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Erika Lust

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How I Will Tell My Daughters I Work in Porn

Posted: 06/04/2012 4:00 am

When people around me learn of my profession, they immediately start asking morbid questions. And even if they're liberal people, they all ask the same thing: how did you tell your parents and how are you going to tell your daughters? I realize that I have a controversial profession: I've written books about sex and feminism, and I also write, produce and direct porn for women.

The feminine voice is marginal in the discourse of porn, which has been expressed in masculine (and often chauvinist) terms for more than four decades. But in these last few years, other young directors and I have successfully demonstrated that another kind of adult film is possible: one where the woman is the protagonist and her pleasure has importance, where the roles that represent us aren't those of the prostitute, Lolita, nurse, babysitter, nymphomaniac... where, finally, the men aren't the stereotype of the f--king machine, where the styling and the locations make sense, where there are stories about feelings and passion, where the sex (although explicit) is human and beautiful, and not gynecological or athletic. We are successfully producing porn that is a pleasing experience in both aesthetics and ethics, so far beyond traditional porn, which is so often offensive, violent and displeasing.

I truly believe that if I were a man, I wouldn't receive the constant moral questioning I referred to initially: about what my parents think and how I'm going to tell my girls, but we already know that being a woman, even today, has it's ups and downs. I think that I was even judging myself at first, and because of it I had to resist telling my parents, who live in Stockholm, while I was safely away in Barcelona. But they had Internet and my mother, who I had believed incapable of using Google at 70 years old, searched for "Erika Lust" and forced it to come out. But both she and my father surprised me with a very positive reaction, and showed me they understood that there was a very important, very radical difference between my work and traditional porn. They would certainly have been more comfortable if I'd been a lawyer, professor or architect -- at least it would have been easier to talk about their daughter's work with their friends.

Regarding my daughters, I have to admit that I haven't thought about it at all, since the oldest is four and the youngest is one. But I feel that when the moment arrives, there won't be a problem: My work is honest, innovative and has a cause. Not only for the content and message of the movies I make, but also because the sex-positive feminism with which I identify, and which defends the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component to women's rights. And I think porn that is intelligent, respectful of women, contemporary and thoughtful actually contributes to women's full sexual liberation.

Society is always trying to control and oversee our sexuality, as it does with everything else. Sometimes it's the state, many times it's the church, sometimes the more radical feminists, the conservatives and the male chauvinists; all have their motives for controlling us. Their objective is to limit our sexuality to family and reproduction, with the intention that sex should never seem fun; should it, we become dangerous and unworthy of respect in their eyes.

Many times pornography is accused of being the lowest product of society, and of transmitting the worst values; but we shouldn't forget about television, cinema, advertising, fashion, all of which quite often transmit negative messages about a woman's body and breed confusion about gender and sexuality.

Fathers, mothers, teachers, aunts, friends, grandmothers, all of these in fact transmit values about sex and gender to children. We must all (including those in porn) think about what we say and how we say it, until the end of their childhood or early adolescence.

I want my daughters to learn that sex is life and pleasure, not just the risk of disease and unwanted pregnancy. I will tell them that I am a writer and director of films, and this my movies talk about love, about men and women who desire each other, about passion and sex. And of course I have to tell them what sex is, but this isn't just me, it's all of the fathers and mothers in the world! If we learn to explain what sex is to our children tactfully and in a natural, intelligent manner, we avoid that first explanation being from Nacho Vidal or Rocco Sifreddi. Or in the case of my friend, from Google, when her eight-year-old son and an older friend searched the web for "bitch".

When they are adolescents and a boyfriend shows them a porn film, I want my daughters to be able to decide what they like and what they don't: to be critical, to laugh if necessary, and ideally, to show the boys a different kind of film, one that they prefer instead.

 

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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Tony Pepperoni
Where did all the good Republicans go?
03:58 PM on 06/05/2012
Sex is truly the final frontier of human insecurity and we may never get past it. I can't help but think that in an ideal world nobody would judge Erika for what she did for her profession, but our hang ups are nearly impossible to overcome. I admit that I conform to society on this issue, although on the inside I agree with everything she said.

Thanks for being honest.
08:40 AM on 06/05/2012
My objection, such as it is, is from a professional rather than a moral point of view. I seem to detect a defensiveness from the author throughout the post "I work in porn because it allows me to achieve certain political and artistic goals". Personally, THAT is where I believe the self-deception comes in. Does any aspiring writer/director choose to work in porn or is this where you've ended up? People can dress up porn in whatever feminist garb they need to, the fact remains that porn is porn - it isn't art, it isn't a statement, it's a sex movie.
Now, if I'm wrong, hey I'm wrong. Maybe you really did choose this field. But if I'm not then a more productive use of your time might be to figure out how to get into legitimate film rather than defend where you are now.
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Erika Lust
03:41 PM on 06/05/2012
YOu should know that more and more intelligent, creative, smart and innovative young professionals are coming to the adult industry because they want to, not because of despair. They are adult filmakers (like me), erotic store owners, high end sex toys designers, artists, performers.... You need to know that there's a part of the industry that is not shady.
05:35 PM on 06/09/2012
It's both amusing and sad when a commenter attempts to rebut an author's point, but inadvertently both proves that point, and precisely exemplifies it.

"...porn is porn - it isn't art..."

This commenter doesn't understand either.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kapjam
10:37 PM on 06/04/2012
"I truly believe that if I were a man, I wouldn't receive the constant moral questioning"

Right, we see male porn performers in such a high regard. Only women are looked down on.
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11:07 AM on 06/05/2012
It doesn't seem that she is a preformer, she claims to be a producer/director.
11:48 AM on 06/05/2012
the women however make 5x more pay than the men
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08:51 PM on 06/04/2012
Tell them you work in one of the few tax paying legal industries, with many satisfied clients, that pay women more than men for doing pretty much the same thing.

