LOS ANGELES — James Deen may be one of the most female-loved porn stars — or, as the running Internet joke puts it, reigns as “the Ryan Gosling of porn” — but flatly rejects the notion that his work panders to a particular feminine aesthetic.
In fact, Deen said in an interview with Refinery 29 that “porn for women” and/or “feminist porn” is a load of hogwash, given womens’ diverse sexual tastes.
"My theory on porn for women is, it’s just porn,” he said and continued, “Why is there porn explicitly only for women? By saying there needs to be porn for women, you’re basically isolating women as a gender, and saying, 'This is how women should think. This is how their sexuality should be.' It’s counterproductive (from what I understand) to the equality movement. Who says that one woman's take on sexuality is the right way to think?
One woman might like to watch a film with high production value and beautiful sex. Another might like some BDSM things with beating, degradation — and it doesn’t mean either is right or wrong. Pornography is made for individuals to find what they enjoy, and what turns them on. There’s no market research on this because sexuality is always developing, growing and evolving. You could talk to a million people about what they like in porn and you’re going to get a million answers of what a million people like in porn at that moment.”
“The Canyons” screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis sought Deen as the mainstream film’s lead after a friend informed him about the porn stars massive teen girl Twitter following (which still persists). The LA Times and other media outlets have classified Deen as a boy-next-door type who has helped redefine the male “mastodon” stereotype that defined porn of the 90s.
