Porn For Straight Girls: By Straight Girls, And Only For Girls?

Girlzporn, a new site that aims to "provide a central community for women to explore & enjoy erotic media in its may forms," is sort of exactly what I've been hoping would pop up as a result of the recent attention brought to female porn-viewers. It's a fantastic site, and here's why.

Girlzporn has so many different aspects, it's a little dizzying to go over them all. There's the Girlzblog, which gives updates on what's happening with the site and its founders, and also provides thoughts on recently posted articles and released studies. Then there's The Word, which includes articles, interviews, movie and product reviews, posts from bloggers around the web (including our genderqueer crush Jiz Lee!) and my favorite, Pornoscopes. As an obsessive horoscope checker, I'm thrilled that I can also look up what might be happening with my sex life for the next month. Apparently I am being too picky lately. Also, the little sex-centric illustrations that interpret each of the signs are pretty hilarious.

The "Guidance" section offers advice and gives visitors the opportunity to ask questions of sexpert Jaiya. The "Watch Porn" tab offers three directions: "The Premium Collection" includes directors like Erika Lust and Kimberley Kane; the "DVDs of the Month" are exactly what they sound like; and the "Pay-Per-View" section is, again, a standard offering. The movie selections are tailored to what the editors of the site feel will appeal to women, so Nina Hartley's anal educational movie for Adam & Eve appears, as well as plenty of femdom movies, girl-on-girl, and Japanime. There was a whole category of "Feature Films," for those who like high production values and plot. Finally, there's a section called gpTV, where readers can upload videos from around the web that focus on women and porn. Interviews with Kimberley Kane, sex toy reviews, movie trailers, and porn news abound.

I had one, and only one, criticism of the site. It was an odd moment that occurred when I first went to click on the "Watch Porn" tab. A little window popped up asking me to agree that I was over eighteen, etc., etc., all the standard stuff. But one of the qualifications for moving on was also agreeing that I have a vagina or identify as female. And I found this sort of strange. Granted, creating a safe space for women to talk about porn might need to stipulate that men can't openly register as users, and I understand that to some extent. But if we have such trouble with segregating porn already and pandering to the "male gaze," shouldn't Girlzporn be welcoming of anyone who might want to see women and what they find pleasurable? Why should men be disallowed from educating themselves on what their wives or girlfriends are turned on by? I was taken aback by the restrictive nature of this moment, and the near-hostility it implied. Is it just me?

I love, love, love the idea that this is an online community specifically for women who love porn. Sex, too, but really erotic media. This, to me, was such an obvious hole in the porn world that I can't believe it wasn't filled until now. (Yes, that is dirty.) Girlzporn doesn't "dumb down" or restrict their opinion of what women find sexy; there's plenty of gangbangs, blowjobs, lesbians, S&M, and anal featured prominently on the site. I appreciated the fact that the offerings weren't limited to the romantic or the banal. I hope that Girlzporn proves a wild success and continues to grow. I'm already hooked.

· Visit Girlzporn (girlzporn.com)

Previously: Porn For Straight Girls Archive