Popular Psychology article on Women and Porn

[TarnishedPenny]

Quick read. Posted without comment.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/.../what-makes-porn-authentic-and-why-women-care

What Makes Porn "Authentic," and Why Women Care
Recognition, intimacy, and a lack of performance.

Posted March 25, 2022


Key points

• Porn research does not typically focus on women's experiences, despite pornography use being common among women.
• Some research suggests that women can enjoy porn more when they perceive it to be authentic.
• A new study finds that porn is viewed as authentic by women when it includes diversity, intimacy, and pleasure.
• Authenticity in porn is thought to help reduce emotional labor, cognitive dissonance, and distraction for women, thereby increasing pleasure.

Research on pornography doesn't typically focus on women's experiences, but it has been suggested that when women watch porn, it helps increase their pleasure when they perceive it to be authentic.

The reason is that when a lack of authenticity in porn is perceived, women viewers are more likely to notice the work and labor involved in the performance, which can take them out of the moment and reduce their pleasure.

So if authenticity in porn is important to women's experiences, what makes porn authentic – or, at least, feel that way?


The Study

In a new study just published in The Journal of Sex Research, researchers explored how important authenticity in porn was to women as well as what made porn feel authentic. In the study, pornography was broadly defined to include pornographic material that was animated or drawn, auditory, interactive, recorded videos, photos, or written words.

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 women and specifically prioritized the inclusion of women who were women of color, over 30 years old, and identified as a sexual identity other than heterosexual. The average age was 30.33 years old. Three-quarters of the participants reported using pornography 20 times or less in the last 60 days.


Findings

Many women in this study reported some stigma and judgment related to being a woman who used pornography. Some women shared that they sometimes felt shame and guilt when watching porn. Other barriers to watching porn included concerns about misogynistic content and the objectification of women.

To mitigate cognitive dissonance between worries or negative feelings about using pornography, women in this study reported the importance of watching feminist or ethical porn that prioritized women’s experiences and was ethically produced. Pornography that felt authentic was a key factor in helping mitigate this experience.

In terms of what made pornography feel authentic, the authors created the following five themes to reflect women's experiences.

1. Appearance. Women in this study identified that they felt there was a stereotypical look that many porn actresses shared. Specifically, women said porn actresses tended to be blonde, white, skinny, big-breasted, and with artificial enhancements. Porn actresses that deviated from this stereotype – whether due to age, race, or different body sizes – were, in contrast, perceived as being more authentic.

2. Performance. Perceiving porn to be performative (i.e., when the focus appeared to be more on the viewer than the enjoyment of the people involved) was described as feeling inauthentic by women in this study.

In contrast, porn was described as feeling authentic if it felt the performers were enjoying themselves and experiencing pleasure.

Women in this study also identified that the reaction to a sexual touch needed to seem realistic and aligned with how they were being touched.

3. Connection and Intimacy. Participants in this study also described the impotence of feeling that there was a real connection between the pornography performers. This was identified as being determined through body language that suggested performers were actually enjoying themselves as well as explicit verbal communication about condom use and what felt good.

4. Diverse Representation. Women in this study also addressed the authenticity of porn based on the inclusion of LGBTQ persons and people from diverse races. However, the inclusion alone of diverse racial, sexual, and gender backgrounds was not enough to make pornography feel authentic; women identified that it was important for the focus to be on the person's identity and pleasure versus being exploitive or tokenizing.

5. Personal Experience. Finally, women in this study described using their own experiences as a barometer for authenticity in pornography. Authenticity was partially based on women's experiences of pleasure – particularly in their ability to identify what appeared to be a fake versus real orgasm.


Take Away

The findings from this study suggest that authenticity in pornography is an important factor for some women when it comes to enjoying and experiencing pleasure.

The findings also provide specific ways that women may assess authenticity in porn, including having a diverse representation of bodies, sexualities, gender, and race and sensing that the actors are enjoying themselves versus only performing for the viewer.

The authors highlight that when porn feels authentic to women, it can reduce emotional labor and allow women more ability to be present and experience enjoyment and pleasure.



References

Tillman, M. & Wells, B. E. (2002) An intersectional feminist analysis of women's experiences of authenticity in pornography. The Journal of Sex Research, doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2024489

 

[AwkwardlySet]

That was a fun reading experience. Can't remember the last time when I read so much bollocks in one article

 

[Altissimus]

While it's interesting there's a significant difference between porn and literotica. A number of the findings above are all-but eliminated when it's the written word. Shame there isn't more research into the psychology from this perspective - a cursory glance through google has turned up a handful of articles with disappointingly predictable 'insights'. I write quite a lot of my stories with a female reader in mind, and I would be very interested to know if that comes across. It's a shame we can't see reader demographics on Lit.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Gee, such a wide, representative sample of women. That's not even trying to be objective.

