Madison Young is unabashed in her enthusiastic description of life as a porn star. She is sitting in the middle of a Los Angeles cafe, not lowering her voice, even when talking about anal and kinky sex.
Speaking out about her experiences, she said once a director instructed her to wait five minutes and then fake an orgasm. Then in return she said "give me an additional five minutes and I'll have a real orgasm'. To me that is feminist porn in a nutshell."
Now 36 Madison has become an integral part of the sex-positive movement that has been on the rise since the Eighties. It believes that sexual images can be a source of inspiration and empowerment for viewers.
Women are watching porn more than ever. In 2015, Pornhub, which is visited by 156 million people every month, recently revealed that women make up a quarter of its global audience. This doesn't come as a massive surprise with the recent success of the mainstream book Fifty Shades of Grey, in which 80 percent of the readers were women.
Speaking out Madison believes
Feminist porn takes a cultural from that has historically been seen as the purview of men. It reworks sexual images and conventions in an effort to explore new and more diverse kinds of desires."
For Madison, what defines the type of feminist porn that she stars in, is the authenticity of her pleasure. "Being able to talk about what you desire and your real life kinks, that's what matters to me" she says.
A real orgasm on camera, however, does not necessarily mean soft sex. Madison's responsibility as a performer is to find something erotic about every moment. E.g. sniffing shoes, latex and leather.
To Madison, the most important part of making porn is the message it sends out. "In the same way that some films could give a negative view sex, porn also has the power to make us feel great and teach consent and communication," she says. She strongly believes that feminist porn does make a difference, changing attitudes both outside and within the industry.
A decade in, Madison still loves her job. She does have to deal with her fair share of judgment, especially when people hear she has two children. "There's so much stigma around sex and sexuality. I can be a mother and still be a sex activist."