It's time for porn to change | Erika Lust | TEDxVienna

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED conferences.
The dismissal of porn is just as naïve as the vehement preaching that X-rated films are inherently dangerous. If we open ourselves to honest conversation about the topic, we’ll find that this new wave – this good porn – can actually enhance one’s sexual experience through self-discovery and experimentation.

(Laughter)

Come on.

Imagine a scene.

A porn scene.

What do you see?

A woman.

Blonde, skin tight dress, red lips,

watermelon breasts.

A cock.

A cock the size of a stallion's
(Laughter)

between her pursed lips.

She is giving him a blow job.

Why?

Because this nice guy came to her rescue
when her car broke down.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

After the 'thank you-blowjob,'

he cums all over her face,
and she smiles

(Laughter)

in fake pleasure.

That is porn.

And it's time for porn tochange.

I went from being a Political Science
and Gender Studies graduate in Sweden

to a feminist adult filmmaker
in Barcelona.

(Laughter)

The last 15 years of my life
have been an amazing trip,

an amazing journey from feeling
dirty and guilty for watching porn

to creating the adult cinema
thatIwant to watch.

My first time was at a sleepover party

with my best girlfriends.

Popcorn, pyjamas, and porn.

We expected to discover
the mystery of sex.

The forbidden fruit.

We ended up laughing,
we ended up giggling,

we ended up feeling -

- repulsion.

The movie went back

to the secret hiding place
of my friend's father.

Six years later,
I'm at my freshmen year at University

and my boyfriend suggests
that we watch a porno.

"Should I give it another try?"

Stop.

Before we press 'play, ' remember
where I came from: Sweden.

Probably the best place
to grow up with a feminist conscience.

One of the first... no!
the first country in the world

to make Sex Education
mandatory in schools.

Meet me, a feminist,

a sex positive feminist.

I own my own body. I can have sex
just for pleasure, like guys.

So back to my dorm room,

where my boyfriend
is waiting impatiently.

We press 'play.'

And what do I see?

A woman, blonde, skin tight dress,
red lips, watermelon breasts.

Nothing had changed.

Nothinghaschanged.

Horny housewives,
desperate nannies, fuck bunnies;

women as objects fulfilling men's desires.

So there I was,
the feminist me felt cheated,

the activist me felt mad,

the sexual me felt aroused.

Arousal tasted sweet.

Objectification tasted bitter.

I was confused.

And I did what we do
when we feel confused:

I blamed my boyfriend.

(Laughter)

Oh, yeah.

I blamed men. I blamed porn.

Oh, yeah.

Until I came across "Hardcore,"

a book by Linda Williams,
a Berkeley Professor.

I learned that porn isn't just porn.

Porn is actually adiscourse.

A discourse about sexuality,

about masculinity,

about femininity, and the roles we play.

Thatwas myEurekamoment.

I realized that the only ones

participating in the discourse
of pornography are men.

Chauvinistic men. Narrow-minded men.

Men with little sexual intelligence.

But, hasn't the world changed?

Hasn't the role of women changed?

Hasn't it changed in politics?
In the workplace, at home, in bed?

And isn't the world
because of that a better place?

Everywhere, the role
of women is under debate.

Everywhere, except in the porn industry.

It's time for porn to change,

and for that we need women.

We need women in the leadership roles,

as producers,
as directors, as scriptwriters.

I don't want to get women out of porn,

I want to get women into porn.

(Applause)

We need women in porn.
Behind the camera.

And that's exactly what I did.

In 2004, I was studying film direction

and for my final short film project
I thought:

"Let's make a porno,
but let's make it different.

Let's make an indie film with my values."

I shot "The Good Girl,"

and I made it available
for free on the Internet.

I couldn't believe the reception it got.

Millions of downloads in just a few days.

The film attracted media coverage.
I attracted media coverage.

I was on a high.
I wanted to embrace the world.

My mom called me and said,

(Swedish) "Vad i helvete gör Du, Erika?"

(Laughter)

"What the hell are you doing, Erika?

This will affect your future,
your career, your life.

What will the neighbours say?"

(Laughter)

I understand their association
with the word 'porn':

dirt, smut, low culture.

But it was a career as a filmmaker
I wanted to pursue,

not as a pornographer.

A filmmaker exploring the beauty of sex

from a different perspective,
from a female perspective.

Do you know that one third
of all Internet traffic

is estimated to be pornography?

That's a lot of traffic, eh?

Do you know that every 4th search request

is someone googling for porn?

Are you aware
that teenagers, our children,

are watching porn online
before they even have sex?

Porn istoday's sex education.

And it's impacting
on our gender education.

And what is
our children's source of inspiration?

Bad, wrong, chauvinistic porn.

This is why
it'stime forporntochange.

Adult content has of course
the power to arouse,

but also to educate and to inspire.

I believe that it's
our generation's responsibility

to rethink pornography.

Don't get me wrong:
the sex can stay dirty,

but the values have to be clean.

(Applause)

I have two daughters,
Lara, 7, and Liv, 4;

and I don't want them to learn
about self-esteem and body image

from photoshopped supermodels.

I don't want them to smoke
or to eat crappy fast food,

and I definitely don't want them
to learn about sex from bad, sexist porn.

We need to teach our children

to respect and value themselves
and their sexuality.

We need to teach them to think critically
about sexual representations.

And that, whether you like it
or not, includes porn.

Imagine a scene.

A different scene.

I see a man, an attractive man.

He weaves his way
through the wet streets of a city.

He is on his way to meet a woman.
A woman he met recently at an event.

It was an inspiring event.

(Laughter)

An event that made his senses soar.

It was a TEDx. (Laughter)

It was thisTEDx.

And cut.

I don't know how this scene ends.
I leave it up to your imagination.

But I do know thatthistime,

he's not the only one receiving pleasure.

Andthat, for me,
is an idea worth spreading

your legs for.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Thank you.