“Are you ready to talk about porn?” Feminist pornographer Tristan Taormino started her address Thursday with that provocative question.

The award-winning author, director, sex educator, speaker, and radio host of Sex Out Loud on VoiceAmerica delivered a bold lecture on feminist pornography to around 20 SMU students and faculty in the Owen Arts Center.

The audience was interested in hearing a female point of view on the industry, especially a female director, because the industry behind the scenes is dominated by men.

Even if pornography is from a female perspective, “it’s always disempowering,” said SMU graduate student Ircilia Inaicio. “I do acknowledge there is a sense of repetition in the porn industry.”As a feminist, Taormino is an outlier in the porn business because she avoids repetition by addressing issues of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and body type markers in her films.

Some of her most famous books include The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women and 50 Shades of Kink. She has also directed Tristan Taormino’s House of Ass and Tristan Taormino’s Chemistry.

It’s important to talk about the taboo topic of feminism and sex today because “feminists are usually seen in a negative light,” said SMU freshman Jules Fox.

Taormina includes all types of people as a feminist pornographer and wishes to expand the language of sex. In the mainstream porn industry, there seems to be a formula of using one race and body type?. Taormino’s goal is to challenge the industry standard of using women that are white, skinny, and submissive.

As a director, she shoots scenes in ways that do not objectify women by playing with certain camera angles, specifically scenes where the man dominates the woman.

“Could it be shot differently so it’s not anti-feminist?” Taormino asks herself.

Taormino told the audience that she also wants to challenge the norm of how women and men are portrayed in pornography.

“Women are always assertive and ready to have sex,” Taormino said, referring to the roles women play in porn.

Men are also expected to play specific roles in porn.

“Rarely do we see men bisexual or ask for directions,” Taormino said.

She believes in gender equality-meaning men shouldn’t be discriminated in porn either.

Mainstream pornography also has an exclusive category for ethnic people. In feminist porn, Taormino rejects the ghettoization of people of color. She has a commitment to racial diversity and casts people of color in every scene.

In addition to including different kinds of people, Taormino said she tries to treat everyone with respect and said she gives her performers freedom in scenes as well as casting costars they are comfortable with.

She finds it troubling when people say she spoils her performers because she simply she values them for their skills and dedication.

“What I love about pornstars is that they have an amazing wealth of knowledge about sex,” Taormino said.

The filmmaker ended her speech with a promise that she will change the world one feminist pornography movie at a time.