We’re excited to announce that we’ve been nominated for an AVN award for best new production studio! AVN is like the Oscars for the porn industry and it’s a pretty big freakin’ deal. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of the AVN awards before. We’ve got all the deets for you here.

What are the AVN awards?

Put on by the AVN Media Network, also known as Adult Video News Media Network, the AVN awards began in the 1980s as a way to highlight top performers and actors in the adult film industry. But AVN was around long before their award show. Founded by Paul Fishbein, a true household name in the adult industry, the AVN Media Network is the go-to place for all adult entertainment news — considered the Variety of the adult industry.

So why do we think we deserve this award? Well, if you’re an afterglow subscriber, you’ve most likely seen our afterglow original films. But, what makes these films so special? And how are they any different from the millions of porn videos already on the internet? We’re going to pass things over to Lilly Sparks, founder & CEO of afterglow, to give you the lowdown on the intention and meaning of each afterglow original film. We think they’re revolutionary and we hope after this, you do too.

Touch Yourself

Have you ever seen a JOI porn? JOI stands for “jerk-off instructions”. If you head to Pornhub or any other tube site what you’ll find when typing in “JOI porn” is a library of porn videos directed at people with penises. Picture being in the room with a beautiful woman while she gives you instructions on how to touch yourself (if you have a penis). Now there’s nothing wrong with this except for the fact that where’s the JOI porn for people with vulvas? Or people in general who want to be turned on by a sexy ass man? And if there’s anything we’re trying to do at afterglow, it’s leave behind the tropes and create porn for the female gaze.

Through his seductive voice and sensual demonstrations, Damian Dragon provides viewers with erotic instructions for a pleasurable solo sex experience that redefines JOI porn in Touch Yourself, an afterglow original porn. Drawing inspiration from D’Angelo’s iconic music video Untitled, you’ll be guided through an intimate self-pleasure practice that focuses on validating statements that are sweet and soft, so you may have an opportunity to connect to your body through one of your sexiest zones: your mind.

Save a Horse

You might remember growing up the overabundance of movies about a girl and her horse — think Black Beauty. So when we got our hands on the amazing Cowgirl sex toy, we got the idea to flip the script and make a hot film about a woman and her trusty vibrating steed. For those that don’t know, the Cowgirl Premium Sex Machine is a saddle-shaped sex toy meant to be ridden like a horse while stimulating your G-spot. Meant to be a little cheesy and a whole lot arousing, Save a Horse is a whole new genre of female masturbation porn. afterglow is also an Austin, Texas-based company and so naturally we think cowgirls are hot as hell.

Part comedy, part porn, part horse girl movie — afterglow presents Save a Horse. Viewers are transported to the desert where a young woman (Maya Kendrick) is reunited with her trusty stallion — her sex machine. Time has passed, but their bond is unbreakable, and they’ve come together for one last rodeo. In Save a Horse, viewers are provided with the opportunity to view the pleasure of masturbation between a woman and her one true love: her sex toy.

Lip Service

In porn traditionally, we’re always hearing what the man wants. “Suck my dick”, “get on all fours” — you know the drill. But where’s all the porn with the women telling the men what THEY want? In real life, women tell their partners how they like it (at least they should be) so where’s all the porn videos representing that? There weren’t any. So we made one ourselves.

In Lip Service, we are taken on a voyeuristic journey in which we are able to witness the success of communication between lovers through sensual, meaningful touch and borderline worship of the female body. The viewer has the opportunity to witness seasoned performers navigate an intimate connection that is often overlooked and undersold in porn.

U Up?

If you weren’t having phone sex prior to 2020, you most likely were post-quarantine. For those that weren’t locked down with a partner, you were most likely like the rest of us left craving physical intimacy of any kind. But where sexting and phone sex fell short, FaceTime sex brought the heat. Being able to tap into your exhibitionist side and put your pleasure on display for your partner all the while you get to be a voyeur to their spicy activities is a win-win in my book. The first of its kind, U Up? is a porn movie about having sex via FaceTime and we think it’s pretty damn iconic if we must say so ourselves.

With U Up?, afterglow explores the complexities of a stimulating a charged sexual relationship during a time of stay-at-home orders and physical distancing measures. The two performers entrance the audience with a hedonistic display of mutual masturbation, all maintained through a virtual connection.

Cravings

Whether you’ve been pregnant yourself or know someone around you who has, we all know about the pregnancy cravings. And the one thing pregnant women can relate to is when a craving hits and all you can think about is that one thing — at least until it quickly changes to a new craving. One minute you might be craving a salty snack and the next, a dick to ride. The problem with current pregnancy porn films? Pregnant women are fetishized. These films aren’t about the woman’s wants, needs…cravings, they’re about another party wanting to revel in the woman’s pregnancy glow and their extra horniness — a common side effect to pregnancy. Cravings is all about the woman taking charge of her sexuality during her pregnancy. Taking control of her cravings from food to sex, she gets what she wants and how she wants it.

Enter a steamy summer hookup in Cravings, an afterglow original porn. Starring Mickey Mod and Maxine Holloway — and her beautiful baby bump — afterglow explores how pregnant people can be sexual beings and horny AF. Viewers get the opportunity to watch a pregnant woman confident and comfortable in her new body, while experiencing pregnancy cravings for food and sex.

9 to 5

A common view of sex workers is that because they have sex for a living, their entire lives revolve around it. Even though a sex worker might be a professional domme for a living, it doesn’t mean they’re walking around in latex all day searching for subs. Sex workers are real people just like you and me, and they’ve got personal lives outside of work just like any other person. The intention behind 9 to 5 was to show exactly that, as well as show that black men are not always dominant, as is typically show in porn. Anyone can be a submissive, and anyone can be a domme, but not anyone can be a sex worker. It takes skill and hard work — find out by watching the afterglow original film 9 to 5.

In 9 to 5 afterglow sets off with Jet Setting Jasmine to go behind closed doors with a professional dominatrix. Queen Jasmine and her sub (Bwana) let viewers become a voyeur to their kinky practices to catch a provocative glimpse into domme life. Sex toys, power play, and sexy clothing come together to show those who come to watch what it would be like to be in a Dom/sub relationship IRL. But audience members must always remember: smell, touch, taste — Remember Queen Jasmine.

How can you support afterglow at the 2022 AVN awards?

Watch our afterglow original films, enjoy them, and tell AVN just how much you love them 👅


60% of women are dissatisfied with their sex lives. We’re on a mission to change that.

What if you didn’t have to search to find a body that looks like yours, a sex act that turns you on, or a guided exercise that helps you tell your partner exactly what you’ve been craving?

What if YOUR pleasure came first?

[button link=”xoafterglow.com/watch” type=”big” color=”black” newwindow=”yes”] Join afterglow[/button]