The Feminist Porn Awards in Toronto

Mainstream pornography has long been criticised for a narrow range of bodies, scripts and viewpoints. A body of work usually labelled feminist porn grew partly in answer, built by filmmakers who put consent, fair working conditions and a wider picture of whose pleasure appears on screen at the centre. In Toronto, one awards program has served as a major public showcase for that work.

The Feminist Porn Awards began in the middle of the 2000s with a modest first edition at a Toronto queer venue, combining a panel discussion with screenings. Some who attended that first evening later described it as the beginning of something new. Over the following years the program stretched into a festival with several nights and several locations.

Why the awards were founded

A Toronto sex shop known for its women-centred approach launched them. Its founders reasoned that criticising films which ignored women as viewers was not enough, and that work including female pleasure and diversity deserved celebration. Women's growing interest in watching erotic film was taken as evidence of demand.

A writer who covered one edition looked back on conventional adult film as more comic than arousing: staged expressions, stereotyped performers and scenes unlike real sex. Meeting feminist and queer erotic film later felt, to that writer, like a different genre.

The typical three-night format

The structure over its run has mixed industry, art and social elements.

• Launch party: held at a weekly queer night, with film clips, a DJ set and a burlesque-influenced performance by an adult-industry performer.
• Screening and discussion: at a downtown cinema, with excerpts from nominated films on a large screen and a question-and-answer session with directors, educators and performers.
• Awards ceremony: in a converted church, with two hosts, musical and burlesque entertainment, and acceptance speeches often named as a highlight.

A queer and kink play party has sometimes been scheduled on the weekend as a companion event.

Audience and access

Such events differ from conventional adult-film conventions. Directors and performers mingle with audiences, particularly at the launch party and the ceremony, where the room is looser than a seated screening. Seeing erotic film on a big screen with an audience is itself part of the appeal for many attendees.

Debates around the genre

Feminist porn is a contested label. Supporters see it as a route to better conditions and representation within adult film. Critics ask whether the term is clearly defined, or whether any pornography can be called feminist. Sex-worker advocates add that ethical production depends on labour rights as much as aesthetics. The awards, as a public festival, sit inside all of these conversations. Lineups, venues and hosts have changed from one edition to the next.