When we end our email exchange, Erika Lust points out that being an erotic film director doesn’t mean that her life is more adventurous or sensual than anyone else’s. In her spare time, the blonde, 35 year-old mother of two likes to spend her time at home reading books, cooking, and being with her daughters. She balances this at work by stepping onto sets full of naked men and women as an award-winning, feminist, choreographer of sex.
Her trajectory into the porn industry seems less a result of her insatiable sexual appetite or lack of financial opportunity as it was her own pragmatic approach to combating patriarchy in one of its multi-billion dollar bastions.
“Having grown up in Sweden, one of the best countries in the world to grow a feminist conscience, I was well aware of the issues between feminism and pornography,” Erika says.
It was during her college years that she started to confront these issues. Her “Eureka moment,” as she called it, came when she read Berkeley professor Linda Williams’ Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the “Frenzy of the Visible.” She says that reading the book taught her that pornography was “actually a discourse about sexuality, about masculinity and femininity, about the roles we play.”
In that vein, she realized that the people largely taking part in that discourse were chauvinistic, narrow-minded men “with little sexual intelligence.” As a result, the vision of female sexuality was largely missing from porn.
Her trajectory into the porn industry seems less a result of her insatiable sexual appetite or lack of financial opportunity as it was her own pragmatic approach to combating patriarchy in one of its multi-billion dollar bastions.
“Having grown up in Sweden, one of the best countries in the world to grow a feminist conscience, I was well aware of the issues between feminism and pornography,” Erika says.
It was during her college years that she started to confront these issues. Her “Eureka moment,” as she called it, came when she read Berkeley professor Linda Williams’ Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the “Frenzy of the Visible.” She says that reading the book taught her that pornography was “actually a discourse about sexuality, about masculinity and femininity, about the roles we play.”
In that vein, she realized that the people largely taking part in that discourse were chauvinistic, narrow-minded men “with little sexual intelligence.” As a result, the vision of female sexuality was largely missing from porn.
After graduating from the University of Lund with a degree in Political Science, alongside specializations in human rights and feminism, Erika moved to Barcelona for film school. It was there her final year at school that she decided to make her first erotic film, “The Good Girl,” and release it online for free. In a few days, she says, it was downloaded over two million times. The film’s reception gave her confidence that there was need for female-positive porn, but also a desire for it.
When she started, she said she received “ a very chilly reception from the male porn establishment” that claimed it was already making porn for everyone. Countering this, Erika believes that there is an audience of women out there that wants more imaginative, creative erotica filled with relatable characters and contexts.
“That's what I always want to achieve in any of the films that I shoot,” she says.
Today, Erika kicks it on set in her black Converses, making high-quality movies for Lust Films that range from horny housewife erotica to BDSM. Consensual domination, to her, has nothing to do with feminism.
“The sex can stay dirty, the values have to be clean,” she says.
Her latest project is XConfessions, a site where individuals can write out their sexual fantasies to her. Every month, she takes two of the entries and turns them into films.
A lithe, snow-white, Spanish redhead, Amarna Miller has performed in the first two volumes of XConfessions. Also starting in the industry behind the camera, Amarna moved from filming herself going solo to performing in girl–girl scenes to eventually being in scenes with men. She appreciates the beauty of Erika’s work, saying that “she is one of the very few persons in the porn industry who is capable to mix aesthetics, passional sex and cinematography in a single scene,” Amarna says.
However, she hedges at the use of “feminist porn.”
“I like to refer to her work as ‘ethical porn,’ … because what she does is present a real sexual experience between performers,” Amarna says. This experience, she says, doesn’t include fake orgasms, acrobatic sex positions, or gynecological shots, and is part of an atmosphere that makes her feel respected in every production.
“I truly enjoy the shoots and her team take care of me in every moment,” she says.
When she started, she said she received “ a very chilly reception from the male porn establishment” that claimed it was already making porn for everyone. Countering this, Erika believes that there is an audience of women out there that wants more imaginative, creative erotica filled with relatable characters and contexts.
“That's what I always want to achieve in any of the films that I shoot,” she says.
Today, Erika kicks it on set in her black Converses, making high-quality movies for Lust Films that range from horny housewife erotica to BDSM. Consensual domination, to her, has nothing to do with feminism.
“The sex can stay dirty, the values have to be clean,” she says.
Her latest project is XConfessions, a site where individuals can write out their sexual fantasies to her. Every month, she takes two of the entries and turns them into films.
A lithe, snow-white, Spanish redhead, Amarna Miller has performed in the first two volumes of XConfessions. Also starting in the industry behind the camera, Amarna moved from filming herself going solo to performing in girl–girl scenes to eventually being in scenes with men. She appreciates the beauty of Erika’s work, saying that “she is one of the very few persons in the porn industry who is capable to mix aesthetics, passional sex and cinematography in a single scene,” Amarna says.
However, she hedges at the use of “feminist porn.”
“I like to refer to her work as ‘ethical porn,’ … because what she does is present a real sexual experience between performers,” Amarna says. This experience, she says, doesn’t include fake orgasms, acrobatic sex positions, or gynecological shots, and is part of an atmosphere that makes her feel respected in every production.
“I truly enjoy the shoots and her team take care of me in every moment,” she says.
More than incidentally, this team is made up of all women. In an effort to combat the male gaze in porn, Erika has made sure that her entire crew can help provide a female perspective – from her Assistant Director, to her Director of Photography, Assistant DOP, Art Director, Assistant AD, Scriptwriter, Gaffer, Runner, Make up, and Wardrobe. This is not only almost nonexistent in porn, she says, but also in audiovisual production in general.
“My work is feminist because I pursue the goals of beauty, hedonism, and intelligence in porn from a female point of view,” Erika says.
It’s work that has gathered a lot of attention as of late and may help change porn as we know it.
Check out the gallery of stills from her set below.
Willie Burnley Jr is a junior Writing, Literature, and Publishing major. He's fascinated with politics, social justice, big ideas, people that look like big ideas, and anime.
“My work is feminist because I pursue the goals of beauty, hedonism, and intelligence in porn from a female point of view,” Erika says.
It’s work that has gathered a lot of attention as of late and may help change porn as we know it.
Check out the gallery of stills from her set below.
Willie Burnley Jr is a junior Writing, Literature, and Publishing major. He's fascinated with politics, social justice, big ideas, people that look like big ideas, and anime.