The "Oscars of Porn" ceremony is taking place on January 23rd, and while adult entertainment doesn't have to be overtly political, it's pretty heartwarming that so many feminist porn stars are nominated for the AVN Awards this year . These feminists aren't explicitly making feminist porn - that's still a niche - but they've been outspoken about being feminists in their personal lives, which does influence them in some way career choice.
Granted, celebrity feminism is nothing new, but there's still a degree of cognitive dissonance between mainstream feminism and pornography that began with the feminist sex wars of the 1980s and has never completely gone away. While it's important that feminists continue to discuss adult entertainment (and all media) to raise questions about objectification, sexism, and racism, it's also important that we first listen to feminist porn performers and their perspectives on the subject .
If you ask me, just the thought of men who proudly profess their misogyny yet spend their hard earned money on porn stars who happen to be feminists is pretty cool. Watching a killer creampie scene is also a win-win because deep down you know the actress on screen believes in gender equality just as much as you do.
Here are five feminist porn stars nominated for the 2016 Adult Video News Awards. Good luck, ladies!
1. Joanna Angel
Porn polymath Joanna Angel, founder of alternative porn haven Burning Angel, is not only nominated for Best Director (Parody) but also happens to be the co-host of this year's Las Vegas awards ceremony , and will be inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame. In an interview with Slutever , Angel discussed her views on the relationship between porn and feminism: "I'm not going to make porn that I don't want to watch, and I don't like porn that women don't look like and that's personally me Ways to Make Feminist Porn.”
2. April Flores
The queen of body-positive porn, April Flores was nominated for BBW Performer of the Year, which she won in 2014 and 2015. In her 2013 "The Feminist Porn Book ," a pithy personal essay about queering fat Latinas in porn, she wrote: "I am a fat woman in control of her sexuality... to me There is no truer or more powerful form of self-expression than a woman performing sex acts for others. It’s the ultimate statement of empowerment”.
3. Stoya
Stoya, nominated for Best Supporting Actress this year, is a smart sex-positive advocate who writes columns and articles about sex, sexual health, sex work and the adult film industry for Vice , The Verge and The New York Times . In a highly nuanced essay on the complex relationship between feminist politics and pornography, she once wrote:
"I feel conflicted about applying this label to myself because I rarely do things specifically to advance women's rights. However, avoiding a direct answer to whether I am a feminist is a bit of a cop-out. Avoiding the word feels like a betrayal of those who have worked for me Women offer many advantages, so I say: Hi, I'm Stoya, my politics and I'm a feminist...but my job is not."
4. Akira Asada
Asa Akira, who is vying for Mainstream Star of the Year, quipped in a Playboy article: "Fuck you. I'm a feminist." She believes the porn industry is where the feminist fight for wage equality has been won many times, with women being paid far more than their male counterparts. She went on to explain: "Men and women should be equal in every way. That's it. Whether we have sex with hundreds of people for money or complete abstinence. As for me, for now, I'll just have to be content with calling it 'Feminism'."
5. Carter Cruise
Carter Cruise, a 23-year-old porn star and musician who is nominated for Best Actress, Best Oral Sex Scene, Female Performer of the Year and more, told Cosmopolitan that she was brought up by a She was raised by a feminist father who brought these values into her heart. Adult industry.
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Photo: Getty Images (5); April Flores /Wikipedia
