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Watch: Erika Lust makes a push to #ChangePorn

Last month I talked with indie porn producer Erika Lust about what it’s like to make porn that reflect the desires of women. Her first short erotic film was a final project for film school and she was shocked by the reception and recognition the film received. She also received backlash from the “male porn world” who thought that her woman-centered practice was discriminatory, despite the glaring misogyny within mainstream porn. When she went on to start her own film company, XConfessions, it was with the sole intent to shift the way we see and watch porn. Their  “values, …desires, and … kinks, creating fantasies from a whole wealth of real imaginations in realistic scenarios with relatable characters enjoying REAL arousal.

Erika Lust is now taking her position a step further in her new Ted Talk “It’s Time for Porn to Change” (below, with closed captioning). In this insightful talk, Lust draws connections between porn and it’s effects on the sex/gender education of young people. Lust envisions a world that includes diverse representations of sex/sexuality in addition to masculinity/femininity. Check out the video and join the conversation using #ChangePorn.

Feministing's resident "sexpert", Sesali is a published writer and professional shit talker. She is a queer Black girl, fat girl, and trainer. She was the former Training Director at the United States Student Association and later a member of the Youth Organizing team at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She received her bachelors in Women's and Gender Studies from Depaul University in 2012 and is currently pursuing a master's in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta. A self identified "trap" feminist, and trained with a reproductive justice background, her interests include the intersections of feminism and: pop culture, youth culture, social media, hip hop, girlhood, sexuality, race, gender, and Beyonce. Sesali joined the team in 2010 as one of the winners of our So You Think You Can Blog contest.

is Feministing's resident sexpert and cynic.

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