LAKEVIEW — Porn-viewing has a reputation as a male-oriented activity. Adult filmmaker Erika Lust aims to change that.
Lust — who went from studying political science in Sweden to a career in erotic film — is teaming up with Lakeview adult shop Taboo Tabou on Monday to host a sex-positive reception and screening of "XConfessions," the filmmaker's crowd-sourced collection of erotic short films from a female perspective.
"I realized that the only ones participating in the discourse of pornography are men," Lust said. Since her abrupt career change, she's become an outspoken advocate for ethical pornography and has worked to carve out a bigger space in the industry for female consumers.
"The sex can stay dirty, but the values have to be clean," Lust explained in a TEDx Vienna speech in 2014. Recently, she appeared in an episode of the new Netflix documentary series, "Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On," produced by Rashida Jones.
Among other topics, "Turned On" explores why one in three young women who watch porn say they have a hard time finding content they like, and discusses how the media can empower women instead of objectifying them.
"We can't ignore that porn today is sex education," Lust says in first episode. "Especially for people who never had sexual experiences in their own life. How are they going to know how sex actually works?"
As part of the movement to create empowering porn, Lust regularly calls for more women in industry leadership roles — directing, producing, writing scripts.
Taboo Tabou, an adult toy and lingerie offshoot of The Alley, moved to 843 W. Belmont Ave. last year under the vision of owner Alexis Thomas. From the start, Thomas wanted the shop to be a safe place for people to explore body positivity and feminist sexuality.
"Those are the elements about sexuality we don't talk about," Thomas said. "People come to sex shops and just go straight for the vibrators, and we all ignore the steps that lead to the arousal."
Taboo experts will discuss the basics of bondage, electroplay and self-pleasure during a pop-up sex ed party ahead of the XConfessions screening at The Annoyance Theatre nearby.
The free event is open to anyone 21 years or older and starts at Taboo Tabou at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Tickets to the hour-long 9 p.m. screening must be picked up 30 minutes in advance at the shop.
