It’s Today! The 2012 Feminist Porn Awards

Last night, a theater full of Toronto's finest (and a handful of sexy out-of-towners) sat in a beautifully renovated theater watching clips from four panelists: Nenna, Buck Angel, N Maxwell Lander, and Erika Lust. Scenes explored explicit sexuality spanning gender, orientation, race and cinematic styles. What followed was a panel and audience Q&A moderated by CoCo La Creme which addressed the pornographers' thoughts on how they incorporate feminist ideals and narratives into their work, how they cast their projects, their obstacles and accomplishments, thoughts on artistic merit, and deconstructions of patriarchal themes. It was both enlightening to hear the directors' contemplation, and left much food for thought.

Shine Louise Houston has said, "Talking about porn is like dancing about architecture." Having a BA in Dance, I couldn't agree more. In this line of work, there's no right or wrong in sexual interpretation, and for me, it's the diversity of perspectives -- much like the diversity of the work itself -- that matters when it comes to presenting alternative visions of porn. One point I did walk away with, is that no matter what the producer's experience, style or execution, as long as the intention is good (consensual, ethical, or [insert your definition of "good porn" here...]), one should be stand firmly and be proud of what they are making.

My personal motivations behind pornography can be summarized ultimately by the desire to have "a good time". Vague? Well, it's what's in my head at the moment; a trestle of culminating crotches, orgasms, and socio-political agendas. More confusion? Read Stoya's essay on Warren Ellis' blog and jump on back here... Ok, you back? Cool. Sorry if that didn't help either. Perhaps porn can be as complicated as it is incredibly, stupidly, simple. Maybe that's also why it's so often, and questionably, art

The 2012 Feminist Porn Awards are tonight. I'm part nervous, part curious, and part thrilled. This year I'm involved in 11 nominated works. You could say that I've had my fingers in a little bit of everything... the double entendre would be a literal one. And yes, I'm proud.

What works am I in that have been nominated, you ask? Take a deep ocular breath and read on:

[Photo credit: Twincest (Syd Blakovich/Jiz Lee, Karma Pervs)

[This post is a part of Fleshbot's Jiz Lee Week.]