Why are people searching for ‘legal porn’? Well, they’re probably looking for porn that is produced within all confines of the law. We all just want to jerk off without feeling like a jerk. But what makes porn legal or illegal?
What makes porn ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’?
Once you know how easy it is for users steal and post porn illegally, you can never un-know it. You want to make sure that your porn isn’t breaking the law and making you an accessory to something sinister. Congratulations. You’ve taken your first step to be-CUMMING a conscious consumer!
Of course, maybe you’re just looking for some good ol’ courtroom roleplay porn and things just got way heavier than you expected. How awkward!
Adults only
The most straightforward laws regarding porn involve age. Anyone working on a porn set must be legally considered an adult (usually 18+).
In the United States, production companies verify and keep identification from cast and crew on file with a Custodian of Records. This means that porn made by a credible production company is a sure-fire way to know that you’re watching an adult on screen, regardless of whatever tabooed fantasy content you’re into.
Obscenity laws
Obscenity is a pretty subjective term. In countries like the United Kingdom, obscenity is clearly defined: no kids, no animals, no excessive violence.
In the United States, however, the standard for judging obscenity is absurdly vague. It’s problematically reliant on a communal standard, meaning that if you want to produce porn and you live in a conservative, sex-negative state, you might have cause for concern.
Legal porn & free speech
While obscenity laws vary from state to state, porn production itself is protected from government censorship under the First Amendment. But there are other laws that undermine these rights of sex workers under the misguided idea that all sex workers are unwilling victims.
In the wake of moral panics involving sex trafficking, SESTA/FOSTA laws were passed in an effort to shut down websites that facilitate sex work. These laws have done little to curb actual sex trafficking, but instead shut down vital websites used by consensual sex workers to contact and screen clients, forcing them to move to social media.
Section 230 protects hosting websites from being prosecuted for the content posted on their sites, but Republicans and Democrats alike seek to eliminate or restrict the law. As more social media platforms panic and censor sex workers and educators by including anti-sex wording in their terms of service, creators are find fewer safe spaces on the internet.
Prioritizing legal porn means understanding how those laws effect the people they’re meant to protect. When it comes to sex work and the internet, new bills are often being introduced, and rarely do they acknowledge any kind of nuance with regard to sex work.
Legal porn prioritizes full and enthusiastic consent
Consent is also another factor in the legality of your porn. Tube sites like Pornhub have been heavily criticized for a relaxed attitude toward pirated and non-consensually uploaded content. This doesn’t just apply to “revenge porn” and underage content; if you’re watching porn uploaded to a platform by someone other than the owner, you’re violating the consent of all parties involved.
Many tube sites offer a verification process that helps ensure that your amateur smut is being uploaded by the real creators. Studios also have lengthy conversations with stars regarding consent beforehand. Some even have recorded negotiations or behind-the-scenes content so viewers can see their favorite performers giving consent– and we love to see it.
But performers having sex for a living may feel pressured to compromise what they are willing to do in order to keep the lights on and food on the table. Some studios like to mitigate this risk by paying flat or prorated rates for scenes, regardless of the sexual act performed.
How do I know if I’m watching legal porn?
Pay for it
Call it what you will: legal porn, ethical porn, feminist porn, whatever. Socially-conscious porn has a golden rule: if you want fair play, you gotta pay. Paying for porn ensures that studios can continue to pay cast and crew, ensure current STI testing, and maintain updated records.
Get to know your porn stars
If you find a star whose work you enjoy, follow them and their content directly. Nothing says “I’m consenting right now!” like a live stream and direct responses to chats. Your favorite stars have an OnlyFans, a ManyVids channel, or a cam site, and they’ll receive a much larger portion of your money.
Where to find legal porn
Lust Cinema
Erika Lust has created an empire of high-quality sex films that are uniquely cinematic and inclusive. In addition to directing her own films, Lust collects works by other directors with a similar artistic vision.
Lust clearly puts a strong emphasis on authentically pleasurable sex, which makes for steamy watching. She also casts superstar performers with diverse bodies, genders, ages, and racial identities.
Lust’s film network includes three different sites. Lust Cinema collects Lust originals along with content by studios like JoyBear, Adam & Eve, and Wicked Pictures. Else Cinema specializes in softcore porn, and XConfessions features short films inspired by confessions submitted anonymously by viewers.
Membership costs to each site vary. Lust Cinema membership grants you access to Else Cinema, and you can add an XConfessions membership for $2.95/mo.
