What constitutes erotic photography in the age of social media? Swiping, scrolling, “liking” images of your favorite bikini-clad model? Tapping a handheld screen to view content for seconds at a time… is that erotic? The reality is, current social media platforms censor erotic art.
I remember seeing erotic photography in magazines and books in the 1990s. There was something so naughty about being alone with an erotic photography art book. I would sit with photographs by Tony Ward or Bettina Rheims—or even Madonna’s Sex, shot by Steven Meisel. Unlike a romance novel that spells everything out for you, these pictures of sexual exploration allowed you to fill in the blanks for yourself. It was exhilarating to flip through the pages over and over again. Then, with the birth of websites that celebrated erotic photography like nerve.com, I felt like I’d finally met my people. It wasn’t about making porn but exploring the artist’s fetishes, turn-ons and sexuality. These nudes are so much more than art-modeling. The camera captures bravery, freedom and sex positivity. This was a community that embraced sex and portrayed it beautifully.
In late 2005, I met the “Queen of Lesbian Porn,” Justine Joli. She epitomized what I wanted for my work: professional naked people. These are ambitious women with careers in pornography, sex work, stripping, fetish modeling, pin-up, burlesque and more. It was exciting to finally meet and create art with these exhibitionists. Joli introduced me to so many models and it snowballed from there.
A photo from More Dirty Girls Having Fun
Ellen StaggSoon after sharing my work with the public I was surprised to find many viewed my models as second-class citizens, exhibiting discrimination and disrespect based on the judgment that sex work is not real work. People have assumed my models are simply friends feeling adventurous. When I explain that these are professional women working in the adult sex industry, I am often met with curiosity but also resistance. “Adult entertainment is not a career,” I’d hear. “But what is their real job?” “Don’t they just do it for attention?” This mentality implies that those in the adult industry are not diligent or passionate businesswomen and artists; that their employment isn’t valid, and that they should not be compensated for the services they provide. I didn’t realize how taboo my work would be considered. Sexuality is so shocking to those that don’t explore it outside of their personal lives.
In 2008, I started my paid site, StaggStreet.com, a digital magazine for my photography. The more time I spent collaborating with nude women, the more empowered I felt by the process. Living vicariously through my models and immortalizing their images makes me feel amazing in my own sexuality. I work with women in the adult industry because I respect their profession. I love to highlight the pros, as they want their content out there. They have no apologies for their sexuality, and that is punk rock.
Once, when photographing two of my models together, the mood struck and they became intimate. They were making love as I worked around them, as I focused on lighting and composition. I did not expect or direct them to. It happened naturally. I recently photographed a model who’d gained weight since the start of her career. She is someone who is bold with her body, spreading her legs open and licking her own toes as I shoot her. It’s beautiful that she is so free with her body. She shared that other photographers tried to cover or hide her stomach. But we were excited to capture her fully and naturally. Having agency over your body and profiting from it is definitively feminist. Celebrating sex workers of all levels, ethnicities, ages and body types is my manifesto.
In a world where censorship happens every day, my erotic art is an act of protest. I create work against those that say sex is dirty and bad, that our bodies are ugly and unworthy. My erotic work honors my models by putting them on a pedestal and glorifying their individualism. I love looking at my own work the way I used to view other erotic art books. First and foremost, my photography is for my models and myself; for everyone else, they are lucky. I want to share the power that comes from sexual freedom with everyone.
Erotic photographer Ellen Stagg’s new book More Dirty Girls Having Fun can be found here.