 

[ronde]

While it's interesting there's a significant difference between porn and literotica. A number of the findings above are all-but eliminated when it's the written word. Shame there isn't more research into the psychology from this perspective - a cursory glance through google has turned up a handful of articles with disappointingly predictable 'insights'. I write quite a lot of my stories with a female reader in mind, and I would be very interested to know if that comes across. It's a shame we can't see reader demographics on Lit.

I have gotten comments from female readers, but not many. I think female readers are just less likely to comment, probably because of the same stigma mentioned in the article about women who watch porn. They're just embarrassed to admit they like reading erotica.

As for why women don't like porn, that should be obvious. Almost all the porn films since the early seventies have been male fantasies that are very exaggerated exaggerations of real life. I think most women would have problems identifying with any female porn star, but they can easily identify with a woman in a novel. That's because when reading a novel, the reader "paints" the picture of the character instead of having that vision bared in closeups of body parts. There's also very little of anything resembling a "normal" relationship between the characters in a porn film. They're just non-stop sex. There are a few made by female directors that are better, but they're few and far between.

 

[Lifestyle66]

The article seems to be about a "study" and findings after interviewing just 24 women. They mention an average age of those interviewed, and that they sorted them based on race and being Bi or not.

There are MANY other factors which might influence a woman's opinion of porn, such as marital or relationship status, having kids, past sexual experience (including their age when they first had sex and how many other partners they've had since), hormone levels, ability to climax, attitudes toward religion or adherence to a religious doctrine, etc. And a researcher can't take the opinions of just ONE person in any of those sub-categories.

My wife likes to watch porn ... most of the time. But there are times when she's just not in the mood. When she is in the mood, there are times when she likes watching a woman give a blowjob. Other times, she wants to watch an MFM spit-roast. Sometimes her preference is an FMF or just a romantic couple in a missionary position. Or there are even times when she likes watching a woman getting fucked in the ass.

If a "researcher" were to interview my wife for such a study, her answers would be highly variable, depending on her mood when interviewed.

As for "authenticity", the only thing she routinely HATES in a porn video is seeing a woman with large, obvious boob enhancements. That's an immediate turn-off to her and "switch to another video!" She prefers seeing women in porn with natural tits no larger than about 36 to 38, and she even likes those with much smaller ones.

 

[oneagainst]

Just tagging into this thread to see how the discussion evolves. Don't mind me.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Not speaking for any other women here, but there's two main reasons I don't like much visual porn.
One is I can't relate to the heavy makeup and typical look of the women in mainstream porn, and you barely see the men (unless it's gay male)
The second is the focus on genital closeups. I like seeing naked bodies, but I want to see the whole body, with genitals in context as it were. I have near zero interest in looking at a vulva/cock tip from four inches away, unless it's actually there in person.

I've heard similar opinions from other women. Which could result in what that article regards as 'wanting authenticity' (looking like typical people), and possibly wanting to see entire people writhing together is deemed 'intimacy'?

 

[EmilyMiller]

At the risk of being a cracked record, there is no such monolithic category as women.

Yes I’ve sometimes watched supposedly women-specific porn (particularly lesbian), but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the much more prevalent male-specific porn (hetero, lesbian and group). Especially if done well and with one ir more FMCs I find attractive.

FFS you guys had me watching tentacle porn!

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

I have gotten comments from female readers, but not many. I think female readers are just less likely to comment, probably because of the same stigma mentioned in the article about women who watch porn. They're just embarrassed to admit they like reading erotica.

I get female comments. Generally positive / supportive. Male ones dominate though.

Em

 

[lovecraft68]

My wife's complaint about most porn is that its "hole to hole sex". the woman sucks, she fucks and in many videos the guy barely gropes her tits. She always talks about MFM threesomes where there's two guys but the woman is playing with her own clit because they can't be bothered.

Of course porn is still guy oriented and most guys don't do shit in bed-although on lit every guy claims he'll go down for hours and wants her to cum and....yeah, asshole please. So I get why a lot of it is the way it is.

But there are sites out there who do show more intimacy, undressing, kissing foreplay, they show the guy who is as hot as the woman and not just because of between the legs, but very attractive men(men hate that kind of porn, makes them feel bad because they look like Ron Jeremey, but of course the women are supposed to be okay that every woman in porn is perfect) sites like X-art, PassionX are a couple of those, and there's a lot more, but they always seem to be buried under brazzers and bang bros and all the other porn versions of one handed reads.

