Publicly funded ‘feminist porn’ to premiere

Published: 1 Sep 09 15:54 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/21814/20090901/

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'Feminist porn' movie Dirty Diaries, which received 500,000 kronor ($69,000) in public funding, is to premiere this Thursday in Stockholm.

The collection of 12 short pornographic films, all shot on mobile phones, is the brainchild of feminist documentary filmmaker, Mia Engberg.

"Porn has always been made by men for men," Engberg told news agency AFP, explaining her reasoning for shooting the Dirty Diaries.

"Above all, it's about showing sexuality through a female's perspective. It's not made to please a male audience and it's not made to make money," she added.

Engberg said what makes Dirty Diaries feminist is that it displays women's sexuality in a natural way and shuns what she perceives as mainstream porn's sexist tendency to treat women as objects.

"I think this is the future. The most popular genre now is homemade porn made by ordinary people," she said.

Clips from the films appear on Engberg's website, www.dirtydiaries.se, carrying titles such as "Flasher Girl On Tour" and "On Your Back Woman."

All of the filmmakers are either female or identify as female (one of the filmmakers was born male).

The fact that the project received half a million kronor support from the Swedish Film Institute has attracted criticism from some quarters.

"My main issue with this is that taxpayers' money is being use to fund pornography. The fact that it's feminist porn seems to somehow make it okay but there would have been an outrage had it been regular pornography," Beatrice Fredriksson, co-founder of the Anti-Feminist Initiative blog and a member of the Moderate Party's youth organisation, told The Local.

But Engberg brushed off criticisms that funding X-rated sex movies with taxpayers money was a waste of funds.

"We are producing 70 minutes of high quality film...it's just 500,000 kronor. They couldn't spend the money any better," she told the AFP news agency.

When asked by AFP if she opposed the Swedish film body backing mainstream pornography, Engberg said: "They should not be given any money at all, especially when they are making money out of women's bodies."

In an interview on the Swedish Film Institute website, the group's head Cissi Elwin Frenkel defended providing the money for the film.

"Everyone in the films is over the age of 18, no one is doing anything against their will, everyone shares equally in the money from the films," Frenkel said.

"All of this makes Mia Engberg's project different from regular porn in many ways. This is an ambitious project that in both form and content lives up to the demands we set for the projects we support," she added.

Dirty Diaries premieres at the Bio Rio theatre in the inner-Stockholm district of Hornstull this Thursday evening. There will be two further public screenings of the film at the same venue, on Saturday and Sunday. Engberg was quick to point out that the film is available on DVD – together with an interpretive booklet – from Wednesday, and can be ordered from the project’s website.

AFP/The Local (news@thelocal.se)

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16:41 September 1, 2009 by hpunlimited
Huh?!? I am confused!! The word feminist = excluding males from the picture in porn or maybe it is just dominetrix type of pron which is nothing new. Taxpayers money just wasted just to make some militant feminazi's happy!
17:43 September 1, 2009 by unt9
I thought, porn production is illegal in Sweden. Anyway, not interested, I don't like different -isms.
17:54 September 1, 2009 by eZee.se
Feminist porn, yes, you're gonna be reaching for that instead of "saving Ryan's privates" or "weapons of ass destruction" or "The shagging (shining)" or "interview with a vampire slut" or

A Clear And Present Stranger

Add Momma To The Train

Any Given Cumday

Batman in Robin

Big Trouble In Little Vagina

Boldfinger

Breakfast On Tiffany

Breast Side Story

(got them off google)
18:34 September 1, 2009 by Renfeh Hguh
The website certainly leaves nothing to the imagination ha ha

Interesting how one of the films that us taxpayers have paid for involves activities in public that may possibly be illegal in Sweden. "flasher girl on tour"

Overall a total waste of taxpayer money.

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige

Jag bor i Sverige
19:35 September 1, 2009 by StuartM
I think it's good that funding is available for a wide range of non-mainstream cultural projects in Sweden and it's up to SFI to decide in which way they can best use their money to promote an interesting and diverse Swedish film output. Just because the film's about sex doesn't mean it's going to completely absent of social or cultural value and it's good that Mia Engberg is so clear in wanting to challenge traditional gender roles and offer something different. Whether or not it actually does that effectively we'll need to wait and see but anything's better than the monotonous, vile, woman-hating crap which the commercial porn industry constantly comes up with.
20:14 September 1, 2009 by Captcha
With the Swedish Flim Instituite packed with strong women and weak men I'm sure they have seen and done it all and believe the project to be the norm.
22:49 September 1, 2009 by Michael84
another reason to like this country and its people(seriously) ;)
00:32 September 2, 2009 by shiraz
It is very generous of the people to pay for this however the rationale is this :

1) if you encourage women to express their fantasies you will be better able to please the men and women leading to a happier and open society.

2) The monetary incentive is designed to motivate those women who would usually not think of expressing the female point of view.

I think we do this in the US all the time. The sexual liberation of women is a pre requisite to male happiness.
07:28 September 2, 2009 by Bob Jacobson
One person's porn is another's sexuality. One person's feminism is another person's ... masculinism? The whole discussion is ludicrous for such a trifle of money.

The question that matters is, "Is the film entertaining and/or edifying, did it display directorial talent, and were people employed in meaningful labor as a result of the grant. Was the SEK 500K grant a "waste"? Are billions invested in the Gripen fighter that will never sell enough copies to pay for itself better spent?

