On the PorYes Award and sensible pleasure in regressive times

Dr. Laura Méritt has been an important voice of sex-positive feminism in German-speaking countries for decades. With the Freudenfluss network, she is committed to sexual education, feminist pornography and education beyond patriarchal norms. On the occasion of the PorYes Award 2025, she talks to us about feminism, resistance in regressive times and the joy of diversity in sexuality and art.

Laura, why don’t you briefly introduce yourself? You are much more than just one of the co-initiators of the PorYes Award, which was founded in 2009.

I have been doing sex-positive feminism for over 30 years, I am an activist, author, sexologist and much more. On the one hand, I run the Sexclusivitäten store, the first feminist sex store in Europe. The approach has always been less about selling and more about passing on education and knowledge, including information about toys and conscious consumption. It’s a political company that sells fair and excellent regional toys, doesn’t keep any stock, rejects bestsellers, supports communities and loves in-depth consultations.
In the Freudensalon on Fridays, which I’ve been running for decades, we meet up and discuss sex, politics and gender or do bodywork. We discuss all kinds of questions about sexuality and education, including the economic system. Because that influences our sexuality! It should be noted that there is now a very wide range of sex products on offer, including toys, advice and workshops, so that we can talk about a sex lifestyle. It is highly commercialized and standardized – capitalism.

PRNBTTR: The feminist Freudenfluss network, for example, wants to provoke the patriarchy with the project “Whores & saints, unite!”. Is it still possible to provoke the patriarchy with sex today? And why ?

Especially in the current times, but at all times it is important. The whore-saint complex runs deep. I’ve been giving workshops for women, queers, female-read people for 30 years. Especially among cis women, there is still a lot of shame, embodied taboos, fear of being called a whore, for example, if they open up. In this respect, it is essential to break down the division between whore and saint, to break taboos. These are basic patterns for keeping women and queers down: Splitting of whore and saint, separation of sexuality, reproduction versus lust. Such oppositional categories are instruments of domination that primarily serve the patriarchy and are created by it.

PRNBTTR: What exactly is the Freudenfluss network, what activities do you pursue – and what role do you still play in it today?

The Freudenfluss network was founded by Polly Fannlaf, pleasure activist and photographer. It is an open network for everyone who wants to establish a sex-positive culture and combat the culture of shaming. We develop campaigns for this, which are usually created in the pleasure salons, such as MöMo, Mösenmonat März, which has been around for 20 years and has now given rise to vulva weeks and similar events in other cities. We do a lot of educational and anatomy campaigns such as “We squirt back” for ejaculation or “The laughing pelvis”, vulva watching or feminist porn watching. I also republished the handbook “Frauenkörper neu gesehen”, a feminist classic.

PRNBTTR: We are currently experiencing a strong backlash against queer visibility, sexual education and feminist achievements. How does this affect your work?

Very strong. We have to think about how we advertise what? For example, we can no longer advertise the aforementioned sex education book with mainly anatomical drawings because the cover shows a bare-breasted woman looking down at herself with interest. We now have to make a censorship cover for the next edition, and we are calling for crowdfunding to finance it (link below). Feminist and sexual-political content is particularly affected by this censorship. We have to be very careful about which images and text are used for all events and information on social media, and this is constantly changing. Censorship starts in our heads. Words like porn, sexuality, vulva, contraception or queer are no longer allowed to be written, which is very restrictive. Older people don’t understand the “forbidden slang” and are surprised when we write S3x instead of “sex”, for example. But the worst thing is the invisibility.
The political climate naturally has an impact, which is why the theme of this year’s PorYes Award is “Fucking Sensible”. We want to bring sensuality and sensible together. To this end, we have selected special filmmakers and productions that implement openness, sensitivity and an unprejudiced approach to one another in terms of film politics. Away from preconceptions, entrenched perspectives and the sexual F-scheme – towards interest, curiosity, listening and appreciating others. In our PorYes panel on Sunday, the topic is “meaningful fucking” – by the way, we had to change that to “meaningful embroidery”! The aim is to discuss what this can be in today’s world. The cultural concept of separating feeling and thinking is historically patriarchal, thinking in oppositions serves to maintain power, unfortunately this is very topical. But it is about bringing together differences, feeling and thinking, physical and spiritual, intellectual and psychological stimulation. A holistic approach.