Man, it's 2012, can't people just lighten up?
11:09 AM on 06/19/2012
Lmao! Thank you!!
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yakmeat
Nearly all of us are both makers and takers.
08:36 PM on 06/04/2012
Interesting article. I wish I had a porn director in my family. I'd love a chance to compose the music.

While sometimes it appears that someone really tried to achieve maximum cheesiness (perhaps in an effort to make the music "feel like porno music") many porn soundtracks come off as just weak and distracting.

However, I think creating genuinely good music to accompany erotic film would be rather difficult. This is probably because we all have our own idea of what sounds "sexy" and what type of music belongs within a sexual context, and these preferences likely vary considerably from person to person and from one cultural background to the next.

Just like any other film (action, sci-fi, romance, etc.) the trick would be to use enough common musical elements to give the audience emotional cues. It should sound bold and glorious when the hero storms the castle and sound sad and forlorn when the star's lover dies, yet it also should sound original enough to feel new and fresh to the audience.

Traditionally, porn doesn't take the time to build much of an emotional foundation, (did someone order a pizza?) but good music can say a lot within a short time. Composers who write music for TV commercials are often able to create substantial emotional environments within 30 or 60 seconds. This could be done for porn as well, and would be an interesting challenge for sure.
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Dale Chan
Hope is both panacea and poison.
03:11 AM on 06/05/2012
Wow I never really thought that much about porn music. Thanks for giving me something to ponder.
07:49 PM on 06/04/2012
May I suggest you not celebrate "Bring Your Daughters to Work Day" until after you've been able to show what you do, beyond the subject matter of porn. After all Hollywood has done it for a century now. And even has different ratings that some people think have merit. And it would unfold naturally and would neither deny or affirm what you do until they are ready.
07:26 PM on 06/04/2012
Unbelievable...When you open Pandora's box...you get this king of posting where a " mother "
working in porn wonders how she is gonna tell her kids about what she does...
Here read the ten signs of a decaying society...and then you can twist it and rationalize it
whichever way you want or a la ACDC
www.clintonmemoriallibrary.com/clint_change.html
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11:09 AM on 06/05/2012
Everyone has their own defenition of "decaying society", and none of us can ever prove objectivity on the matter.
For me, for example, number one would be a resurgent religious right wing that takes over government and curtails progress.
11:48 PM on 06/05/2012
You are OK that anybody can define what is a decaying society but you seem not
have any problem talking about progress, yet did you define it ?
As I said before, you can rationalize it, normalize it and sprinkle some ACDC
on it. How about spending some time looking at some data, such as correlation
between these signs and decaying societies instead of just placing an opinion
based on no data.
07:01 PM on 06/04/2012
This person just adds fuel to the argument that Homo sapiens are animals with language...and we know where that got them from the story of the Tower of Babel....you could google it...as for the girls, I would like to see her blog on how she will tell them what ever happened to their father/s...or sperm donors...or however they were conceived...I doubt she was a virgin mother...or has a traditional marriage...all in God's will of course...google Theofatalism for details...color me old fashioned...
06:48 PM on 06/04/2012
I think as any parent worrying about telling their children about sexual situations, it will all come easy as how they are brought up. Your thoughts and upbringing with be theirs, just my 2 cents.
Rocco has to tell why he does it that way!! ....Brutal bugger
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probo
fear is a waste of my time
06:22 PM on 06/04/2012
Just tell them the truth...kids are tough and if you have a good relationship with them it won't be a problem nor should it be.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jsgaetano
Legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus
05:41 PM on 06/04/2012
Don't worry, I'm sure your kid's friends will eventually let them know.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Dale Chan
Hope is both panacea and poison.
03:13 AM on 06/05/2012
Awkward moment.
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11:10 AM on 06/05/2012
Kids don't tend to watch artsy/classy erotic movies.
If only they did we may be in a better world.
05:32 PM on 06/04/2012
I have always found it incredibly hypocritical that many men and women watch porn ,yet are so judgmental to the performers. If you have ever enjoyed pornography, you shouldn't be so holier than thou when you meet a porn actor/actress.
Women are judged more harshly than a man in porn. With guys, the reaction is "wow you get paid to have sex!" while women aren't supposed to like sex enough to make a career out of banging.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ESerafina42
Abandoned by wolves, raised by Republicans.
05:29 PM on 06/04/2012
If I were embarrassed or ashamed about telling my children what I did for a living (and if it were something I did by choice, rather than being forced to by economics, for example), I would seriously consider a different field.
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Erika Lust
10:59 PM on 06/04/2012
Did I ever said in my text I was embarrassed or ashamed? really?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ESerafina42
Abandoned by wolves, raised by Republicans.
10:35 AM on 06/05/2012
That seems to be implied if you're reluctant to tell your daughters what you do for a living.
05:18 PM on 06/04/2012
I think I'd be far more ashamed of my profession if I created ultra violent movies or video games that celebrate death and killing.

Why are we so against sex and so accepting of violence in our culture? That's the real sin, as far as I'm concerned.
05:18 PM on 06/04/2012
As these posts should show you madme, many have told themselves the same thing you are telling youself now and have woken to the same reality.

The reason is that society cannot be seen being seen with you. It's not that they privately don't think what your doing is fine, but publicly they cannot say this. We all wear public and private faces.

That is the way of all societies which are not free.

Haven't you noticed that our country isn't as free as it makes itself out to be? Time for you to grow up before you daughters do. What you are doing is fine, just don't tell anybody.