If you’re not exclusively into secret smut or soft-core, the Lust Cinema bundle is a steal. Looking to treat yourself to a dirty movie night but your budget doesn’t allow for recurring memberships? You can also buy films individually at the Erika Lust store.
Adult Time
Adult Time is well on its way to becoming a household name in streaming as “the Netflix of porn”. The site partners with major studios and puts their films into an easy-to-navigate interface.
You can search for smut by category, performer, or studio. There are also some incredible original films and some binge-worthy series.
Adult Time’s diversity in studio partnerships also means more diversity in bodies and identities. Because you’re paying for membership and the site works with established studios, you know your performers are treated fairly.
Studios like Burning Angel, Vivid, and Girlsway offer quality legal porn––and with an Adult Time subscription, they’re all yours.
Bellesa Films
Bellesa seeks to shift portrayals of women “from objects of conquest to the subjects of their own pleasure”. Great starter ideology for a feminist porn site, yeah?
The about page lays out its standards for creating an environment of support for its performers. The casting process puts a heavy emphasis on chemistry, consent, and real orgasms.
It’s easy to see why many of the industry’s biggest names in talent have worked with the studio. In the Bellesa House series, stars choose their own partners for their scenes. The sex is on fire, but the flirtations before the hot-and-heavy stuff will warm your heart, too.
Watching the cast work closely with director Jackie St. James adds to the series charm, giving viewers a peek inside of the site’s production atmosphere.
While Bellesa makes beautiful narrative films with gorgeous, talented performers and high-quality sex, there are a few snags. You don’t see much in the way of body diversity across the site. Worse, many of the plot lines have problematic power dynamics and concepts of consent.
Bellesa Films hosts exclusive films for a monthly fee, but the brand began by collecting free, female friendly porn clips. Bellesa.co now hosts clips from partnering studios, feminist blog content, erotica, and an online sex toy store. Paying for legal porn is ideal, but previewing ethically-obtained clips is a great way to try before you buy.
ManyVids
MV hosts videos and content made by the performers themselves. Your hands can be in every cookie jar with MV. The site has videos, photosets, live cams, phone chats, panties for sale, and other options.
Bella French, CEO of MV, co-created a platform on which sex workers could have more control and ownership of their content. The result? You’re free to browse the site knowing you’re directly supporting real sex workers.
The site hosts user-submitted content, so performers range in diversity. MV stars post videos that strike a beautiful balance between professional skill and homemade sex reality. This clip site is also much easier to navigate than other porn sites hosting user-submitted videos.
Kink.com
Kink.com is one of the most iconic kinky ethical porn sites in existence. This subversive film empire has been a BDSM staple since before 2000. Kink hosts films from studios like Wasteland BDSM, Digital Sin, Royal Fetish Films, and more.
Over the years, Kink has collected a massive library with some of the most diverse and transgressive content the internet will allow. One of the site’s trademark features are the pre and post-scene interviews, where performers are encouraged to honestly share their feelings regarding their scene.
The site also has some strong policies outlined in its model bill of rights, which was revamped in 2015 after popular Kink performer James Deen was accused of sexual assault. The bill specifies boundary and pay policies, like the use of a house safe word, or the prorated pay policy. Prorated pay means that stars don’t feel pressured to violate their own thresholds due to fear of not being paid.
Kink is a subscription-based site, so it’s a solid choice if you’re open to a budget commitment for nearly-infinite content. It also doesn’t collect your data like some ad-based sites, because your privacy is a priority. Kink’s interface is plain but it’s easy enough to navigate.
Do you like legal porn with a little edging, bondage, or electro-shock fun? Kink.com may be the best ethical porn site for you.
OnlyFans
The fansite model isn’t anything new, but OnlyFans is its most popular iteration by far. What makes OnlyFans so great for consumers (and, more specifically, for ethical porn fans) is how the site’s run. Sex workers create their own fan page and can set their own prices, giving models far more control over what material is posted and how they’re compensated.
On OnlyFans, performers generally run their own page or hire out a small team to help them navigate it, essentially giving sex workers far more control over how adult material is created, presented, and shared. Additionally, OnlyFans creators receive an 80 percent payout, which is particularly high by industry standards.
When you subscribe to a model’s OnlyFans, you’re essentially giving them funds in one of the most direct ways possible. The only downside is that you’ll have to subscribe to specific models’ pages independently; the best way to find them is through Twitter, Instagram, ManyVids, and other social media sites.
PinkLabel.tv
PinkLabel.tv offers a medley of pornographic content organized like a pink version of Netflix. Viewers can browse progressively sexy genres like “BIPOC Porn” and “The feminist porn gaze”.
