In honor of Pride month, I want to
talk about queer porn. Queer porn is an inclusive and
often subversive genre that showcases performers of many sexual orientations
and gender identities which are seldom included in mainstream porn. The genre
is steadily growing but there are still a lot of people who aren't familiar
with it. So, let's look at the “who, what, when, where, and why” of queer porn!
WHO
Courtney
Trouble and Shine Louise Houston are responsible for some of the most popular
queer porn sites and production companies. Trouble runs the websites Indie Porn
Revolution (formerly NoFauxxx) and Queer Porn TV, as well as her own production
company TROUBLEfilms. Houston is the
creator and director of the Crash Pad Series, which is made by her company Pink
& White Productions. She also runs PinkLabel.TV, a streaming site that
features her films and films from other queer porn producers. Both Trouble and
Houston (and their production companies) have won multiple Feminist Porn
Awards, Xbiz Awards, and have been nominated for AVN awards. Aside from these
two fantastic producers, there's a growing number of other indie porn producers
and individuals creating sexy queer porn. As for queer porn performers,
they are a wonderfully diverse group of people. You'll see lots of different
gender presentations, body sizes, ethnicities, kinks, etc.
WHAT
So
what exactly is queer porn, and how is it different from other porn?
Well, most importantly, queer folks are involved in the whole process:
directing, starring, and buying. Its focus is on representing different sexual
orientations and gender identities, usually in a way that is very authentic and
sometimes also educational or political. Unlike most mainstream porn, it's
target demographic isn't necessarily straight white men. Courtney Trouble explains it like this:
“I feel like [queer porn] is porn that's been taken a step above and beyond
what 'lesbian porn' or 'gay porn' has offered. It includes all genders, all
identities, and shows sex between queers in an honest, respectful, and artistic
light.” Similarly, Chelsea Poe, a trans porn actress, put it this way: “I think the
reality of queer porn is it's art and it's about creating space for
marginalized people.”
Queer
porn inherently means showing many kinds of sex acts and ways to have sex.
You're more likely to see people using sex toys, strap-ons, and lube, and practicing safer sex. It's typically less scripted and more authentic. This is
how Kitty Stryker explains being on a
queer porn set: “You really feel the electricity of how these various people have
sex together... The goal is to have sex in the ways that feel good for you and
your partner/s, right at that moment. As a performer I’ve found it very
freeing; as a [production assistant], I find it healing and informative to
watch.”
WHERE
A
lot of queer porn is being made is San Francisco and the Bay Area, which makes
a lot of sense considering the area's long history of having a large LGBTQ+
community. As the genre grows, an increasing number of retailers are selling
queer porn films.