Chill out, Sweden. Go see the film and then argue from experience: was it good or was it lousy? That's all. And if the film depicted an activity that is illegal but no one was hurt in the film or in its making, perhaps its time to revisit the law.
08:51 September 2, 2009 by apostolos1975
Just a sec. Whats the difference between feminist porn and lesbian porn. In both cases we have only women doing it. Right?!?
12:26 September 2, 2009 by DamnImmigrant
@unt9 - "I thought, porn production is illegal in Sweden"

Curious where you heard that? I heard that Sweden seems to have a strong porn industry - and NO it is NOT the "Swedish Erotica" which I heard is made in Germany?

@Bob Jacobson - "One person's porn is another's sexuality"

Bob it gets even better than that! One person's porn is another's EDUCATION! It turns out that it was the SWEDISH GOVERNMENT that started the current porn trend many years ago! The Swedish DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION created an EDUCATIONAL movie to help show how human sexuality was a natural part of life! The movie showed lots of naked bodies romping through the woods and having sex!

Ever wonder where Sweden got its reputation as a sexually open society? This Department of Education film became a big hit, spread around the world, and started other "film producers" to create their own "educational" films 8-)

So I would say that Sweden has a long history of supporting this kind of action.

@shiraz - "if you encourage women to express their fantasies you will be better able to please the men and women leading to a happier and open society"

Totally agree! I think it is sad when people repress their own sexual needs and desires for whatever reason. It is interesting when people see (or read) porn and become educated by it! "You mean people really do that? I have always wanted to try it but thought there was something wrong with me."

@shiraz - "The sexual liberation of women is a pre requisite to male happiness."

I think this statement was cut short. I think it should be; "The sexual liberation of women is a prerequisite to both the male's happiness and the female's happiness."

Now if we could just get the men to understand the female's sexual needs. OH! I KNOW! How about if some women produce the porn how they think it should be seen! (I know there are already female porn producers!)
13:35 September 2, 2009 by eZee.se
"(I know there are already female porn producers!) "

There are, and they usually make crappy porn - IMHO anyway.

59,000 USD for 8 scenes? gimme a f**king break.
16:19 September 2, 2009 by Captcha
So, most of you free sprirts believe the more time a woman is a sex worker or just a street whore the better a man will like her. I wonder if old whores cost more than young whores. I bet most of you people would know.
22:35 September 2, 2009 by DamnImmigrant
@Captcha - "So, most of you free sprirts believe the more time a woman is a sex worker or just a street whore the better a man will like her. I wonder if old whores cost more than young whores. I bet most of you people would know."

Are you OK? Such a bizzare statement that seems to have nothing to do with this article or the posts.

So here is one to boggle your mind. Sex is good for you! The more you enjoy it, the healthier you are - male and female!

Scientists have found that women who have sex 4 times or more a week look 8 years younger that their contemporaries who do not enjoy sex with such frequency.

So like Jay Leno said, Based on how bad some hookers look; How does this study come up with these conclusions?
14:10 September 3, 2009 by Rebel
Is the term feminist porn just a nicer way to say lesbian porn?
22:22 September 3, 2009 by Captcha
@Damnimmigrant Yes, I believe I am OK. Thanks for asking.

What I took away from the article is the view that the performances in the flim are not done by the average woman. Sexual relations at any time with anyone can not be health for Swedish society.

I did not mean to hurt your feelings by questioning your life chooses.

I apologize.
00:53 September 4, 2009 by Asian view
The sex industry, as all know, is one of the oldest professions in the world. Its main purpose is to meet the basic sexual aspects of humans. Psycologically speaking sex falls into the same category of the other needs of humans and as long as this industry meets these needs it will profit.

The article sounds like the person's main purpose is not for profit but for art and here lies the problem. This basic need cannot profit if turned into an art or philosophical expression. This has been done through out history whether in eastern or western cultures and all the sex related art that has been created has not equalled the massive profits that the basic brothels bring. In ancient times entire wars were heavily funded by the revenues of brothels and not by sex related art. But for a purely artistic expression it has validity however boring it maybe.
14:12 September 4, 2009 by farnoxo
hey, why stop at classifying porn as "feminist" - maybe we can have a few more silly classifcations of porn (and get some juicy govt. subsidies):

"corn porn" - porn with schmaltzy love stories

"worn porn" - for the older generation

"sworn porn" - with expesically dirty language

"mourn porn" - porn to watch afetr your lover has died

"dorm porn" - kinda self explainatory!

"norm porn" - bog standard, "missionary position with the lights out" porn

"björn porn" - a rebradnding of the classic Swedish blue movies

"drawn porn" - hentai or other animated porn.

"lawn porn" - a bit of crumpet for the upper crust English gentleman

"horn porn" - featuring especially well endowed male actors

... the list continues
21:02 September 4, 2009 by BLADESKATER00
"The very nature of so called "feminism" is to turn women into men in their behavior and to turn men into women in their behavior."
04:57 September 8, 2009 by Iamcuriousblue
I've got to say, I think Sweden is definitely making an effort to have the most schizophrenic attitude toward sex work of any country on earth. This is, after all, the same country that insists throwing men in jail for buying sex is the the most enlightened policy toward prostitution, and makes quite an effort to lobby other European countries to adopt similar policies. Sweden also has a policy to not allow government employees not to stay in hotels where pornography is available.

Yet at the same time, a few feminist pornographers are given full funding. The only question I have is whether the performers were paid. If so, congratulations Kingdom of Sweden - you are now a purchaser of sexual services. To set a moral example, I suggest you remand the responsible officials to custody. Hey, if such treatment is what is morally due the average Swedish punter, then I fail to see why officials should get a break.
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