The variations in content, genders, and bodies on PinkLabelTV are representative and empowering. These are real-ass people having real-ass sex. Narratives deal topics of consent and kink, gender identity, eco-sexuality, and sexual orientation.
The team at PinkLabel also sponsors some feminist and queer porn awards. The site often uses its platform to elevate other indie studios’ crowdfunding efforts. Pink Label’s film collection is curated to “expand our notions of adult film,” and a well-known guidepost for anyone wondering “what is ethical porn?”
Everything on the site speaks to the idiosyncrasies of sexuality. PinkLabel’s library is a viable porn selection for those who are thoughtfully thot. This smut library also includes some of the best ethically-sourced educational and vintage porn. Don’t miss Crashpad Series, the story of a secret apartment where sexy queer folx go to get it on.
Sssh.com
Okay, do you have a small fan nearby? Great. Put on something gauzy, flip that switch on high, and point that fan directly at your face. It’s time to dive click-first into digital romance novel vibes courtesy of the creators at Sssh.com.
The site’s porn for women centers around intimacy and female pleasure. The films are cis-normative, but still highly imaginative. In addition to beautiful, original films, Sssh also hosts written content discussing sexual health and culture. The site is tricky to search, but browsing is fanciful, sexy, and fun.
TROUBLEfilms
Queer porn icon Courtney Trouble built a network of ethical porn sites that seek to serve the LGBTQ+ community. Putting emphasis on queer people seeing their pleasure represented in film, she created TROUBLEfilms, Queer Porn TV., and IndiePornRevolution.
The sites explore and glorify queer sexuality, including kinks and modes of body exploration and expression. The sites also have some exceptionally broad-spectrum educational porn!
Trouble believes that representation is essential to the wellbeing of queers. QPTV FREE is a rotating selection of five films offered at no charge. If you’re interested in going premium, TROUBLEfilms allows you access to the whole network for one price, and the site offers sliding scale monthly subscriptions.
Bright Desire
Filmmaker Ms. Naughty calls her site a center for “thinking porn”. The site’s films focus on the most endearing parts of sex shared by intimate partners. The films at Bright Desire aren’t just meant to arouse the viewer physically, but emotionally as well.
The site features mostly heterosexual sex, although there are some queer videos, too. The performers are also pretty diverse with films celebrating BIPOC and mature couples having sex in lightly-scripted scenarios.There are also whole collections of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, post-scene interviews with performers, mini-documentaries, and erotic fiction and more.
The site aims to make the porn production process more transparent for the viewer. Ms. Naughty acknowledges that “there is no official guide for making good, ethical porn,” she refers to her ethical practices as an “ongoing process” that has “evolved over the years.” The feminist porn site’s about page features a well-worded summary of those ethical production values to help you decide if Bright Desire is the legal porn site you’ve been yearning for.
Ciné Sinclaire
Ciné Sinclaire specializes in creating deeply intimate films that border on personal documentaries. Scene setting and conversations about boundaries and desires create deeply moving films from this Canadian studio. You’ll get cinematic glimpses of lauded indie porn stars like Jiz Lee, Bishop Black, and Kali Sudhra.
Filmmaker Kate Sinclaire has created a diverse, uplifting, body positive space for performers to share their pleasure with the audience. It’s an experience that shouldn’t be missed. Rentals have suggested prices based on your budget, or you can create a price that works for you.
While you’ll find three of the studio’s films on PinkLabel’s streaming service, the studio has about 20 more exclusive films on its site, and a few great films from other studios like altSHIFT and TROUBLEfilms. With free membership that allows featured rentals, there’s no reason not to check it out.
Couples Cinema
Are you and a partner are looking for a more sensual watch in the spirit of togetherness? Look no further than Couples Cinema. This beautifully curation of female friendly porn hosts videos from some of the most visually engaging film makers in ethical porn.
The site is simple to navigate and sports a reasonably priced monthly subscription, which includes a limited number of films. Then you can pay to unlock more films from inclusive, feminist studios like like JoyBear and Foxhouse Films.
Once you unlock a premium film, it’s yours for the duration of your subscription. Couples Cinema is a perfect option if you want porn for couples without the trouble of sifting through for quality.
Lustery
This site is a homemade sex jewel, featuring real-life couples who want to share their sexuality with the world. The site’s format has a similar user-submitted vibe as other amateur porn sites but with a more curated feel.
Paulita Pappel is a self-proclaimed exhibitionist and voyeur, and she created Lustery in the name of “reclaiming your own gaze”. Seeing relatable, intimate homemade sex on the site is an empowering experience for performers and viewers at the same time.
