First up, from my interview with the indomitable Sophia St. James, a small excerpt from our conversation about queerness and queer porn. The interview in its entirety will appear tomorrow in WHACK! Magazine:
Me: If you had to explain to someone who had never heard of it before, why you identify as queer and what queerness and queer porn mean, what would you say?
Sophia St. James: It’s kind of tricky when it comes to queer porn. And it’s only tricky because everyone has a different definition of what queer means to them. So, for me, being queer means that I’m an equal opportunity lover. I enjoy many different sexualities and many different genders. A lot of times when I explain that to people, they say, “Oh, so you mean you’re bisexual?” But no, “bisexual” means “bi,” which means two, so you’re speaking mainly of your cisgender — or your born-male or born-female — individuals. I take it a step further; I enjoy working with and having lovers that are transgendered, and so it’s not necessarily bisexual. And plus, queer can also, for me, mean that you’ve taken your sexual realm and identity outside of the “societal,” heteronormative views of what sex should be. And so, when it comes to queer porn… Hm.
I explain it the same way, but I also include the diversity piece. For me, queer porn should really be about including everyone in our community and having a representation. I find that when I speak to people, or people e-mail me, or what not, they appreciate queer porn because they see things that… While they may enjoy porn, up until a few years ago, porn hasn’t represented what they enjoy. And so now they can look at porn and see body types that are like theirs, they can see sexual activities that they, too, enjoy and that they can actually get off to, or get enthralled within that porn that they’re watching because it does represent their lifestyle in a sense.
Next up, European filmmaker, winner of numerous awards, and Dusk TV content staple Erika Lust discusses her goals in making erotic films. This interview will appear in full sometime in the next month or so on TheWomansPOV.com:
Me: What specific things about erotic film, sexual politics, and human sexuality do you hope to effect change in?
Erika Lust: Our current society is very permissive. We see sex in every corner: ads, films… but it’s funny how, behind this fake open-mindedness, the female sexuality keeps on being totally repressed and its representation is always oriented towards male appreciation. That’s what I want to change in erotic films: I want to show that woman own their sexuality and should explore it for themselves as a human being, instead of constantly trying to please men, as the media show us every day. I think that answers pretty much all the elements of your question.
Me: You’ve said that you see women as the potential transformers of erotic film. Women seem to me to be the huge, untapped force of the human erotic experience as pertains to film-making. How do you see women bringing about change now and in the future?
Erika Lust: Women are being pressured between retrograde media, mainstream porn and Sex and the City. But women have so much to say that can’t fit in a box. Women need to “undramatise” porn and start making their own: sex is not a men’s thing. More women every day start writing, producing, experimenting with sex behind the camera, and the more do that, the more it will help women get rid of this undiserved sense of shame. Women’s sexuality should not be a joke nor a wrong feminist cliché: it should be natural and enthusiastic, and ready to answer back when we’re called “sluts”.
Stay tuned, lads and lasses and lovers of all types, I'll have more, from Jennifery Lyon Bell, Martijn Broersma, and Drew Deveaux tomorrow!
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