 

[lovecraft68]

One more note, BS about the diversity. Unless you have a fetish for a particular ethnicity, no one sits there and says "Gee, I don't see enough, Latino, or Asian porn stars!"

The woke can't stop their shit even when discussing porn.

 

[Bamagan]

I kind of doubt the women reading erotica are embarrassed, at least generally speaking. If they don't comment much here, it's probably to avoid drawing attention to themselves and inviting a swarm of solicitation and/or misogyny.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Participants in this study also described the impotence of feeling that there was a real connection between the pornography performers.

When a typo gives your sentence the exact opposite of the intended meaning.

As a general rule, I don't go too deep into commenting on popular reporting of journal articles as a lot of the head-scratchers usually end up as being bad reporting of more nuanced points. (I 'could' download the paper on my academic account but...nah, I'm not going to.) So, for example, getting a sample which involved 80% non-heterosexual women and then reporting 'women' as a whole want LGBT+ content sounds like the sort of thing that I'd certainly hope was phrased more sensibly in the actual article. (Maybe women as a whole do...)

I do wonder though as to how much of this is an element of the 'rich dark roast' type of survey. I.e. the idea that if you ask 100 people what kind of coffee they prefer, 99% of them will say 'a rich dark roast' but then actually go and buy love-in-a-canoe coffee. I get the impression that young women know full well they can admit to enjoying porn (in certain social contexts - not in front of Aunt Maud) as long as they stress how they only like the 'ethical' stuff. I have to admit my mind is already writing a comedy skit where a man is being interviewed by a researcher about his porn habits, and tries to justify it using the paper's flowerly empowering way.

"So, yeah, diversity is very important to me."
Researcher flicks through his browser history and brings up PornHub 'Massive BBC wrecks tiny Chinese slit'* onto the screen.
"Err...see? And the important thing is she's enjoying it!"

*I don't know if this is the name of an actual video. But I'd be amazed if it wasn't.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Yes I’ve sometimes watched supposedly women-specific porn (particularly lesbian), but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the much more prevalent male-specific porn (hetero, lesbian and group). Especially if done well and with one ir more FMCs I find attractive.

As a man, I find visual porn unbelievably tedious, non erotic. Although, listening to Annabelle Danger go on about God while she was getting fucked in the ass had its moments.

I'll on occasion watch lesbian porn, but even so, that's rare.

Give me still photographic erotica though, or better still, drawn erotica, and it's a different response entirely. That "works" for me.

But video porn? Meh.

 

[EmilyMiller]

As a man, I find visual porn unbelievably tedious, non erotic. Although, listening to Annabelle Danger go on about God while she was getting fucked in the ass had its moments.

I'll on occasion watch lesbian porn, but even so, that's rare.

Give me still photographic erotica though, or better still, drawn erotica, and it's a different response entirely. That "works" for me.

But video porn? Meh.

I got a bit like that after using it as a crutch for a while. It’s how I ended up here.

I still like porn vids, (and it’s fun to watch with a friend sometimes), but I’m more discriminating now.

Em

 

[TheRedChamber]

One more note, BS about the diversity. Unless you have a fetish for a particular ethnicity, no one sits there and says "Gee, I don't see enough, Latino, or Asian porn stars!"

Challenge for the board - insert a word or phrase into the sentence 'There's not enough ... themed porn on the Internet' in such a way as a two-minute Google search won't prove you so very, very wrong.

 

[Tigobitties98]

"The reason is that when a lack of authenticity in porn is perceived, women viewers are more likely to notice the work and labor involved in the performance, which can take them out of the moment and reduce their pleasure."

I might as well have been in the subject group for this study. I find it to be pretty true for me.

Most porn is so performative that it takes me right out of the fantasy. As other comments have said, the hole-to-hole focus, the fact that no one has bothered to touch the woman but she shouting "I'm coming!" when her body is giving no signs of it...it's not sexy, it's not stimulating, it just looks like work. I'll stick with erotica & trashy romance novels

 

[Paul_Chance]

Okay, out of curiosity I read the article from the point of view of a writer seeking insights on how to write better erotica. For what it's worth here is what I gleaned from the article:

1. Diversity in appearance and gender expression matters for establishing authentic characters.

2. Place the emphasis on descriptions of pleasure and enjoyment, not on the performative aspects.

3. Description of touch and touch-response matters, readers can easily separate the authentic from the unauthentic.

4. Establishing connection and intimacy through body language and verbal communication between characters goes a long way to establishiing authenticity.

