«If I’m going to get fucked by a company, I’d rather get fucked on camera – and get paid for it.»

Pornography has long been linked to exploitation and chauvinism. Yet in some spaces, it's taken on a different character: it can be voluntary, ethical, artistic, even feminist. Across Europe, women are choosing porn as a career on their own terms.

A few years ago, I attended a lecture at a student festival in Trondheim titled “Feminist Porn.” As a feminist myself, I was curious. Aren’t these two contradictory concepts? Isn’t pornography inherently oppressive and objectifying toward women?

The event description also stated: “This lecture will tell you why feminism and pornography can - and should - go hand in hand.” At the time, I was a photography student and began researching the subject. I was deeply curious about the lifestyle. What motivates people to enter the porn industry? What drives them? What do their lives look like?

In this project, I follow the everyday lives of people in the porn industry, both at work and in their private lives.

Traditionally, the porn industry has been associated with the exploitation of vulnerable people, trafficking, and a chauvinistic view of women. But in certain environments, pornography appears to have taken on a completely different character: it can be voluntary, ethical, artistic, educational, political, and feminist. Across Europe and the United States, there are women who see pornography as a good job — a career they have consciously chosen.

One of them is Annika, a Swedish-American woman living in Berlin, determined to make a name for herself in the industry. She considers herself a feminist. In college, she organized feminist discussion forums and worked with sex education. She was shocked by how little her fellow students knew about safe sex and by the amount of shame people carried. This sparked something in her. After reflecting on it for several years, she decided to engage more practically in the field. Today, she works with directors who are committed to creating safe spaces within the industry.

The women I meet describe themselves as artists and activists. Performer and filmmaker Laura Ropes says: “In alternative porn, it’s about more than money. You have a purpose, an artistic vision.”

Some want to change the industry from within. Filmmaker Inka Winter, based in LA, creates erotic films for women. What sets her feminist pornography apart from mainstream porn? Winter points to greater inclusivity in terms of body shape, gender, identity, and skin color.

At the same time, she advocates for better working conditions for performers. Production should be ethical: people should feel cared for at work, their boundaries must not be crossed, and they must be paid fairly. She also believes that storytelling matters. She says she could easily make a film in which a man doing the dishes leads to sex - something she argues would not happen in mainstream porn.

Throughout this journey, I have learned that people have different motivations for entering the industry. Laura Ropes, for example, used to work developing vaccines but never felt valued in her job. She says: “The days were long. Overtime was the rule, not the exception. I was paid, but the salary was low — about the same as working retail.”

For a long time, she had dreamed of working with sex. Her slogan during that period was simple: “If I’m going to get fucked by a company, I’d rather get fucked on camera — and get paid for it.”

During this project, I have also seen how proud people are of their work. Performer Anna Lynx, for example, traveled from the Netherlands to the United States in January 2025 to attend the AVN Awards - what she describes as the Oscars of the porn industry. She was nominated for Best BDSM Film. Although she did not win, she was enormously proud of the nomination.

The people I meet in this project share a dream of making truly good pornography. If their work stands out, they may be selected for porn film festivals across Europe, such as the Vienna Porn Film Festival: an independent festival focusing on feminist, queer, and body-positive films. It is also one of the few festivals of its kind to receive public cultural funding. In 2025, it was awarded €25,000 in support from Vienna’s cultural committee.

This photographic project does not judge but seeks to understand a lifestyle. The images are honest and everyday. They do not portray porn as glamorous — but neither as shameful. The subjects are not victims, nor do they appear ashamed. To me, they come across as active agents in their own lives: self-assured, and proud of their work.

The project is nominated for “Photo of the year” in Norway, a yearly photoaward for documentary and photojournalism. It is also to be published in Norwegian Journal of Photography’s seventh book 6. March 2026.