I have been fortunate to have lectured and debated these issues with experts and academics around the world for many years. I know of no research from any source that has proven the link between the consumption of adult material and sexual abuse, despite conservative and Christian organizations in the US spending huge amounts of time, energy and money trying in vain to prove the connection. Access to adult material is widely seen as a positive influence on relationships, breaking down the taboo that surrounds such material in the UK, where we still have some unfounded fears surrounding the creation and consumption of sexual imagery.

The world in which I operate is one where people are treated with great respect and consideration, where performers actively enjoy their work. Those who appear in my work are natural exhibitionists who enjoy sex: they perform and access pleasure by doing so. I receive several unsolicited emails a week from men, women and couples who want to appear in my films; I don’t advertise for performers. I shot several films with long term partners and married couples who had seen my work and voluntarily approached me to appear in a film. Viewers tell me they can see the energy and connection between them. I have had women who campaign against pornography begrudgingly tell me that if porn is to exist, it should be produced the way I make it.

There is an important distinction here: women in adult films are known for their sexual performance. This is in contrast to glamour models who present a passive two-dimensional image centred on their physical appearance. I record the women as individuals in their own right, agents on their own route to pleasure. They are active participants who attract fans of all genders for their personality, performance and looks.

One woman came to me at an exhibition and described horrible sexual abuse in her youth, resulting in real fear and a distorted view of sex. She spent a long time working through her issues and found my films key in restoring her understanding of equality, agency and trust in physical relationships. She thanked me with tears in her eyes – one of the most humbling and touching moments of my life. Sex therapists and counselors in Scandinavia use my work as examples of how images of sex can positively represent the real experience of women. Women in my films have the power to define their own experience, not to be an incidental participant in a performance that caters only to the fantasies of men.

We need to do more to eradicate the unfair treatment of women in all levels of our society. Taking a neo-puritanical and religious approach to sex is wrong. We have some of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies in Europe. We need more information and discussion about sex, not less. Our Labour government has made some progress with equality legislation but they have failed to bring about real change and true equality. Tory MPs and MEPs have also repeatedly voiced their objection to – and repeatedly voted against – extending equal rights. One key reason why I am proud to be a Liberal Democrat is because I wholeheartedly support the view that rights of individuals in our society are not to be apportioned according to the judgment of another. They are a fundamental right of every individual regardless of race, class, gender and sexuality.

Sex education in schools needs to be mandatory, cover wide ground and start at a young age. It must include information on recognising abuse, as we’ve recently seen in the excellent TV and print adverts. We achieve nothing by thwarting our own freedom by acquiescing to long-established and distorted male-dominated perceptions of sex as something that is bad. The system is failing us and we should learn from other countries in Europe that have a more clearly defined approach to sexual education, sexual imagery and more open discussion – and much lower STI and teenage pregnancy rates as a result. We should give young people the education they deserve to understand sex and to engage in it safely, without pressure and at a time they feel is right and wholly consensual. I also feel strongly that young people should not be able to access pornography as readily as they do currently. In my capacity as Chair of the Adult Industry Trade Association I have overseen our work with the British Board of Film Classification to help introduce an age classification and verification system on websites that will go some way towards regulating web content. It isn’t a perfect solution (the infrastructure of the web doesn’t easily lend itself to regulation) but the producers support it. We have no financial or moral interest in delivering our product to under 18s and we continue to campaign for greater support from the internet service providers in their capacity as deliverers of content. I helped set up regular health screening in our industry and all my films on my website start with a message reiterating the need for regular health checks and safe sex.

Before adult imagery can be condemned as exploitative in totality, there are a few things to consider. What about those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? Representation of their sexuality and experience of sex was, for a long time, wholly inaccessible and they felt they lacked a cinematic identity. Now we have a thriving and inclusive media sector where people no longer feel like outsiders or imperfect by default. From business to arts to health; we are better informed than ever before. Maybe those who believe porn is all about women being exploited by men should watch some of the excellent dyke porn currently being made in the US. This is a gender group that was wholly unrepresented in any medium until a small number of filmmakers started to make their own films. The directors, crew and performers all come from their own community and are politically driven. They are making films for a very limited demographic but their work is allowing women to access a completely new representation of gender and sexuality that is empowering. I see the same commitment that I felt in the mid 90s when I was at Central St Martins. The male lecturers on my experimental film degree course censored my work; make of that what you will.

