Indie Porn

Zahra Stardust is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology.

Acknowledgments  xi

Cinematic Intimacies  1

Introduction: Democratizing Pornography  7

Part I. Porn Cultures

Porno Camp  31

1. Guerrilla Porn: Motivations and Interventions 34

Getting Our Hands Wet  63

2. Imagining Alternatives: Production Values and Ethics  67

Part II. Regulatory Fantasies

What Happened to Our Squirt?  91

3. Criminal Intimacies: Regulatory Trends and Transgressions  94

Diversity Washing  123

4. #NSFW: Online Privatization, Sanitization, and Gentrification  127

Part III. The Hustle

SuicideGirls  157

5. Manufacturing Authenticity: Expression, Identity, and Labor  160

Green, Organic Porn  184

6. Fair Trade Porn: Marketing, Respectability, and Ethical Consumption  187

Part IV. Tensions

Your Stigma, Your Labor  211

7. Good Porn: Stigma, Respectability, and Diversity Politics  213

COVID-Safe Pornography  237

8. Whore Data: Technology, Design, and Carceral Surveillance  239

Birth Preparation  261

Conclusion: Indie Provocations  263

References  275

Index  297

"As well as providing thought-provoking sex-worker perspectives on recent developments such as the Online Safety Act, introduced in Australia in 2021, in Indie Porn Stardust traces a rich history of local sexual subcultures which continue to thrive despite a comparatively restrictive legislative environment. A product of more than a decade of research, Indie Porn is at once deeply scholarly, unapologetically political, and joyously sex positive." -Zora Simic / Australian Review of Books

“There is no one better positioned to tell the story of the indie porn revolution than porn practitioner and scholar Zahra Stardust. From porn sets to festivals to the online world of search engine optimization and algorithms, Stardust draws on an impressive archive of ethnographic and interview data to illuminate a rapidly changing industry shaped by transnational linkages, regulatory frameworks, political possibilities, and reactionary politics. Deeply researched, beautifully written, and impressive in scope, Indie Porn will have an immediate and lasting impact.”

-Lynn Comella, author of / Vibrator Nation: How Feminist Sex-Toy Stores Changed the Business of Pleasure

“The story of indie porn as told by one of its brightest stars. Zahra Stardust hails from an international league of erotic artists as a talented performer, passionate advocate, and esteemed scholar. In a world where porn is gawked at by the media, scapegoated by politicians, and shunned by everyone else, Zahra’s nuanced perspective from the inside reveals an honest and enlightened angle that is rare to see unless youve lived it yourself. Indie Porn is the next great book to join the canon of writing on sex work and adult cinema.”

-Jiz Lee, editor of / Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Essays on Pornography, Protection, and Privacy

"Zahra is a beacon of light and a massive inspiration for anyone researching around sex from a sex and sex-worker positive perspective. . . . Aside from appealing to sex workers and people in adjacent fields (sex ed, sextech, etc), Indie Porn is a an extremely insightful read for those who are interested in labour politics and the future of work, for people who care about bodily autonomy and sexual justice, criminalisation and abolition, big tech and surveillance capitalism, indie film and DIY culture. The book will also offer helpful insights and analyses to people who have experienced de-platforming and de-monetisation, and those who are thinking about the relationship between respectability politics and law reform." -Carolina Are / Blogger on Pole

"By pairing personal anecdotes from Stardust’s first-hand industry experience with a wealth of material drawn from in-depth interviews, critical theory and legal and archival scholarship, Indie Porn paints a vibrant and heartily political picture of the international indie porn scene. Stardust demonstrates her ability to be both a rigorous academic and a powerful storyteller." -Samantha Floreani / Overland

"[Stardust] advocates for resistance rather than respectability politics, revolution rather than legal reform, and she exhorts indie porn producers to stand in solidarity with other marginalized groups, ending with a provocation to imagine and create new worlds. This is the greatest contribution of Indie Porn." -Lauren Levitt / Continuum