Diversity of Bodies-- Women--Sexiness

There isn't much of any diversity, in porn. Why is that? [A couple of stereotypical forms dominate the images that are consumed, though the 'net provides for niches, e.g., 'fat,' or 'mature,' 'MILF]

The average woman doesn't look like a Vargas girl [one of the stereotypes], the one with no ass and the impossibily large perky boobs. in comparison, the average woman, is said to be 'fat' or 'plump' or 'thick.' Why isn't that thought to be sexy?

The figures of Emma Bunton or Kate Winslett or Shakira will do as examples [of 'full figured' or 'plump' by fashion and porn standards], see

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...num=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&sa=N

http://www.timmyshome.homestead.com/EMMA02_op_800x533.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...num=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&sa=G

http://media.santabanta.com/gallery/global celebrities(f)/kate winslet/kate winslet12h.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...num=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&sa=N

[Added: I'm not saying such full figures are *rare* or hard to find in visual porn on the net, but they are hardly the most common. Their 'fat' niche is somewhat well frequented--but NOT in comparison to the million-hit-per-day mainstream sites with the likes of Jenna J.]


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I understand that 'porn' is inherently stereotyped and that the visual code involves exaggerations intended to indicate voracious sexiness. But why do big high tits, slender waist and bum, get to be the indicators? Why do we authors choose that?


I could cite hundreds of example stereotypes in male written porn (which resembles the visual porn). But...
It isn't just the men. Here are three examples of descriptions of the lead character taken from some of the most popular lesbian stories at Literotica [The first three are apparently by women, whereas 'china doll', the author of the last excerpt, is a man.]



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‘secret kisses’ by stepjones
Kelly Carlson was a beautiful and vivacious 24-year-old first grade teacher. She was 5' 7" tall with shoulder length blonde hair and sparking green eyes. She had a lovely smile, an infectious laugh and was well liked by students, colleagues and parents alike. While she was slim and shapely, she was endowed with rather large breasts that were firm and sat high on her chest.

‘captive hearts’ by colleen thomas

She was at least six feet tall and her flaming red hair was tied back under a black kerchief. She wore a black silk shirt that was stuffed into black breeches and tall sea boots. The outfit seemed to cling to her curves, and her legs seemed impossibly long and shapely. Instead of a sash she wore a belt of black leather with a Rapier and dueling dagger hanging from them and a brace of pistols tucked under the belt. Abigail had never seen anyone so handsome, so elementally powerful and so commanding in her short life.

‘sail away’ by alicia boston

Lena was still quite beautiful. At forty-two she had lost very little of the muscle tone that she had developed as a Division 1 College track and field star at Penn State. She had surprised Cassandra early in the voyage by her display of swimming strength in a fair chop. Cassandra had discouraged her from swimming in the rough waters, but Lena swam for an hour without difficulty, as she had done every morning as part of her regular exercise regimen. Her body still looked fantastic in the white bikini that she had been wearing for most of the trip, her breasts still firm and large enough to display a beautiful décolletage without artificial enhancement.

visiting big sis by china-doll

Wendy was about the same height as her sister, had the same blond hair and their faces were quite similar but that was the end of the similarities. Amy, who had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday a few weeks ago, was slender, graceful and elegant. With long, toned legs and thin arms, she looked every bit like the ballet dancer she was. She had a pretty face with high cheekbones, a small pert nose and full lips. But Amy's most arresting feature was her large, incredibly dark eyes. One look into those eyes was enough to reduce most men to stammering halfwits.

Wendy, on the other hand, looked much more like an exotic dancer than ballet dancer. She was more curvaceous, with large, heavy breasts, a slender waist and wide hips. She had long blond hair and a pretty face like her sister, but she didn't have the same hypnotic eyes that Amy possessed. Wendy's eyes were a hazel color, not quite green, not quite brown. Many times as they were growing up, Wendy had wished she had the same eyes as her sister.

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The thing I find is that, when one is trying to describe a character so that they come across as attractive then you naturally go for certain words or phrases that elicit that effect. I tend to base most of my female characters on my own body type - far from 'ideal' in contemporary thoughts (will pm you a pic if you want proof!) yet I always place emphasis on the good points - the wide hips, full breasts, the fact that the waist curves in sexily and cutting out the things like the fact I have a belly far from flat, short, slight stocky legs and plump hands.