Page 3, top shelf magazines, films, videos and mainstream advertising all present men with ‘ideal’ images of women, often to make money for businesses. Men see these images everywhere and can choose to consume less or more as they see fit. Even now, women retain the internalised male viewpoint that consumption of erotic imagery by women is wrong. Adult films historically focused on the pleasure of the male viewer. To do this, the representations of sex were distorted and unrealistic. My motivation has always been to focus on the real experience and needs of women. I used male performers that I found attractive, women were styled to look realistic. My films were very much like soap-operas, realistic every day scenarios without the heavy stereotypes seen in many other adult films. Porn remains absolutely democratic about the body – all shapes, sizes and ethnicities are represented and celebrated. This is in stark contrast to television and print media.

Women are bombarded with imagery in popular culture that objectifies women in order to sell us goods and services. Sexualised imagery is used in conjunction with normal, everyday items like glasses, mineral water and breakfast cereal. This is a dishonest representation of women’s experience of sex and is fundamentally wrong. By accepting these images we are giving our permission to advertisers to use women’s bodies as nothing more than a tool to bring them financial gain. I believe advertising should represent women fairly and not feed on insecurities of body image and self-esteem. Representations of sex in the media should not be distorted. Look through an average woman’s magazine and look at how many adverts sexualise the subject unnecessarily. Everything from food to perfume has a sexualised subtext. I don’t manipulate images to present an unrealistic image. The Liberal Democrats want airbrushed images to be labeled as such; awareness is the key. If we start with that then our young women will learn what is real and what is a distortion.

I now lecture worldwide on issues of feminism and female sexuality and know that ‘adult’ images divide women. In order to get the balance right and restore women’s freedoms, I believe the public need representatives with expert knowledge that can develop all women’s rights across the board. We need open, informed and comprehensive debate that takes a variety of viewpoints into consideration and not just knee-jerk responses that ultimately restrict women’s enjoyment and ownership of their own bodies. In the 1990′s we started to see women defining their own experience of sex on their own terms. Women can, if they choose, control their own consumption of erotic imagery, with or without men. The Ann Summers organization is run by a woman, staffed almost exclusively by women and is an astounding success. By taking back the power we are re-establishing our own sexual experience on a more equal and representative footing. Good porn isn’t just arousing, it is empowering; it gives women back their bodies. Those that need any more persuasion should check out the work of pioneering and independent women like Jennifer Lyon Bell, Erika Lust, Petra Joy, Shine Louise Houston and the woman in the US that started it all, Candida Royalle. One day there’ll be a monument to her somewhere….

Since news of my selection broke on Thursday, many people have asked me why I want to be an MP. The answer is: for exactly the same reason I decided to start making pornography for women more than 12 years ago. Someone had to do it and it didn’t look like anyone else was going to – at least not with the drive, enthusiasm and determination that I could offer. The unfortunate truth is that there are far too few female MPs in this country compared to the rest of the world.

Did you know that Rwanda has the highest number of female MPs of all countries at 53%? Imagine living in a country with a female majority! Well, here I am again thinking that another male-dominated field needs challenging.

Back in 1998 I was in the final year of my degree, studying film at Central St Martin’s College of Art & Design. I had decided to write my dissertation on what fundamental changes would need to be made to mainstream pornography in order for it to be enjoyed by women. I called it Towards a New Pornography, intending it to sound like a manifesto, more for my own amusement than anything else. Then came lesson one in the British psyche. Even the so-called experimental filmmaker lecturers at this outstanding college were actually conservative with a small ‘c’.

My adverts for performers to appear in my graduation film were defaced and torn down by members of staff and my final film was refused a public airing “for fear of upsetting people’s grandparents”, according to the head of the department. All this for a film where the sex was actually simulated due to lead actor issues.

Twelve years later I have won many awards, including Indie Porn Pioneer at the international Feminist Porn Awards in Toronto and best director for two years in the UK.

I have fought long and hard for women’s right to sexual expression and consumption, as well as for freedom of speech. I have long since felt vindicated about my choices back at college and know my pro-sex feminist argument is based on sound principles and logic.