5. Realistic depictions of orgasms matter when it comes to establishing authenticity.

 

[Mastered_again]

Most porn is so performative that it takes me right out of the fantasy. As other comments have said, the hole-to-hole focus, the fact that no one has bothered to touch the woman but she shouting "I'm coming!" when her body is giving no signs of it...it's not sexy, it's not stimulating, it just looks like work. I'll stick with erotica & trashy romance novels

Precisely.

Trashy romance novels are what got me writing in the first place, although my works tends to be kinky* with a side of romance. I mean, there has to be an emotional connection otherwise there's nothing erotic about it.

*Disclaimer: Kink is in the eye of the beholder

 

[Tigobitties98]

Okay, out of curiosity I read the article from the point of view of a writer seeking insights on how to write better erotica. For what it's worth here is what I gleaned from the article:

1. Diversity in appearance and gender expression matters for establishing authentic characters.

2. Place the emphasis on descriptions of pleasure and enjoyment, not on the performative aspects.

3. Description of touch and touch-response matters, readers can easily separate the authentic from the unauthentic.

4. Establishing connection and intimacy through body language and verbal communication between characters goes a long way to establishiing authenticity.

5. Realistic depictions of orgasms matter when it comes to establishing authenticity.

Exactly!

 

[Bramblethorn]

men hate that kind of porn, makes them feel bad because they look like Ron Jeremey, but of course the women are supposed to be okay that every woman in porn is perfect

One more note, BS about the diversity. Unless you have a fetish for a particular ethnicity, no one sits there and says "Gee, I don't see enough, Latino, or Asian porn stars!"

When you commented in your previous post about how "the woman are supposed to be okay that every woman in porn is perfect"... some people would look at that same issue, and they'd have the same problem with it that you have, and they'd call it "lack of diversity". It's just different words for the same thing.

 

[Altissimus]

'There's not enough ...

...carabiner...

themed porn on the Internet' in such a way as a two-minute Google search won't prove you so very, very wrong.

(And given that y'all are going to go and google if I'm right, give it a week or so and the porn industry will have responded well to the sudden spike in demand for carabiner-themed porn.)

 

[TheRedChamber]

Of course porn is still guy oriented and most guys don't do shit in bed-although on lit every guy claims he'll go down for hours and wants her to cum and....yeah, asshole please. So I get why a lot of it is the way it is.

Come on, LC, be fair - writing 'he lapped at her succulent sex for half an hour' takes two seconds, while actually doing it, takes...well, quite a lot longer.

(For the record, my own personal policy is to stay there until I'm told otherwise...and not to look at my watch during...)

...carabiner...

(And given that y'all are going to go and google if I'm right, give it a week or so and the porn industry will have responded well to the sudden spike in demand for carabiner-themed porn.)

Nah, they'll probably just assume that you've mispelt Caribbean(er), of which there is plenty. In any case I had to Google, not porn of carabiner, but the word itself. Apparently...

A carabiner or karabiner , often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notably in safety-critical systems.

Looks like it has utility in BDSM to me...

 

[SimonDoom]

With a sample size of only 24 and no assurance that the sample was selected in a way to maximize the validity of its results, it's questionable, but nevertheless, based on my own personal experience, I think there's some validity to its conclusions as broad generalizations. I sense that men as a class are somewhat more drawn to "performative" as opposed to "realistically interactive" erotica, whether it's visual or written. I am. I think men, generally speaking, are more fetishistically drawn to the female genitalia than women are to the male counterpart. I'd like to see more genuine and authentic interaction in erotica, but I don't mind a video that just features nicely presented private parts.

I disagree with Lovecraft about something he said: I don't think most men want to see ugly men, as opposed to good-looking men, in porn. I don't, and I tend to write characters who are good looking. I think what most men want in watching porn is for the focus to be on the woman, not the man, so they can imagine themselves in the man's place. They want the woman to be front and center before the camera, but it's perfectly OK if the man spends much of his camera time as a body part. This explains the popularity of "POV" porn, which is videorecorded from the man's point of view while having sex and where for the entire video the ONLY thing you may see of the man is his penis and occasionally his belly and legs.

It may depend on whether one is into the voyeur/exhibitionist dynamic. There are men who enjoy exhibitionist "performative" partners, and there are women who really get off playing the exhibitionist role for their man. It's a theme that's common in my stories and from the comments I've received it resonates with a lot of people. I've received comments from women readers of my stories (assuming they are accurately telling me their gender) that they liked my story and that they'd "love" to do what the woman does in the story.

Bottom line is there's a taste for every person and a person for every taste. I think you should write for your own tastes and not worry too much about surveys and studies.

I don't mean to suggest articles like this aren't interesting and worthwhile to think about, just that one shouldn't draw from an article like this that one "should" create erotica in ways that match the desires of the surveyed group.