Most of all people emphasise the secondary sexual characteristics such as the large boobs, narrow waist and indicate grace of movement by using words such as slender or slim. If you think about it porn has its own stereotypes much as fashion has theirs. Characters are rarely described as 5 foot 10, a size zero with nipples pasted onto her skin-covered ribs and knobbly bones on display at every joint whilst her thighs were so thin they seemed to bow outwards because whilst this may be attractive in fashion terms it is hardly sexy. Porn stereotypes tend to be more Amazonian - tall, toned, large breasts, long hair etc and this is not restrained to the women... none of the men are described as having small penises or huge guts unless it is specific to some plot in the story.

Basically - porn writers want their characters to be attractive and even when they are based upon the author they are an idealised version.

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Pure said:

There isn't much of any diversity, in porn. Why is that? The average woman doesn't look like a Vargas girl, she's in comparison said to be 'fat' or 'plump' or 'thick.' Why isn't that thought to be sexy?

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I guess for the same reason as to why the "average" woman isn't pretty... and is merely average. Maybe pornography is about ideal, not just average. The pretty, the foxy, the sexy... perhaps its a matter of fantasy where the mundane is a bit of a waste.

Pure said:

There isn't much of any diversity, in porn. Why is that? The average woman doesn't look like a Vargas girl, she's in comparison said to be 'fat' or 'plump' or 'thick.' Why isn't that thought to be sexy?

The figures of Emma Bunton or Kate Winslett or Shakira will do as examples,
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Intriguing. I like slender because I am, sort of ... and also because it reminds me of what I once was. - skinny as a rail. Actually, Pure? I don't care about the weight of my lovers as long as they are intriguing. Although? I really do prefer at least slender legs and ankles.

There is a lot of diversity on the Web. What are you getting at?

Would youl like me to write a "stroker" about a fat, ugly broad? I would.

I did write a story about a plain-Jane with a flatulance problem once. It was sort of hated.

I try to avoid stereotypes in my work, both men and women.

I find the stereotypes rather boring.

Joe Wordsworth said:

I guess for the same reason as to why the "average" woman isn't pretty... and is merely average. Maybe pornography is about ideal, not just average. The pretty, the foxy, the sexy... perhaps its a matter of fantasy where the mundane is a bit of a waste.

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Indeed. I think the same goes for men.

Interesting, Joe. So what is ... average in your eyes? What is the look of the mundane?

I'm mundane. I admit it. Very very average.
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Ask my wife.
She finds me sexy.
There's no accounting for taste. Thank goddess.

Vermilion said:

I'm mundane. I admit it. Very very average.
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Moi aussi. I don't care. Like Einstein I only want my body to carry my brain around.

Unfortunately I'm not so content. I wish I was spectacular looking and sexy as hell. I've only just got to the stage where I can accept that I'm not, but I still don't like it.
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Well, but to be fair, the men in porn are often as idealized. They've rock-hard abs, broad shoulders, wavy chestnut hair, vibrant green eyes and that larger-than-average cock

In two of my romance stories, I have gorgeous girls, but their good looks were, in a way, relevant to the story. A way to contrast the guy they were with and contast outside vs. inside.

In almost all my other stories I try to have a variety of women--old, young, plump, petite--and most are less than perfect. One story is all about less than perfect people, and in another I have a fat girl and an idealized guy. That one is still one of the lowest in comments, though everyone who reads it loves it. Go figure.

CharleyH said:

Indeed. I think the same goes for men.

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Oh, I definitely agree there. I think the "average" guy is a far cry from the fantastical porn-guy... and not just physically, but personally as well. An example would be the number of porn-stories that don't feature a 9-to-5 office clerk guy with love handles who isn't particularly handsome or cute with mediocre social skills.

Interesting, Joe. So what is ... average in your eyes? What is the look of the mundane?

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What is average? As in "what does an average looking woman look like"? Or "what sort is an average person"? I'm not sure of the question.

