Forget the fake moans and scripted fantasies. Ethical porn is putting intimacy and authenticity back at the center of sex on camera — and viewers are responding.
Porn has never been more available, yet so much of it still feels stuck in the past: performative moaning, numbed-out close-ups, and scripts written by men who’ve never actually asked a woman what turns her on. But as conversations around consent, safety, and female pleasure grow louder, a new wave of “ethical porn” is reshaping how we watch and who gets to feel seen.
At the center of that shift is Ersties, a Berlin-based platform created by women and driven by the radical idea that porn can be intimate, joyful, and genuinely aligned with what performers want. Instead of choreographed fantasies, their videos center on real desire, real bodies, and real pleasure.
Their content spans everything from intimate solos to girl-girl encounters, playful fantasies, and unscripted games like “Tinder in Real Life,” all designed to feel natural, inclusive, and genuinely erotic. For more than a decade, Ersties has built a global community around ethical, female-focused porn that celebrates real bodies, real chemistry, and real desire.
There’s no better time to talk about the future of adult entertainment—one that’s ethical, inclusive, and built on consent rather than cliché.
The Girly Pop Register spoke to Cat, Head of Community, Creative, and Education at Ersties, to learn more about ethical porn and what the site does to maintain it.
How do you define “ethical porn,” and what makes a production truly ethical—not just marketed that way?
For me, ethical porn is when everyone involved in the process is treated & paid fairly, and their pleasure, boundaries, and desires are upheld. The beauty is, you can create porn that works for everyone if you do things well.
Some people just truly enjoy exhibiting their sexuality in front of others, so if you can create a safe environment for people to do that, then you can create ethical porn that people don’t need to feel guilty about watching.
Mainstream porn has been criticized for being performative or unrealistic. How does Ersties actively counter those tropes?
Ersties was created with the goal of making porn that looked a lot closer to our everyday sex life, just with better lighting. We don’t make performers act to a script; instead, we work with them to curate their fantasy shoot and give minimal feedback during a shoot, mainly to help the camera catch the action, because we want performers to come on set and forget about the cameras and have fun. We also work with a range of people who look like your neighbour, colleague, and crush, showing that everyone is someone worthy of pleasure.
What systems are in place to ensure performers feel safe, empowered, and in control throughout filming?
When we work with a performer, they fill out a pretty in-depth form before filming anything, so they can share their likes, dislikes, and all the inbetweens. Then, if there’s a shoot that potentially suits a performer’s desires, we’ll get in touch with them and have a few calls in advance of the shoot, giving them more chances to let us know what they like, how they feel about the idea, what they want or don’t want to do.
Once they agree to do the shoot, every performer is required to do an STI test, and people can also ask to use condoms or special protective measures on top.
Lastly, on the shoot, we have a couple of hours where the performers can relax and connect with each other. Then we have another in depth conversation about boundaries, feelings, desire, toys, positions they like, etc., so everyone knows what each other likes and we remind the performers that they can always change their mind, they will still get paid, and we always rather that someone says ‘fuck yes’ to something instead of ‘I don’t mind’.
Porn is often criticized for fake orgasms and scripted fantasy. How do you maintain authenticity while still making content that excites viewers?
Although porn is, by nature, entertainment and fantasy, just like watching a movie, we try to make entertainment and fantasies that are as authentic as possible – which is all about creating a space where the performers can really express their true selves and enjoy the experience as much as possible. If you’re watching people who feel comfortable and safe to let go, get super turned on, and embrace their desires, then we’ve completed our goal of being authentic.
Do you see ethical porn becoming more mainstream, or will it remain niche?
I think the differences between mainstream & ethical porn will hopefully become less and less, and I think it’s already a lot better. Especially as performers have much more power in the industry, they also have less pressure to say yes when they’re not happy with something, and that’s exactly how it should be.
I also think a lot more women are active in the porn industry, especially performers themselves, which is changing things up a lot, so small companies like ours won’t be the only ones making porn by women, which is also great!
We’re living in a world with so many ways to support ethical porn, from buying someone’s OnlyFans to paying for a membership on Ersties. Plus, with so many people struggling with their relationship with porn, watching ethical porn provides a way to feel better about their desires. When you watch porn that’s clearly been made in a happy environment, and you get to support the people in the video, then you’re doing something good with every wank – who doesn’t want that!
How do you balance staying ethical while also running a successful commercial adult platform?
Maybe we’re lucky, but we find that when you make porn where the performers are happy, then you make porn that customers enjoy, so it sells well. I think it’s about finding a niche that works for you, writing great concepts that stimulate people’s imagination, having a great production, editing & overall product team, and continuing to make our studio a place models want to work for – is the key to success.
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