Written by C2O Editor for Citizens of Culture. Originally published February 10, 2014.
“We all know the porn industry is fake (at least we should). The sounds are fake, the angles highlight penetration and not what is necessarily pleasurable, and above all we know we don’t actually look like that when we have sex. So why do we watch it? Probably for the same reason we go see alien movies, because mainstream porn is about as close to real life as Prometheus. An even bigger question might be, is this good for us? Mainstream porn shows men with engorged genitalia repeatedly ramming themselves into women making noises that sound like the over dubs are from national geographic. That is all well and good, but couldn’t we get our rocks off with something a bit more closer to life?What effect would this have on how pornography is perceived, received, and dare I say, shared?
Founder, Cindy Gallop and her team at MakeLoveNotPorn.tv recognize this dilemma and have made it their mission to provide an alternative. They present real world sex in a playful, sexy, online community that is not only delivering good content, but breathing new life into an industry that has thus far been centered on titillation. MLNP has a woman run majority at the helm, which is already a departure from traditional porn. Part of that team is Sarah Beall, the sites curator and community manager. Sarah, is a former script writer from the mainstream sector and now uses that experience to communicate and work with users and their content.
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Sarah’s position is pivotal for the company. Their videos are not only able to be rented but gifted as well. In this way it becomes important to have content that is not just stimulating but valuable. Sarah encourages make-love-not-porn stars to create context in their films either via foreplay or personal introductions of their videos, and they all have trailers. It is not just a simple scene with a milkman and a house wife, these are real people in real relationships. Madame Curator, Sarah’s alias on the site, strives to maintain integrity and portray connection and authenticity with the selections she adds to the site. It is a needed change in the adult film community but also in how media is distributed to our generation as well. She ensures consent, context, and that is as non-performative as possible.”
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