Vermilion said:

Unfortunately I'm not so content. I wish I was spectacular looking and sexy as hell. I've only just got to the stage where I can accept that I'm not, but I still don't like it.
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My body is more important than a brain vehicle. It is the first-impression, the factor of health, the opportunity for pleasure... all sorts of things. I think vanity is a dangerous thing, but I also don't think striving or desiring physical beauty is a matter of strictly /just/ vanity.

I think there's a self-respect component to it, as well.

Vermilion said:

I'm mundane. I admit it. Very very average.
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Any woman/ man can be interesting. I like to think it hard to believe you ( or anyone) are THAT dull? You would not be on a sex forum if you were?

I try to avoid the sterotypes in my work as well. Though at the same time writers are told to write what they know. So yes, most of my lead females do have naturally large breasts with a slim waist, but that's only because I honestly do have both. (Request pics all you want, but it won't change that I'm not putting them up anytime soon; not unless my tits are at least mostly covered). Body types and hair color change from some of the characters, too as they're sometimes inspired by different people.

I guess I just see the stereotype as being mundane as opposed to the opposite.

matriarch said:

Ask my wife.
She finds me sexy.
There's no accounting for taste. Thank goddess.

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Presuming that's you in your AV my husband agrees with your wife, as do I. Cheerio (do English people still say that? )

As for the question, I wrote my main character 'above average' because I presumed it's what strokers want. Now that I've encountered the popluation on this forum I will have to rethink this and try out more diverse bodies (physique- and age-wise at least). Makes me sad to think of scrapping my character, but then I've only produced two stories and have been stuck on #3 for weeks. Thanks for the post, Pure.

Joe Wordsworth said:

My body is more important than a brain vehicle. It is the first-impression, the factor of health, the opportunity for pleasure... all sorts of things. I think vanity is a dangerous thing, but I also don't think striving or desiring physical beauty is a matter of strictly /just/ vanity.

I think there's a self-respect component to it, as well.

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To be honest my perceptions of my body have got considerably more negative since I developed a long-term life-affecting illness (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or M.E. for those who are curious). It doesn't help that I've put on at least 2 stone in weight due to inability to exercise and just not feeling in control.

Hmm... this is perhaps a bit of a thread-jacking huh? Not to mention sounding like a pity-me whinge. I'll leave it at that I think.

Back to my basic point - sex-writing is about fantasy and ideals so I write about men I'd want to fuck and women I want to be or want to fuck, as a general thing. And I hope my readers feel the same way.

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Joe Wordsworth said:

Oh, I definitely agree there. I think the "average" guy is a far cry from the fantastical porn-guy... and not just physically, but personally as well. An example would be the number of porn-stories that don't feature a 9-to-5 office clerk guy with love handles who isn't particularly handsome or cute with mediocre social skills.

What is average? As in "what does an average looking woman look like"? Or "what sort is an average person"? I'm not sure of the question.

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Since we are discussing looks? What is average?

As for non-looks? What is average in a person?

Pure said:

The figures of Emma Bunton or Kate Winslett or Shakira will do as examples, see

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Are those supposed to be seen as examples of porn-thin or not-porn-thin?



Personally, I prefer to not explicitly make characters I write niether plump nor thin. Just something...average, so that most people can imagine whatever they feel is attractive. If there is a reason to write in a specific physical trait, I'll do it. And sometimes because it helps me focus on the character. I seem to have a tendency to describe eyes, skin tone, hair and freckles. Body types, not as much.

Also to point out that I've done at least one diverse character - the lecturer in my 'mature' story. Very english and at the far end of middel-aged...

http://english.literotica.com:81/stories/showstory.php?id=267603

If you don't believe me...
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I don't think I really have a physical description of any of my characters beyond "tall" or "dark-haired."

As for myself, I think I'm not even close to the "porn ideal," but he still finds me sexy. That's all that matters.

Yeah, if the porn ideal was the only way to go, nobody would boink me.

MY ideal is: Someone I love. I have no fetishes because I am quite in tune with what I desire and have no need to obsess over it ... kind of

3113 said:

Well, but to be fair, the men in porn are often as idealized. They've rock-hard abs, broad shoulders, wavy chestnut hair, vibrant green eyes and that larger-than-average cock

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Ron Jeremy....yeah he's got a big cock...other than that....yuck!

(Actually yuck to all non-lesbian porn)!!!!