PRNBTTR: The PorYes Award was founded by you and the Freudenfluss network as a feminist alternative to the erotic fair Venus, which takes place at the same time. While Venus continues to focus on a very commercial, rather stereotypical representation of sexuality, the PorYes Award focuses on diversity and narratives outside of the heteronormative norm.
How has the porn industry changed since PorYes was founded – and what relevance does the award have today, over 15 years later, in a changing media and political environment?

A lot has already changed. Especially in the beginning, we were asked so often whether porn and feminism go together at all. These questions no longer come up, which is already an incredible success! You can see that something is also happening in the mainstream, there is a lot of aestheticization, investment in a “beautiful” representation. We are much more concerned with diversity, not just in terms of representation, but of sexualities in general and what they are defined as and how they are defined as such. That’s why we say “Feminist Porn Works”, it works. There are certain names associated with feminist pornography in the public eye, but also more discussion in general about what can be feminist about porn or feminist porn. The mainstream is also adapting to this, demand and interest want to be served. Venus is also suddenly putting up posters with queer people, even if you might not be impressed by the queer area at the trade fair. So there is definitely development.

PRNBTTR: In recent years, the indie porn industry itself has become increasingly critical of terms such as feminist or ethical porn – on the one hand because the marketing terms are blurred, and on the other because such categorizations create a dichotomy between good and bad porn. And last but not least, because it is what happens during production that determines the extent to which feminism and ethics are practiced, and not the end product. What is your perspective on this?

I can understand the criticism very well. “Feminist” and “sex-positive” are used in a very inflationary way. On the one hand, I’m pleased that the word is becoming more widespread in the public sphere, but on the other hand, you have to take a closer look. It’s like the “organic” label. If it says “organic” on it, it may not be the “organic” I imagine it to be. Feminist pornography is not a category, by the way; for us, there are criteria that have developed from decades of preliminary work by feminists. We are interested in changing structures, not just production conditions. It’s also about what is portrayed. Whether stereotypes are reproduced, whether role models are reinforced. We have three evaluation criteria: Diversity of practices, consensus and fairness. And if these three main criteria come together, I think we can assume that things are going relatively well.

PRNBTTR: Shine Louise Houston, a pioneer of queer, lesbian pornography, was already honored at PorYes in the first year 2009. This year, Mahx Capacity is another queer icon on the list of nominees. What role do queer perspectives play in the PorYes Award and how have they shaped the development of feminist porn culture?

Queer perspectives are there right from the start! Feminist action is about including and taking in all perspectives. If you look at how feminist pornography came about, it was lesbians who were the first to make their own films because they didn’t see themselves represented in heterosexist and racist porn. Then soon came the Black lesbians who wanted to make their own films because they didn’t see themselves represented either. This was followed by the Pink Label platform, founded by a queer Black person and excellent networker, and then the first trans people who made their films. From the 2000s onwards, hetero cis films with a queer slant were also made, for example with Petra Joy. Historically, it’s interesting that each group first formed a category to strengthen itself, and then the category can be dissolved again. Now the desire for each other, energies, other perspectives, wholeness are crucial. This is something wonderful that needs to be emphasized, especially in these times: Let’s come together and enjoy each other.

OnlyFans, Clips4Sale, Patreon – from a feminist perspective, how do you assess the new structures in which performers have more direct contact with their audience, but at the same time capitalist dependencies persist?

