What is Ethical Porn?

Guest Post by afterglow

When you think of the porn industry, what do you think of? Maybe you imagine an old white guy with a camera creeping on a hot young woman in her underwear. Or, maybe you think of sex parties like those at the Playboy mansion, again with some old guys.

Thankfully, those images are pretty outdated now. Times are changing and the adult industry has seen a huge shift the past 20 years. Old industry veterans are retiring or selling their companies and being replaced by young up-and-comers — many of whom are women and people committed to ethical standards in pornography.

But what is ethical porn?

At its simplest level, ethical porn is porn made by people who care about the impact they are creating on the world. Ethics are subjective and vary from person to person, so it’s up to the company or performer to decide what is ethical for them. There's no single definition of “ethical” and it can mean something different to everyone. So, just like when making ethical choices about where to buy your food or your clothes from, finding ethical porn is about finding companies whose values align with your own that you want to support.

afterglow is an ethical porn platform that makes porn by women, for everyone. Below we’ve outlined some of the ethics that we follow when shooting our porn.

Ethical porn is… consensual

Consent is a crucial part of ethical porn, and performers' safety, both physical and emotional, should be prioritized at every stage of production.

This means that performers do not feel pressured to do things that they do not want to do. Everything should be created with enthusiastic consent from everyone involved and there should be no sense of coercion.

Performers should be given the opportunity to state what sexual activities they do and do not want to engage in before the shooting day. These boundaries should be addressed again on set, where they have the opportunity to change their mind on anything they don’t feel comfortable with at any time. There should be an environment in which performers feel comfortable and able to voice any concerns or worries that they have.

Ethical porn is… fair pay & labor conditions

Everyone involved in the making of a movie is paid a fair wage and their payment is agreed upon upfront. There is no bargaining, no exploitation, and people are paid in a timely manner.

And just as with any other industry, porn performers and crew should work under fair working conditions with adequate breaks, access to food and water, and reasonable hours. Performers should also be given adequate time to prepare physically and emotionally before filming sex scenes.

Ethical porn is… STI testing

Productions adhere to medical safety standards by asking performers to show a negative STI test result, like those provided by TBD Health who provide adult performers with next day test results.

Performers should still have the option to use condoms or any other safer sex measure despite having negative test results.

How to find ethical porn

What steps can you take as a consumer to make sure you're consuming ethical porn? Here are our top tips to know if you’re watching ethical porn.

Pay for your porn

Nothing in life is free and paying for your porn is the best shortcut to ethical porn. Remember that performers mostly do porn to pay the bills, just like any other job. And they deserve to be paid just like the rest of us do for our work.

By using paywalls and charging for consumption of their content, porn production companies are able to pay fair wages to performers and crew. The money can also be used for STI testing, travel and accommodation for performers, and ensuring laws and regulations are enforced.

If you choose not to pay for it, then people have to cut corners and make more with less money. Just like any other industry, when you devalue something, it’s harder for the people making it to make it well, with good working conditions and ethical standards.

Do your research

If you’re buying from a porn production company, read up on their philosophy and standards.

Read their interviews and reviews in mainstream media. Watch their behind-the-scenes content. Find out who exactly is behind the name of the company. Get a sense of what the performers who work for them are saying about them. Basically, try to get a thorough understanding of their philosophies or their mission.

Consume porn mindfully

Think about your ethical standards and your relationship to porn, and respect those who make it. If the porn you support and how you consume is aligned with your values, you can enjoy it without feeling any guilt or shame.

For some people, consuming porn thoughtfully simply means paying for their porn. For other people, thoughtful porn consumption means intentionally seeking out porn made by marginalized creators, developing self-care rituals centered around pleasure, or having a conversation with a partner about ways to incorporate porn into a shared sex life.

Support diverse casting

Sexuality and sexual desire is beautifully diverse and porn should be too. Support films and production companies that feature performers with varying genders, races, body types, ages, disabilities, and sexual orientations. Representation matters.

Pay attention to the language used to describe the performers and the themes. Watch out for anything that is racist, homophobic, transphobic or fatphobic when describing a movie or a particular performer. This is a clear indication of whether the performers are being treated with respect, or not.

Watch ethical porn with a free trial of afterglow

afterglow is ethical porn by women for everybody. Get a free 14 day membership to xoafterglow.com and enjoy sexy videos, eduporn, guided masturbations and partner exercises. Just use code TBDHEALTH at checkout.

This article provides information about sexual health, healthcare and/or related subjects. The blog content and any linked materials herein are not intended to be, and should not be construed as a substitute for, medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment. Any reader or person with a medical concern should consult with an appropriately-licensed physician or other healthcare provider. This blog is provided purely for informational purposes. The views expressed herein are not sponsored by and do not represent the opinions of TBD Health Inc.