Does Feminism Fit Into Porn? We Chatted To An Award-Winning Porn Director To Find Out

One thing's for sure: porn is everywhere, and it's as easy to find on the internet as your local Itsu is, yet people (including sexual health educators in schools) never talk about it.

Jacky St. James is an award-winning writer and director within the adult entertainment industry who wants to reduce some of the shame and stigma surrounding female sexuality and encourage women to embrace it. We caught up with her to pick her brains on the porn industry and how feminism fits in.

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When did you first decide you wanted to make porn, and why?

I got into the business after winning a screenwriting contest that a company called New Sensations was holding for their Romance Series. At the time I worked in corporate America and had no aspirations of working in adult. I was invited to set for the production of my first adult screenplay, Dear Abby, and I fell in love with the business immediately. After that, I was asked to write more screenplays and shortly thereafter, directing gigs followed.

I loved the creativity and freedom that the adult business provided and was drawn to that aspect of the business. Abandoning my corporate job and throwing caution to the wind really paid off for me. I absolutely love every aspect of my job.

What is the most common misconception about porn and porn making?

That we’ve all experienced some kind of childhood trauma and that we’re all drug addicts. We might be a smaller community than mainstream Hollywood but we’re just as diverse. There are plenty of pornographers and adult performers that are emotionally stable - college graduates, with families and children. As strange as it might sound, it's a job. A lot of people assume it's this non-stop party with people snorting lines of cocaine off bathroom counters but in actuality, porn is really nothing like Boogie Nights. Porn is a job, not a party. 

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What’s different about the porn you make from traditional porn?

Traditional pornography is very focused on genitalia and not so focused on connection – it spends way too much time on penetration shots and every scene formulaically ends with the male orgasm - never the female's. They typically lack any inherent set up or established relationship between the people having sex.

I’m all about story, connection, and relationship. That doesn’t mean I’m writing romance flicks. It simply means that I spend more time developing relationships on-screen between my characters. I want my audience to be invested in them.

I also make sure that both the male and female performers get equal screen time during their sex scenes. Typically, traditional porn will cut off the male performer’s head so that the there is more attention paid to the female and also so that there is less of a distraction for male viewers who might not want to look at another man. I cannot stand this style of shooting. There is a dehumanization of the male performer and also the focus is solely on penetration or extreme sexual acts performed on the woman.

Before I worked in the business, I was an avid viewer of pornography and this was one of my biggest complaints. I like to look at the man’s face. To see his reactions and expressions. That’s a turn on for me and therefore, it’s what I demand of my camera crew every day we shoot. The man is an equal player in the sex scene. The relationship and chemistry between both people are absolutely critical to creating a passionate scene.

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Does traditional porn get female desire wrong?

I wouldn’t say those things are “wrong”, just that they are very limiting when you think about how complex sexual desire really is. Female desire is not one particular thing, so to make the assumption that traditional porn is not appealing to women would be an incorrect statement. There are some women that do enjoy this type of pornography. What’s important to understand is that there is no particular “type” of pornography that is universally appealing to one particular gender. As humans, we are complex and nuanced and that’s a very beautiful thing! 

Traditional pornography isn’t as prevalent as it used to be. Tube sites might have you think that, but in reality, pornography is very diverse - with quite a few studios doing high-end artistic vignettes to full-length feature films.

How does feminism fit into porn?

The female voice and female desire absolutely has a place in pornography because women are sexual creatures and our fantasies deserve a rightful place in the adult market. Currently there are a variety of female pornographers doing very different work in adult - Kayden Kross, Joanna Angel, Mason, Dana Vespoli (to name a few). What’s particularly inspiring about this is that it further proves just how complex our views on sexuality really are. Diversity is critical in every business, pornography is no exception. Diversity allows us to reach, touch, inspire, move, and excite a broader spectrum of people and it also gives everyone an outlet for expression. That is always critical.

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Why is there a stigma around porn?

Because people think that the content that is illegally uploaded to tube sites is somehow a true reflection of what the industry offers. There is this misconception that pornography is flooded with violent pornography and rough sex. However, that really isn’t the norm for mainstream pornographic companies anymore. Most of what is being produced by legitimate studios now is more high-end, beautifully and artistically shot sex scenes or feature films. Most civilians wouldn’t know that because they are getting their information from tube sites where viewers can illegally upload content they don't own and a lot of that content is not current.  

While many make the assumption that porn is "dirty" because it is the biggest part of the sex industry - in truth mainstream pornography is actually very regimented with rules and regulations implemented to keep everyone safe. The performers actually receive a full panel STD test every two weeks. I doubt you could find anyone in the civilian world that has a test ever two weeks, let alone every two years.

The fact of the matter is, when an adult performer tests positive for an STD - they almost always got it from someone they had sex with outside the industry. So, the stigma that performers are somehow "disease-ridden" is entirely false. We're the ones catching and treating diseases the moment they're contracted.

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A lot of young people use porn to learn about sex – do you do anything in your porn making to ensure that young people aren’t getting the wrong sexual health messages?

While I care deeply about promoting sexual wellness, I am not producing films used for the purpose of sexual education. Instead, I focus on creating compelling storylines with sex that is there to enhance the story. That’s not to say I wouldn’t consider working on a film for the purpose of education, but the work I do now is not in that vein. I certainly don’t want anyone to get the wrong message about sex through my films and, for what it’s worth, I do always have a very strong moral through-line in my films - even those dabbling in more taboo subject matter.

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The real question should be why is our current educational system doing so little to educate teens about sex? The onus of responsibility should never be within the adult industry. What is important for the youth of today is having access to proper sex education and parents need to play an active role in that education. Due to pornography's accessibility, parents should discuss it with their teens. Pornography can be an outstanding outlet for people but, as with everything, in moderation.

Now why not check out these social media sex ed gals who are doing great things to break down taboos and give you the sex ed lessons you actually want to learn.