Non-binary gender identities and LGBTQ+ relationships are more visible in society than ever before. As visibility increases and conversations surrounding queerness evolve, some porn production is moving away from accepting cis-gendered identities and straight orientations as a default.
LGBTQ+ creators are producing queer porn for every facet of the rainbow, and the growth and success of LGBTQ porn illustrates the beauty and power of queer sex and pleasure.
The complicated history of ‘queer’
The word “queer” has complex meanings. From the 18th to the early 20th centuries, the word was mainly used by white Europeans to describe people with any sort of “abnormal” social behaviors, often referring to atypical sexual or gender expressions.
The term was used to “other” people within their own society, but has also been associated with non-binary or sexually atypical indigenous and non-white identities throughout the colonized world.
In the early 1990s, activist group Queer Nation reclaimed the word, using the cry “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it” as part of their campaign to educate people about HIV/AIDS. Now, younger generations have adopted the word as an umbrella term for all LGBTQ+ people.
It can be a comfortable term for those whose sexual orientation/gender is fluid, or for those whose identity is difficult to define for those unfamiliar with the LGBTQ+ spectrum. The word ‘queer’ has even become a pop culture staple thanks to the beloved Netflix show Queer Eye.
Despite the evolution of ‘queer’, some may still feel uncomfortable using it. Many people, particularly older generations, associate the word with bullying and terror. While we use the word here as a term of empowerment and identification, no feeling about the word is right or wrong. Many complicated associations with “queer” can exist in the same space, because language, like identity, is complex and nuanced.
Normalizing ‘queer’ uplifts everyone
One thing we can all agree on? Representation in media is a source of validation and strength. LGBTQ+ people seeing ourselves reflected in the body politic of sexuality helps to normalize our own identities. This encourages us to advocate for our own pleasure and sexual health, and it’s what makes queer porn such a revolutionary creation.
While some of our recommended sites do feature some gay, lesbian, and porn for women, the desires of both communities tend to be more gender-specific, so sites that cater exclusively to each community have been saved for their respective articles. The selections we’ve brought to the table specifically highlight queer porn sites that span across the entire spectrum.
Where to watch queer porn
PinkLabel.tv
PinkLabel.tv offers a medley of queer porn content organized like Netflix, but pinker. Viewers can browse progressively sexy genres like “BIPOC Porn” and “The feminist porn gaze”. Variations in content, genders, and bodies on PinkLabelTV are representative and empowering. These are real-ass people having real-ass sex.
Many films deal with gender identity and sexual orientation, like the original film “Chemistry Eases the Pain”. The film collection is curated to “expand our notions of adult film”, and includes original films as well as contributions from popular LGBTQ porn studios like Foxhouse Films and Ciné Sinclaire.
Everything on the site has idiosyncratic charm. PinkLabel’s library is a viable porn selection for those who are thoughtfully thot. The site also includes educational porn, vintage porn, and representations of BDSM and kink. Don’t miss Crashpad Series, the story of a secret apartment where sexy queer folx go to get it on.
TROUBLE Films
Queer porn icon Courtney Trouble built a network of LGBTQ porn that seeks to serve the 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. What’s more, the sites feature some of the best and most broad-spectrum educational porn available.
Of the three sites, TROUBLEfilms allows you access to the whole network for one price. Trouble knows that porn isn’t always affordable for marginalized queers. She believes it is, however, essential to their sexual wellbeing, so each site has free content available and varied membership pricing.
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, she 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.
This queer porn should be watched in a theater. She also casts superstar performers with diverse bodies, genders, ages, and racial identities. Cruising her catalogue, you’ll see renowned creators like Jiz Lee, Natalie Mars, Mickey Mod, Casey Calvert, and so many more.
Lust’s film network includes three different sites. Lust Cinema collects original films and series along with content by studios like JoyBear, Adam & Eve, and Wicked Pictures. Else Cinema specializes in softcore porn, emphasizing softer, more sensual narratives. Original series XConfessions features short films inspired by confessions submitted anonymously by viewers.
Membership costs to each site vary, but Lust Cinema costs more. A Lust Cinema login 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.
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 queer 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 porn purchases hard to track. Instead, the site is supported through Patreon. You can easily write it into your budget as support of the arts (which it absolutely is.)
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 LGBTQ porn series, like Transfixed and The Faces of Alice.
Adult Time’s diversity in studio partnerships also means more diversity in bodies and identities. Studios like Burning Angel, altSHIFT, and Girlsway offer quality queer content––and with an Adult Time subscription, they’re all yours.
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 performers are pretty diverse with films celebrating BIPOC and mature couples having sex in lightly-scripted scenarios. Bright Desire’s queer porn section features many film festival favorites that are both exciting and endearing. There are also whole collections of behind-the-scenes footage, post-scene interviews with performers, mini-documentaries, and erotic fiction and more.
HUMP! Film Festival
Sex advice sage Dan Savage has been hosting this fan-submitted dirty little film festival since 2005. Traditionally, the festival only toured major cities in America, but due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the films’ creators gave their enthusiastic consent to live-stream the 2020 event instead.
Each film is five minutes or less, and submissions feature queer and polyamorous stories, outdoor sex, BDSM, and other medleys of smut film favorites. HUMP! has its own film tropes, too, and extra credit is given to creators who include little “easter eggs” so you know which films are made specifically for the festival.
The transition to streaming is a gift to anyone not living in a major city and those of us who are new to HUMP! In addition to extending the dates for the 15th annual festival, Dan and the HUMP! crew are hosting some greatest hits screenings from previous years, so there are lots of opportunities for a fresh HUMP! experience.
Are you looking for a special occasion porn for couples experience? HUMP! film fest is a creative and sexy idea for an at-home date night and a great tradition for sex-positive queers everywhere.
Four Chambers
Four Chambers is a stunningly filmed and very unorthodox take on the presentation of modern queer 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 queer porn that bleeds into high art. Between its stylized videos and photosets, this site will get you the most artistic flair for your dollar.
As we familiarize ourselves with queer images and culture, we begin to understand the LGBTQ+ rainbow is less like a pattern of separate color groupings, and more like the a HEX color code selector. Human sexuality and gender are biologically and psychologically different functions, all of which are valid and all of which are beautiful. We’re proud to present this list of studios who shine a light on these expressions, and we look forward to seeing this list grow and bloom as more queer art cums into the light.
Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.