In the Blog
Alison Lee: Feminist Porn Awards Pioneer
Every Thursday I profile a new incredible woman, each from a different walk of life. Different professions, causes, backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and anything/everything else!
So without further delay, let me introduce the awesome Alison Lee…
Alison Lee is a writer and the manager/buyer/blogger for Good For Her (and www.goodforher.com) - a feminist, sex-positive sex store in Toronto. Through Good For Her, she also organizes the annual Feminist Porn Awards, an event which seeks to celebrate erotic media made by and for women and marginalized communities. She’s also a fabulous cook and loves cats.
What drives you to do what you do?
What drives me is a belief that everybody is good at something and I happen to be good at talking and thinking about sex and sexuality so I might as well share that with the world! I’ve seen so many times how stopping and listening and sharing our experiences of sex can change people’s lives and allow them to feel beautiful and whole, and I can’t imagine ever giving that up!
How does being a woman empower / challenge you?
As a woman who speaks openly and frankly about sex on a daily basis, it can sometimes be difficult to get over screwed-up ideas that women aren’t supposed to enjoy sex and they certainly aren’t supposed to talk about it - those ideas can sit in the back of my head sometimes and get to me. I try to take that and spin it into being more outspoken, more assertive, more sex-positive and more willing to talk about things that are supposed to be taboo.
What advice would you give to young women who want to follow in your footsteps?
For any young woman attempting to make her mark on the world in any way at all: Believe in yourself! 100% all the time, it’s the only way you’ll achieve anything! (P.S. I believe in you already!)
And I would also say that there are a million roads waiting for you - travel your own way, with your own confidence, and make your own mistakes instead of worrying about other people’s footsteps. Only you know what’s right for you! (But do your research and don’t be afraid to toot your own horn along the way!)
Name one person, place, or thing every young woman should know about?
You have this really great part of your body that is only for pleasure: it’s called the clitoris. Get to know it, and honour the rest of your body, too.
What is the most important thing we can do in order to change the world?
I think that speaking your truth, listening to others and not being afraid to succeed are the best ways to make a mark. Also, remembering that changing the world can come in many different forms, and that using your skills and talents and loves to make the world better and to change people’s lives can be small or big or somewhere in between. All you need to know is that everybody has the capacity to create change!
The Feminist Porn Awards will be held on April 24th at the Berkeley Church (315 Queen Street East in Toronto). And for the best in sex-positive supplies, lit. and more, visit Good For Her online here or at 175 Harbord Street, Toronto.