There are of course several points. Firstly, the democratization is to be welcomed. The fact that the people who decide to work at OnlyFans can do what they want and that it is transparent for them how they are billed.
The other is the blurring of boundaries between personal and business, between work and private life. A lot of research is being done into this blurring: to what extent does this interfere with our own sexuality and our own lives? This process has to do with the use of cell phones, the Internet and online communication. With technological developments, perception and behavior change, life changes. That has to be accepted for the time being, but then you can ask from a feminist perspective, how can we make good use of this, how can we change something structurally so that all genders, all groups, all people live more equally. After all, OnlyFans does not predominantly show alternative, progressive sexualities and practices. Of course there are, but the majority offer what is asked for, and that is still a fairly standardized demand. My hope is still that many people will bring in a different wind, do things that are not so standardized, that don’t serve the status quo. But you also want to earn money, and that’s always a balancing act.
Then the question is, how can we support alternative, less standardized representations, how can we introduce younger people more to alternatives? As with porn, the more I watch something of one kind, the more it influences my imagery. That’s why other templates are too important, not just for young people, but also for adults, because they also have these images in their heads.
And I think everyone has a duty here. Platforms, politics, consumers. Feminist pornography is educational work. By showing other images and aspects, many people say “Wow, I didn’t even know this existed”. That it has something to do with me! And that it can be so political! This year, for example, we have an ecosexual film by a Chilean director at PorYes, Amadalia Libertè. We see starfish interacting sensitively with each other, and these images flow over into images of people moving just as sensitively. This is a type of pornography that many people may not initially find arousing, but most people have said after watching it that they have become calm and can feel more of what is happening. Eroticism or sex is then defined differently.

PRNBTTR: Who else have you nominated for PorYes 2025?

There is “The (W)hole” by Mahx Capacity, which is about consciously living out traumas and how these are transformed into positive power. Super exciting! Also nominated are Royal Fetish Films, which only works with Black performers as a political statement and thus also tackles racism in mainstream porn. In addition, a range of sexualities can be seen that is otherwise rarely offered. Swedish filmmaker Lofi Cherry, a very funny, humorous and critical filmmaker, comes from feminist tentacle porn and questions the poses and masks that standardized desire evokes and into which we are socialized and sexualized. She also wants to create an archive of subcultural pornography that is not commercialized, categorized or labelled.
One representative of the older generation is Krista Beinstein, a Hamburg 70+ luminary and BDSM lesbian who has made performances, films and photo books. She goes beyond the limits of the norm with clearly defined boundaries and loves powerful stagings of female lust. As a clownish person, she provokes and through her work calls us to embark on journeys to our own sex magic.

PRNBTTR: Now we’ve just spoken about a luminary of the older generation. What role does the younger generation of queer filmmakers and activists play in the PorYes Award today? Is there a change in aesthetics and themes?

Technical development brings new possibilities. For example, zooming in close, which older filmmakers might not want at all and might perceive as transgression. I’m pleased that it’s moving away from the very genital or very close up, where the boundaries between the sexes become blurred again. Letting categories dissolve in your head is what it’s all about, deconstructing and multiplying desire. To show how great bodies can look, that every body is beautiful just the way it is.

PRNBTTR: What else can the audience expect at the PorYes Awards 2025? What is a program highlight that you are particularly looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to Monday, when we’ll be presenting porn researchers at the PorYES Academy at Humboldt University. This time, sociologist Sven Lewandowski will be there to talk about sexual media practices in amateur porn. This is also about the influence of technology on porn. What does it mean that more and more people are filming themselves, even in feminist porn? And I’m really looking forward to the party after the award with lots of great acts from the likes of Kay Garnellen, Gaby Tupper or Dan.theman.with flan, but also Krista Beinstein with her 70+ years, so all genders, generations and identities will be there. There will be a dance floor, catering, sextoy exchange, music by Farush and Culture Circus and: The party is all of us! If you feel like it, you can let your hair down or strip at the bar, cuddle up in our dark light room or have a good shag.

More program information and tickets for the PorYes Award can be found here.
You can browse the sexclusivity store here.
And you can find the PorYes Award on social media (hopefully for a long time to come!) here.

Copyright images: Portrait Laura: Polly Fannlaf, PorYes group photo: Dorothea Tuch