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Last week, Carlos Batts, an award winning artist, photographer and director, was an invited panelist at the sixth annual Feminist Porn Awards, a Toronto event that celebrates woman-centric pornography from around the globe. Producing films that star his wife April Flores, Batts attempts to tap into a sex-positive, progressive way of thinking about women’s porn. However the world of porn and feminist ideologies have rarely gone hand in hand. Can we find a place for pornography in our sex lives without comprising our feminist beliefs? Batts answered some of our questions about fem porn, why he does it, and why it should be viewed as art:
What is feminist porn?
Feminist Porn is an empowering approach to making films with adult content directed and produced by women that are exploring different areas of sexuality that is generally not explored in most male-directed “mainstream” adult films. Feminist Porn is different from mainstream porn because the women/people making it have a different approach than a traditional male-driven idea of sex. Like queer porn, it is a movement that is showcasing new directors and performers that are breaking ground with new ideas about gender identity and sexual role playing.
How does feminist porn focus on women?
For much of the existence of porn that was made in the 20th Century its target audience was specifically men. In the 21 Century women are making adult films that show their unique ideas about their own sexual fantasies. There are no rules or set ways of making what sexual experience each feminist director has in mind.
Why did you get into this business?
Sex has been documented since the beginning of time. Artists usually took the liberty to experiment because they were already on the outside of conservative social values, for example Rubens, Egon Schiele, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andres Serrano, Jeff Koons. Throughout art and photography history, sexual taboos have been documented. I am an artist and photographer; I use the camera like a paint brush . . . . I’ve contributed my artistic vision to comic books, albums, book covers, motion pictures, televisions shows, music videos and independent films. The adult industry is like my Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Can. It’s a business and an industry and I was able to make my films, break down barriers, and show things have that have not been shown before . . .
Do you have any misgivings about it? Are there problems in the industry?
I am glad to see new voices showcase a whole new set of ideas that have never been seen before. The industry will be affected in a positive way to have a new creative approach to making adult films that show a variety of ethnicities and sexual dynamics. My new film Artcore stars April Flores and explores many new sexual idea and role playing.
Can feminist porn be considered performance art?
I think my films are artistic because I use sound, mood, atmosphere, lighting, wardrobe and talent to tell the story — not just body parts or sex scenes. As an artist I am supposed to push the boundaries, ask questions, inspire the audience and introduce different ethnicities and in a whole new way. My creative intent is never solely sexual. There are other things happening besides sex that make my films interesting.
We live in a very unique cultural period in modern media where the lines between art and sex are blurred; movie stars act as porn stars in films, celebrities sell their sex tapes, fashion models wear fetish clothing on the runway, porn stars act on television, and everyone has a camera. It’s a sexual world. And it’s being recorded.
You can watch the trailer for Artcore here. WARNING: NSFW (not suitable for work). The full-length DVD is available on www.Fattyd.com for $20.
(Photo: Good For Her)
