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A HEADS UP: This article contains blurred images - and a discussion - of porn.
At 75, Lowena* walked into her Melbourne backyard with a camera and stood naked.
There, surrounded by her chickens, she photographed herself in the nude.
"It's the first time I've ever taken nude pictures of myself," she said.
I didn't feel self-conscious at all, in my backyard surrounded by trees. I felt quite back-to-nature outside with nothing on.
At her age, Lowena never thought anyone would want to pay to look at nude photos of her because she was "a bit wrinkly".
But when her husband stumbled across an advertisement from Melbourne-based company Feck calling for female contributors to take nude photos of themselves, she decided to contribute for some extra income.
Lowena* said she felt quite 'back to nature' taking the pictures. Source: The Feed
"I thought, who would want to look at me, I'm just an old lady," Lowena said.
"But they [at Feck] said, 'you'd be surprised'."
Her husband also contributed to Feck's project titled Beautiful Agony, which required a close-up of his face while mid-orgasm.
Contributors must submit a minimum of 150 high-quality photos taken by themselves in varying positions, displaying their face and full frontal nudity.
A selection of photos is uploaded to Feck's website, where subscribers can access the folios worldwide for $32 a month.
Lowena was paid $250 for her contributions and will receive royalties.
"I'd do it again," Lowena said.
They're looking for more people - I even told my granddaughter about it.
Should porn be a part of the sex-education taught in schools? The Feed looks at the issue 8:30pm TONIGHT on SBS VICELAND.
The world of ‘ethical’ porn
Lowena is part of a growing community of women contributing to "ethical porn".
University of Sydney senior lecturer in sexology Dr Christopher Fox said while Australia has no definition of porn, ethical porn was generally defined by choice, control, and diversity.
"People have a choice - that's the point of ethical porn." he said.
Women are given a choice in how their bodies are displayed. It's not necessarily promoting the body as 'beautiful.'
Dr Fox added ethical porn never featured "male dominance in action," and was defined by contributors "own ethical standards".
"The difference between ethical porn and porn depends on where you sit on the spectrum - there's no standard."
But he added that the loose definition of ethical porn meant a company's ethics and policies should always be questioned.
"You have to ask how much choice [the contributors] have: Are ethical porn producers allowing images of women in their entirety? What criteria and by whom are the images chosen? Are ethical porn producers allowing images of women in their entirety, or selecting images that will get the most male subscribers? You have to ask these questions," he said.
Feck employee Ash says she's grateful for a platform where she could be portrayed sexually. Source: The Feed
Dr Fox also warned once porn is uploaded to the internet, contributors no longer control the use of their photos or how they are depicted.
"Once it’s out there it’s out there, we lose control of it," he said.
But contributors and Feck employees Ash and Hyperballad had no concerns.
"There's a lot of other porn out there people are more interested in circulating for free," Hyperballad said.
I'm in that point in my life I just do not care if people see my photos.
Ash added she was grateful for a platform where she could be portrayed sexually.
"Socially as a fat person, there are not that many opportunities to be given the appreciation that others might," she said.
And there’s certainly a demand to be able to see ‘everyday’ women in their intimate environments.
John Stevens* subscribed to Feck for over a year, and said looking at women he could bump into on the street appealed to him.
Feck employee Hyperballad says she 'just doesn't care' if people see her photos. Source: The Feed
"Some of the attraction is the voyeuristic, taboo nature of it," he said.
Since opening its doors in 2008, Feck has paid approximately $1 million in royalties to its 7000 contributors located around the globe.
The highest paid contributor received $25,000 over 10 years.
