssh
If you’re looking for porn that is not only ethical but also artful, Sssh is for you. This crowdsourced erotic film platform puts the focus on narrative storytelling so you can really fall into a fantasy and get a little lost.