Good For Her opened in 1997 as a female-oriented sex toy, book and video shop and workshop center, with the awards starting in 2006. The award itself is called the Emma, honoring sex-positive feminist Emma Goldman (1869–1940).
"Chanelle Gallant, the previous manager of Good For Her, started the awards to address issues about representation in erotic film to work with filmmakers who are looking to expand the boundaries of what 'porn' traditionally means,” Good For Her manager Alison Lee told XBIZ. “What we want to do is look at people who are being represented as sexual beings instead of sexual objects, and I think that does happen sometimes in porn."
The Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards have 12 categories this year, including “Deliciously Diverse Cast," “Best Bi Scene," “Sexiest Straight Scene” and “The Golden Beaver Award for Canadian Content." Filmmakers can nominate themselves for consideration, and nominations also come from Good For Her staff members. The films are reviewed by the Good For Her staff, and categories are determined based on the films.
"The amount of films to consider isn't huge, and sometimes the nominations process can be loose," Lee said. "We try to pick out the best of the best. We look for genuine female pleasure to be presented, women having a hand in production — it could be director, producer, or writer — and/or it expands the bounds of sexual representation on film. [A nominee] doesn't have to have all of those, but we look for those criteria."
The awards ceremony, set for April 4, will be hosted by Trey Anthony and will feature burlesque acts, celebratory dance by Daddy K and the Rhythm Method, DJ MissRuckus, giveaways and a raffle in support of Maggie’s Toronto, which is a local organization supporting sex workers.
On Saturday, April 5, Good For Her will screen selected clips from nominated films, with directors present for a Q&A session following the screening.
Scheduled guests for the screening include Erika Lust, director of "5 Hot Stories for Her," Morty Diamond, director of "Trans Entities: The Nasty Love of Papi' and Wil," Estelle Joseph, director of the "City of Flesh" series, Loree Erickson, director of "Want," a short film about sex and disability and Bren Ryder, producer of the Good Dyke Porn website.
Tickets to both events are on sale now at the Good For Her store, 175 Harbord Street in Toronto, or the Good For Her website.
