Performers weigh in on what ethically produced porn really means, and how to know if you’re watching it
This is the second installment in a three-part series on ethical porn consumption in the aftermath of last month’s Pornhub controversy. Last week, industry professionals shared their insight on the best ways to pay for porn. In this segment,performers from various industry backgrounds explore the ethics of porn production, content and whether or not you can ever really know what’s going on behind the scenes.
InsideHook: As in any industry, it can be hard for consumers to tell from the outside what steps content creators are taking to make sure performers feel safe and respected on and off sets, when the steps they tout are not actually all that meaningful or substantive, or when they’re not living up to their stated ideals in practice. How can porn consumers with limited industry knowledge figure out which producers or distributors they can trust and should support?
Kate Kennedy: This is like asking if every component of your iPhone was ethically mined, smelted, designed, configured, manufactured and sold.
Kendra James: I honestly have no idea.
Jessica Starling: Generally, any professional studio will follow baseline protocols, like age verifications and model releases. However, with high-profile cases like Girls Do Porn [which misled many performers about where and how their content would be distributed and pressured them into acts they had not agreed to beforehand during shoots, among other egregiously abusive practices], I can understand why consumers may be hesitant about what to trust.