Hardcore Feminist: Erika Lust and the future of porn

By WIll Colvin

Glamcore is a relatively new genre of pornography that typically claims to be cinematic, female friendly and stylish.

But anyone who’s seen the genre’s most popular sites, like X-Art or EroticaX, knows that calling most Glamcore videos ‘cinematic’ is a bit of a stretch. At best, it’s a Vaseline-filtered issue of Penthouse magazine come to life.

Except for the work of one director.

Erika Lust is not your typical pornographer. A political sciences graduate (specialising in human rights and feminism), the Swedish-born director makes pornography that – unlike anything else around at the moment – is genuinely interesting, compelling and cinematic.

Her website, X-Confessions, compels members to confess to their most erotic encounters, the best of which are turned into explicit short films.

As a feminist, Lust believes that pornography isn’t something that should disgust women; porn needs to embraced and taken control of.

“Mainstream pornography is made by and for men,” she says.

“Don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against the male point of view. It is just that the female perspective – our desires, fantasies and pleasure – is equally important.”

“[Mainstream porn] is impossibly predictable and repetitive, always showing you the same, unreal image of sex.”

It looks like Lust is not alone. X-Confessions boasts over 30,000 members, and her TedX talk about porn has been viewed more than 100,000 times.

“I am creating films people can relate to, showing sex that is diverse, interesting, sexy, smart, sweet or rough. Where both women and men are satisfied.”

Lust believes many of the current sites that promote themselves as Glamcore aren’t really taking the responsibility that comes with the title seriously.

“There are so many other sites that boast they have an artistic approach, but [they show] the same old mainstream porn with somewhat better lighting or randomly chosen soft music playing in the background.”

I asked Erika what the response has been like from women and men around the globe.

“The only country in the entire world where no one has entered XConfessions’ website is Western Sahara.”

I can’t think of a more definitive answer than that.

Unlike anyone else making porn at the moment, Erika is producing work of a truly cinematic quality – with the kind of photography that would be right at home in arthouse cinemas. For film industry nerds, we’re not talking about DSLR ‘cinematic’, we’re talking Red Epic and Arri Alexa.

With such a commitment to production quality, how much does a scene typically cost? And is it economically viable?

“It is independent cinema, so everything is quite expensive! Our spending for each 10 minute short film on X-Confessions is always in the higher ratio of money spent, usually totting up to around 10,000 euros.”

“So this can limit the locations we can pick, the kind of set we want and the performers we can choose.”

I asked Erika to tell me a little more about what goes on behind the scenes.

“I really feel drawn to stories that immediately create images and erotic tension in my imagination. When choosing our cast, diversity is also very important. We work with both professionals and amateurs – they are not your average porn stereotypes. They are natural. Each has their own unique beauty.”

“As far as my team is concerned, I believe that in order to change porn, there’s got to be more women behind the camera – directing, writing and producing.”

So, is Erika Lust an anomaly? Or is her work the face of things to come? XConfessions has a very distinctive voice, but Lust is insistent there needs to be more voices, with more directors (of both genders) making work that blurs the line between smut and art.

“We have to remember that at the moment pornography is the main source of knowledge about our sexuality – whether we like it or not. If certain scenarios, body images and gender roles are repeated over and over again, they become a reference point.”

“If people cannot relate to what they see on screen, if they cannot find their desires, fantasies and experiences reflected in pornography, they automatically think there is something wrong with them, that they are perverts and that they should keep their sexuality to themselves.”

“So yes, I do think it is time for porn to change. To become diverse, respectful, interesting, sexy and smart. To show people that sexuality is a very complex phenonmen, that both men and women are sexual creatures, that with consent of all sides no thing is too kinky or wrong.”

And what about audiences? Are people ready to for porn that appeals to their emotions, rather than just their genitals? In a world where double anal, gangbangs and fisting are par for the course, is real intimacy on film the ultimate taboo?

“I think that nowadays people are gradually opening up to the dialogue about sexuality and are tired of the mainstream, chauvinistic way of seeing things.”

“Look what just happened in London, people have actually gone out on the street to do a face-sitting protest against their government’s new law banning from porn some common sexual practices.”

“We do not need to instigate a revolution, the revolution is now!”