Indie Producers Want to Reinvent Porn

So-called ethical pornography is generally regarded as adult film that is legal, pays performers fairly, offers good working conditions, and doesn’t discriminate based on body type, sexual preference or gender identity. Depending on who you ask, ethical might also mean independent, feminist or queer. Despite the many definitions, a common theme in this rising subgenre is the producers’ enthusiasm for more variation in the desires, types of sex and bodies shown on screen, in a move that defies the mainstream pornography industry’s control over how sex is represented.

Blanca Reygal is the founder and director of Pornorama, an alternative porn production company. “Mainstream porn has affected how Mexicans view porn and sexuality in the bedroom,” Reygal told OZY. “It has narrowed their notions of what is sexy and what isn’t.”

Reygal set off to create a different option to counteract the massive flow of free explicit adult content online. The company seeks to appeal to customers who want high-quality content that more accurately reflects real bodies and real sexual experiences, while still offering a fantasy.

Launched in 2019, Pornorama is a pioneer of ethical porn in Mexico. The company’s adult films often show desire from a female perspective rather than focusing exclusively on male pleasure. “We involve women in more aspects of the production,” said Reygal, noting that women are both on screen and behind the camera.

Pornorama’s self-branding as “ethical” isn’t necessarily obvious from a glance at its content, which includes kink and hardcore material. But Pornorama attracts only a niche segment of consumers, and mostly outside of Mexico.

“The word ‘feminist’ in porn still scares away many men,” said Reygal. She speculated that men think the films will be too vanilla, or that they’ll see penises being chopped off. Her goal is for Pornorama ultimately to appeal to men as well as women and to infiltrate mainstream pornography, in an effort to show that there are many ways to be sexy and to represent sex on film.

“At the beginning — creating porn that I liked and how I wanted, from my own point of view — was very liberating,” said Bustos. The experience was also a journey into herself, her pleasure, and the exploration of her body. “As a curvy woman, I wanted to demonstrate that I am sexy on my own terms, and break my own taboos and insecurities.”

Bustos also wanted to counter the widespread judgment that sex work constitutes undignified labor. She created her own guidelines for customers on how to be “good clients,” which she made public and posted on her social media accounts. Among other things, she asked clients not to haggle over her prices and to respect her time by observing her work schedule — noting that she would not reply to messages sent at dawn. Soon, other creators began asking her if they could post her guidelines too.

Bustos believes that consumer habits have been shaped by the mainstream porn industry, in ways that do not align with her own values. When setting up a webcam session, male clients demanded to see her spreading out her legs or doing things she wasn’t initially comfortable with. Some potential clients just wanted to see her penetrated or giving blowjobs.

“Men are not used to performers taking the lead and expressing themselves how they want to, erotically and sexually,” said Bustos.

She noted that male customers often asked for a free sample. She would tell them, “I am not food for you to have a free taste.”