So why don’t I stay in my industry and continue to reap the rewards of my efforts? Because I am the type of person who needs a challenge. I achieved much in my last career and now I want to broaden my campaign to other pressing issues such as why this or previous governments don’t think they have a responsibility to give young people something productive and engaging to do with their spare time. I lived on a council estate in Bermondsey and saw first hand why the kids were taking drugs, fighting and committing crimes.

They are simply bored. I want to campaign to give young people in Gravesham the help they deserve.

To do this I have to fight yet another old man’s club – only this time without the dirty raincoats. Some won’t like it; they’ll assume that my selection means the world is going to hell. I’ve been here before; last time I changed my industry for ever.

That, among other issues, is why I am making the transition from porn to Parliament.

Watch this space; I’ve got a lot of – for want of a better word – balls.

Published in The Observer 14th March 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/14/anna-arrowsmith-pornography-politics

Sunday saw myself and two others of my team taking Vigo Village by storm with – I’ve no idea how many, but a lot of – leaflets, until I earned my first blister. I met some lovely people on the way and smelt several Sunday lunches through the letterboxes…very jealous.

Today I have been working on some new leaflets to distribute tomorrow as well as updating the website. We had planned to be out in Gravesend tonight but we used up a whopping 2500 leaflets on the weekend, so we don’t have any left!

I am planning to give a day by day blog of the campaign over the coming weeks, so watch this space…

Gravesend and Dartford Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for free travel over the Dartford crossing as promised by the Government when the bridge was paid for in 2002.

On the 26th March Anna was out helping her Dartford counterpart, James Willis with a media campaign to highlight the issue, which angers many Gravesham residents too. According to local media there were an approximate 5000 hoots by angry bridge users!

Anna is committed to campaigning for this issue and will be out campaigning for it the same time this month too. Feel free to join us and hoot if you give a toot!

There is also a need to encourage business to come to Gravesend. Anna would like to see small companies and creatives making the most of the cheaper rent in the area – relative to London -  which companies can now make the most of, due to improved rail facilities into central London.

Anna lived on a council estate in Bermondsey, one of London’s poorest areas and she saw first hand how the kids who hung around her front door were very bored and therefore more likely to take drugs which lead to crime.

If we asked these teenagers if they would like to learn a skill like music production they would be interested. This is the way forward, not by slapping ASBOs on them, which are worn as a badge of honour. Over 1 million children have been arrested since 1997, something has to change.

The Liberal Democrats ran a pilot scheme for young people in the Painter’s Ash area that was wholeheartedly supported by the police before it had to close due to lack of funding. We need these schemes extended and paid for by the council.

Gravesham’s Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed the Edinburgh House scheme for the supposed regeneration of Gravesend’s Heritage Quarter, and in particular their proposal for a 32 storey tower block on what is currently the green space of Upper ST Andrew’s Gardens.  Furthermore they fully support the current application to KCC to declare this area a Town Green, meaning that it will remain a green area for future generations.  A vote for Anna by the people of Gravesham will serve greatly to support this application, which is scheduled for just after the General Election

We are also campaigning to have the proposed development at the Western Quarter (around St Georges Church) refused by the council. This project would see the development of between 4 and 7-storeys along West Street, stepping up to 9 storeys at the Bath Street corner. We feel this is essential to ensure that the church is not dwarfed by a building which is unsympathetic to the historic surroundings.

Anna has an arts background and believes that architecture influences the way that people engage with their surroundings and behave in their hometowns. Gravesend deserves architecture that shows consideration for the local people in its design. Good architecture does not have to cost more and makes people proud to live and work nearby.

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: “The Liberal Democrats are proud to have candidates throughout the country with a great diversity of backgrounds and life experiences.  Anna will be a strong candidate for Gravesham, and with her family links to the area we believe she is the best person to bring fairness to local people.”
Anna is looking forward to representing the people of Gravesham on a national stage and says she is a natural fighter for justice and equality.

She plans to campaign against the concreting of Gravesham town centre, the providing of recreation facilities for young people, support for those with mental health and alcohol issues as well as using her extensive business background to encourage business (especially green business) development in the constituency.