Your Guide to Conscious Porn Consumption
Emily Pennington // SpankChain
By now, most of us have probably heard the many, many complaints about large-scale porn streaming sites, right? They often post content without consent from creators, they take away creative control, they sometimes host revenge content, and they garner the lion’s share of user eyeballs without paying content producers their fair share.
But, it’s not like everyone is just going to stop watching porn overnight. So, what’s a naughty video lover to do?
We sat down with a couple of long-time adult industry veterans to hear their feelings about the current state of the online porn world and get tips and insight into how all of us can be a bit more mindful when it comes to consuming porn on the internet.
Pay for your porn
While it might not be the sexiest tip to throw up at the top of our article, both of our industry experts agreed that shelling out a little dough is key to supporting performers and ensuring that the content you’re viewing is legal, consensual and sustainable.
“Paying is not only to keep your creators in business, but it’s also the responsible thing to do from a societal perspective,” says Allie Knox, a fetish performer and advisor for SpankChain. “Because, if you pay for your porn, then you’re buying it from a platform that ensures that all the creators were over 18, that all the porn was made consensually and that there’s no CSAM (child sexual abuse material).”
Knox also noted that it’s important to know and use the correct terminology for potentially harmful content. Since the definition of porn involves a filmed, consensual act between adults, people in the field have been working to re-brand things like “revenge porn” or “child pornography” as “revenge content” and “child sexual abuse material,” respectively.
“If you’re looking to be ethical or conscious in your porn consumption, you must pay for your porn,” explains Fivestar, a free speech advocate and owner of Filthy Studios. “Piracy has severely impacted the industry and impacted performer rates and the rates of crew members on set. If you are consuming free porn, that is directly, negatively impacting the people who are producing the content, including performers,” she explains.
On a tight budget but still want to support your favorite creator? Knox says to grab a subscription on OnlyFans that matches what you can afford. “I’m not necessarily posting porn on my wall, but you could go and get my nudes, or you could interact with me that way,” she says, adding that many performers run special deals or bundles on OnlyFans, because the site takes a smaller cut of the money than other platforms.
Follow performers on social media
This is another point that both of our interviewees agreed on, because you’ll not only get updates about new content and possible deals that performers are running, but also see which studios and videos they are actively promoting and excited for people to watch.
“I think that what you need to do is get involved in the performers’ social media accounts and ask them which companies they consider ethical,” says Fivestar. “It’s more work than just going to a tube site and finding something hot and jacking off, right? It requires a little bit of research. It requires trying to engage in your favorite performer’s social media or creator accounts, and then supporting the companies that they support.”
Find mindful studios
Fivestar was kind enough to give us a top-down look at how she aims to bring mindfulness and ethics to every step of the studio porn process, starting with the initial booking.
“When I book a scene, I like to talk to every performer on the phone and give them a little idea of who I am, what the actual set might look like and what the scene entails,” she explains, adding that she’ll often ask performers if they have anything they’re really into or hidden talents that they might possess and if they have a suggestion for a scene partner they’d like to work with, because “chemistry is key.”
She then puts all of that info in writing, so that there’s no miscommunication. “A booking email will include the date and time of the scene, scene partners, what kind of sex acts or BDSM acts might happen in the scene, the rate, wardrobe information, and hair and makeup information,” says Fivestar. Closer to the filming date, she’ll send a text message to check in on feelings and make sure that everyone has been tested, according to the industry protocols for fluid exchange.
One of the key things she makes clear to performers is that, just because they agree to a sex act one day doesn’t mean that they can’t change their mind. On the day of the shoot, she likes to have an informal conversation with people, asking, “How are you feeling today? What are you excited about doing? Do you have any injuries? Are you okay with marks today, or would you prefer not to have marks?” She also likes to do pre- and post-filming interviews on camera, so that viewers can get into the mindset of the performers.
But consent among the entire crew is first and foremost for her. “Anyone in any role that I have on my set is anyone that calls “red” or wants to stop the scene can, and that’s not just the performers, it includes PAs and everyone.”
Switch from Pornhub to OnlyFans or clip sites
Knox said that she’d much rather produce her own content for OnlyFans or a clip site (like I Want Clips, Many Vids, or Clips4Sale) than be a mere number on a call sheet for a large-scale studio operation that’s trying to fulfill its algorithmic needs.
“I think that it’s much more real and raw when you come to a creator, because we get to make our own decisions. We can get the color, the angles, the lighting, the outfits, the scripting and pick our partners,” says Knox. “There’s a lot more chemistry or action, typically, when you pick content creators, as opposed to production.”
In addition to fan sites and clip sites being creative hubs for adult content producers, there’s also real concern about the ethics and legality of Pornhub’s business model and ability to police its own content uploaders. In 2022, Visa and Mastercard suspended payments for advertising on Pornhub, due to a lawsuit claiming that the platform knowingly facilitated the distribution of child pornography. This follows a 2020 decision halting individual card payments to Pornhub, for similar concerns about illegal content being hosted.
What’s in a label?
“It’s funny that “ethical” is now a marketing term, when it should just be how everyday life is,” jokes Knox when asked if some studios use the stamp of “ethical porn” as a marketing ploy to lure in consumers who are trying to do the right thing.
“I think that the term ethical porn is a loaded term,” says Fivestar. “Everyone’s definition of ethical and everyone’s moral values are different. So, I like to use the term “conscious porn,” and I think that would be taking into account the experiences of everyone involved producing the content: the performers, crew members and producers.”
Fivestar went on to explain that you can’t take an article’s or a website’s word that something was ethically made, just because it says so on the front page. Rather, you should interact with your favorite performers and creators online and ask them which companies or content they should be streaming.
“I wish there was a simple solution to ethical porn consumption, but the truth of the matter is that there’s a lot of nuance in everything,” says Fivestar. “There’s a lot of nuance in ethics. There’s a lot of nuance in consent, and people are complicated and imperfect, and they do make mistakes,” explains Fivestar.
So, as consumers, it’s important to smartly put in the work to put our money where our ethics are. We can’t just take the word of a company or a marketing campaign. Consciously consuming porn means putting in a tiny bit more time to make sure that we’re supporting people and studios whose values we want to get in bed with, so to speak.
