Where to Find Good, Ethical Porn
Porn is fun, and a great way for us to explore sexual pleasure by ourselves or with a partner, but mainstream pornography is also problematic. It’s often catered to the male gaze, offering depictions of women in degraded or dehumanizing ways, and is usually exploitative of both the performers and production team, with many not being fairly compensated. Enter ethical porn: the better alternative porn when you want to get off in a way that makes you feel good in more ways than one.
What is ethical porn?
It's porn that is female-focused and values respect, consent, and equal pay above getting you off. While ethical porn doesn’t have a singular definition, according to Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a scientific sex advisor at Lovehoney, there are some common identifiers, including a foregrounding of consent and behind-the-scenes respect for the performers and crew.
One of the key differences between ethical porn and everything else is that it’s typically made through a feminist lens (while male, trans, and non-binary porn performers also deserve to be treated ethically, they fall outside the traditional definition of the form). “In fact, the term ‘ethical porn’ is frequently used interchangeably with ‘feminist porn,’” Lehmiller notes. “Applying a feminist lens to porn may mean different things to different people, such as porn made by women for women, porn that incorporates feminist values, or porn that is female-focused.”
Common Qualities of Ethical Porn
Lehmiller shares these other common qualities of ethical porn:
- It’s not free (usually). Consumers pay for the content to ensure that all involved in the production are paid fairly.
- There’s no on-set pressure. Consent is the cornerstone here, and the performers’ wishes are respected.
- It’s created for a diverse audience. The final product isn’t just meant for the heterosexual male gaze and shows sex from different perspectives.
- The performers come from all walks of life. Ethical porn is more inclusive than mainstream porn in terms of sexuality, age, ability status, race, body type, and other characteristics.
- It’s less performative. Ethical porn tends to focus on authentic depictions of pleasure, without the screaming orgasms seen so often in mainstream porn.
What can you expect to see in ethical porn?
You might be wondering how different ethical porn is when it comes to (no pun intended) watching people have sex. One of the key differences between ethical porn and mainstream porn, says Lehmiller, is that in ethical porn places far less emphasis on what you might call the “meat shot.”
“The specific sex acts you’ll see are similar, just filmed from a different perspective—one that focuses less on genital and penetration close-ups and more on showing two or more people having a good time,” he explains. “You’re likely to see more focus on faces, the connection between the partners, and artistic camerawork that highlights the beauty of the human body. You may also see before-and-after interviews with or conversations between the performers.”
Identifying Ethical Content
So how can you tell if a porn site is indeed “ethical”? According to Lehmiller, common indicators of an ethical production include:
- it is clear who is behind the production (studio, director, performers);
- there is a statement of values and/or filming practices on the website;
- it’s not available for free on one of the big tube sites.
To help distinguish between mainstream and ethical productions, consider the following data based on Lehmiller's research:
| Feature | Mainstream Pornography | Ethical Pornography |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Male gaze and genital close-ups | Feminist lens and authentic pleasure |
| Compensation | Performers often not fairly compensated | Paid for content to ensure fair pay | Often depicts degraded or dehumanizing ways | Foregrounding of consent and crew respect |
| Visual Perspective | Emphasis on "meat shots" | Focus on connection and faces |
Where to find ethical porn you’ll enjoy
Below, Lehmiller shares his top choices for ethical porn sites. Lustery is an ethical porn platform “that aims to show real people having real sex. Real couples film themselves and share authentic depictions of pleasure.