The Spaces Between review: a political porn about people of color with white partners

Porn is the perfect place to become political. It’s a place where money, sex, media, and ethics converge.

—Pink and White Productions director Shine Louise Houston

Wait, what? Political commentary and porn?

The Spaces Between is a short queer porn film on PinkLabel.TV, directed by and starring Andre Shakti and Nikki Darling. It showcases snippets of what racial tensions mean for people of color with white partners in today’s political climate.

The production is 8 minutes long (excluding Andre and Sebastian’s post-credit attempts at helicoptering their phalluses) and “seeks to… present them in a way that both speaks to the adult industry and to those who patronize and consume it.”

I was curious about how the performers would portray such a complex topic in under 10 minutes. The format is pretty simple: sexy scenes between the two characters, juxtaposed with dialogue and racist microaggressions that Nikki’s character hears via her well-meaning white partner.

Incorporating both sets of interactions: strife and intimacy

Throughout the problematic things that Andre’s character says, many POC will give resonant nods and sigh, “yup, sounds about white.” Some white viewers will be thrilled to learn something, and others will, as intended, be made uncomfortable.

With the explicit sexuality included, it’s more nuanced. There are plenty of, say, Buzzfeed lists of microaggressions that POC regularly hear, and their salty, unimpressed response .gifs.

But interracial relationships with white partners are (hopefully) not all salt. A white person can have physical intimacy with someone of a different race, relate to their queerness, love them… and still at times be insensitive and a shitty ally.

Checking blind spots in someone’s understanding of privilege

Part of the issue is obliviousness to the experiences of people in less privileged groups. Heck, to realize that you have privilege, you’d have to be aware: 1.) that your experiences aren’t universal, and 2.) of the biases and assumptions you have.

The one biggest thing anyone can do to check their blind spots is to listen to people with different experiences. Andre said:

My number one priority became shutting up and LISTENING to my POC partners. In addition to holding space for cultural, familial, and historical trauma, I also became privy to a lot of past trauma they’d endured from other white partners.

The Spaces Between ends with a quote from queer Latinx writer Gabrielle Rivera‘s “Non-Guide on Dealing with Microaggressions from Your White Partner.” I won’t say which part of it is quoted because the entire (non-)guide is fantastic. Rivera articulates thoughts on the topic so much better than I could.

Everyone can learn to do better

You know that saying that good people do bad things sometimes? Most of us readily accept that we fuck up sometimes, but it doesn’t mean that we as humans are wholly malevolent or inadequate. We fuck up, we learn, we look back and cringe, and we move on.

In the context of race, that goes for people with any form of privilege, whether they’re aware of it or not. Everyone fucks up sometimes due to their gaps in understanding. Everyone, including people who mean well, and certainly those within the queer community.

The important thing is to learn when we fuck up. When called out for saying something racist or otherwise problematic, instead of being defensive or dismissive, listen. Don’t just listen to respond, but listen to understand.

If you’re a POC dating a white person, The Spaces Between is one of many good places to start a conversation about race. If you’re a white person, allyship with a POC partner isn’t a badge you wear to make yourself look woke; it’s a conscious effort never to stop learning and loving.

Disclaimer

I received access to watch The Spaces Between on PinkLabel.TV in exchange for my honest opinion. All views expressed are entirely my own. If you want to see more posts like this, you can support me by buying feminist porn or sex toys through my links.