Lustery also hosts both the POV blog and podcast, where you can get to know couples from the site and other industry pioneers. Both blog and podcast are incredible sources for current outlooks on sexual health, culture, and identity.
MakeLoveNotPorn
Cindy Gallup is the creator of MakeLoveNotPorn. She doesn’t refer to the videos on the site as porn, but says that they’re a celebration of real-life sex. Her mantra “pro-sex, pro-porn, and pro knowing the difference” blurs the semantic lines of amateur porn in the best way.
Instead of hiring performers to perform scripted sex, MakeLoveNotPorn sources real sex tapes from real, everyday people. MLNP calls itself the world’s first social sex platform, and that sex-positive attitude shines in every video. Scroll through the curated collections like “MakeMeTimeLove” or browse the site’s whimsical tags like #giggly, #yes!yes!yes! and #procrasturbation.
Contributors receive half of all rental fees. The site’s requirements for submission are standard: photo IDs, consent of all parties, and because it’s real world sex, the pleasure is organic and very equitable. Best of all, membership to MakeLoveNotPorn is free, and from there you can rent individual videos for $5 each.
Rental structure makes it a great supplement to a subscription when you want a special treat. The only risk involved in joining this non-porn ethical porn site? MLNP’s content might make you want to submit your own porn!
FrolicMe
FrolicMe is a Jill-of-all-trades when it comes to legal porn and pleasure. In addition to HD videos, the site has a gallery of high-quality photos, erotic readings, and audio porn stories. Some of the stories give you a detailed backstory, immersing you in the characters before plunging into the sexy bits.
Some films drop you into a sex scene, leaving the characters to guide you through the sensations they’re experiencing. If you’re into smutty words written by a woman, be sure to browse FrolicMe’s archive of free erotic stories.
The site will almost exclusively feature thin, white cis-women romping with conventionally built, white cis-men. If you’re looking for representation, you’d do better to read the erotica and use your imagination.
JoyBear Pictures
In 2003, Justin Santos started filming sex in a way that celebrated real pleasure. Since then, JoyBear has grown into an ultimately naughty British library of smut films. The site’s creator lays out his ethical ideas on JoyBear’s about page, with standard highlights such as fair and timely pay and a respectful, consensual atmosphere behind the camera.
The company’s journal has a ton of behind-the-scenes footage and pictures that illustrate a lot about the positive vibes coming from their sets, providing not just assurance, but more quality, feel-good entertainment for conscious viewers.
Four Chambers
Four Chambers is a stunningly filmed and very unorthodox take on the presentation of modern porn. Creator Vex Ashley is an adult film star whose background in photography influences the site’s edgy aesthetic. Each film features sharp color and light contrasts, visceral close-ups, and narratives dripping with mythological or religious imagery.
The films beautifully highlight diverse performers, vivid imagery, and unconventional presentations of sex. A Four Chambered Heart is porn that bleeds into high art. Between its stylized videos and photosets, this site will get you the most artistic flair for your dollar.
AORTA Films
AORTA Films is an indie porn festival golden child. Boldly queer and diverse, beautifully filmed and performed, AORTA self-identifies its content as a celebration of “lusty, opulent, queer fuckery”. The site has a particular love for outdoor porn, but also creates beautiful bondage, food, and even dance-related ethical porn.
Signing up for access to the site is a no muss, no fuss process. Membership isn’t charged through the typical porn site payment collection companies that make your purchases hard to track. Instead, the site is supported through Patreon, making it potentially more discreet. You can easily write it into your budget as support of the arts (which it absolutely is.)
| 1 month | $9 |
| 1 month + downloads | $17 |
Naughty Natural
Naughty Natural might be your mother’s idea of feminist porn, and we mean that in the best way. This niche ethical porn site celebrates natural hair and the people who love it. You’ll find both straight and lesbian scenes taking place in the home and outdoors.
Scenes serve a wholistic sex vibe that embraces every uniqueness of the human body. Category selections range from your standard tags to fan-requested specialities, like women proudly sporting facial and body hair. The performers talk about and worship their costars body hair, creating a very body-positive and empowering viewing experience.
Everyone should care about the legality of the porn they’re watching. But the laws around porn are complicated and frequently changing, so it’s important to stay in the know.
Follow your favorite stars on multiple platforms, and keep up with orgs like the Free Speech Coalition to stay up-to-date on policy changes, and in the meantime, put your money where your mouth is. Ensuring sex workers have adequate resources and support is the ultimate thank-you to the people who make you cum, and we all know a little gratitude makes the world a better place.
