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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Porn for Women: A Review of Literature

Kalina Gallardo

University of Texas at El Paso

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Abstract

Traditional porn centers around the heterosexual male gaze, and perpetuates the privilege

heterosexual men have in acquiring sexual pleasure. Pioneers in the adult entertainment industry

are flipping these conventions on their heads. This literature review will explore the following

questions: What is female centric adult entertainment? What stigma exists around female

consumption of pornography? Should there be female focused porn sites? If there are female

focused porn sites, what would be the social implications? Through research directed by these

questions I aim to provide a well rounded explanation on the differences between traditional

porn, and female centric porn; with the support of scholarly articles and results from an online

survey targeted toward adult women.

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Porn for Women: A Review of Literature

The adult entertainment industry is worth billions of dollars. It is an industry that rewards

novice creators and professionals alike. According to PornHub’s 2018 Year in Review, over the

course of 2018 the amount of visits totaled 33.5 billion. This industries economic strength, and

mass consumption makes it highly influential in today’s society. Within all of the niche search

terms, categories, and fetishes there is one audience that has been underwhelmingly catered to, if

at all, that being heterosexual women. The female, heterosexual identifying population has not

been the target audience for most traditional porn leading up to today (Schauer, 2005) . Research

on erotica in the form of videos, literature, and toys has found an explicit bias leaning towards

the pleasure of heterosexual men, leaving out altogether female desires and stimuli. The outcome

of this bias in traditional pornography can have negative effects that ripple into society, and halt

the progress of equality for women. To delve into this topic, the preceding questions ought to be

explored.

1. What is female centric adult entertainment?

2. What stigma exists around female consumption of pornography?

3. Should there be female focused porn sites?

4. If there are female focused porn sites, what would be the social implications?

The exploration of these four questions will offer valuable insights on female centric porn as

well as illustrate the larger ramifications of porn made for women by women.

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

What is female centric Adult Entertainment?

An effective way to begin the exploration of female centric adult entertainment is by

exploring the conventions of traditional porn. Some of these conventions include unequal

representations of bodies, the prioritization of the male “cum shot”, and an emphasis on pleasure

for the heterosexual male. It is beneficial to break these conventions down and compare them to

the features female centric porn sites are incorporating instead.

In the scholarly article, ​Women’s Porno: The Heterosexual Female Gaze in Porn Sites

“For Women.”​ author Terrie Schauer deciphers the differences in the representation of men and

women in traditional, heterosexual porn. The unequal representation of bodies can be seen in

traditional porn by the main focus of erotic energy placed on the female body, instead of an equal

focus on the erogenous zones on both bodies. The body parts mainly featured include the female

breasts, buttocks, and face. When showcasing the male, the erotic energy is centered mainly on

the penis- “Of the male physique, it is the only part demarcated by the camera as worthy of

undivided attention.” (Schauer 54). In traditional porn, the “cum shot” or “money shot” is a

visual of male ejaculation. This convention in traditional porn is upheld as the ultimate goal,

often times using parts of the female body as the platform. This prioritization of the males sexual

desires in traditional porn results in the objectification of the female body, and limits female

viewers to explore their own sexual preferences. For this reason female centric porn sites are

exploring alternatives, ​Male-Centric and Female-Centric Pornography Consumption:

Relationship With Sex Life and Attitudes in Young Adults out of the Journal of Sex & Marital

Therapy explains;

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

… female-centric pornography is focused on the elicitation of arousal in women and

mutual enjoyment of sex. It depicts genuine female pleasure, mutual respect between the

characters, more foreplay, reduced phallocentrism (i.e., less focus on sexual acts

involving the penis), increased connection and/or context between the characters,

attractive male actors, and natural bodies. (French 75).

Female centric porn aims to place heterosexual women as the viewing audience, which aims “to

unsettle the normative boundaries and categories set up by existing pornographic traditions.”

(Schauer 54). Bellesa.com is a new porn site with an aim to “depict women as they truly are- as

subjects of pleasure, not objects of conquest.” Makelovenotporn.com, is another free,

membership run site where ALL people are encouraged to log on and explore “realworldsex in

all its glorious, silly beautiful, messy, reassuring humanness.” The nature of female centric adult

entertainment is an inclusive one. The idea is to equalize the access to satisfying, sensual adult

content on a platform where all desires are catered to equally under an umbrella of enthusiastic

consent.

What stigma exists around female consumption of pornography?

Porn for women can also fall under the category of “feminist porn” this is porn that

expands the “established sexual norms and discourses.” (Moorman, 697). An important

underpinning of these sexual norms and discourse is the stigma embedded within female

sexuality, specifically related to porn consumption. Exploration of this stigma can be found in

research done regarding both perceptions and consumption of porn use. Research conducted by

Katherine Goldey and Sari Anders on women’s responses to self chosen erotica​ ​can provide

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

insight on the stigma surrounding female sexuality related to porn consumption. This study

explores the ways women react to porn when they choose it, versus when it is chosen for them.

The results showed that when women were self choosing erotica there was an increase in “self

reported arousal and enjoyment, but also unexpectedly disgust, guilt, and embarrassment.”

(Goldey 2155). This can be attributed to the “adversarial perceptions” of women’s consumption

of pornography (Emmers-Sommer 49). Another scholarly article, ​Female sexuality​, explains that

regardless of our current standing in the twenty first century “many cultures, and religions,

especially in the developing world impose social restrictions” on female sexuality. (Rao S301) In

my survey on Female sexuality and porn consumption, the women answering can confirm these

social restrictions. Forty-five percent of women said that they feel oppressed in the expression of

their sexuality as a woman. While forty percent felt that they do not, and fifteen percent say they

are not sure. This particular group of women can also be seen as more of an anomaly rather than

the norm, as they are all members to a private facebook group titled, “Gurly Memes.” The types

of memes shared on this page are having to do with disempowering oppressive patriarchal

societal structures, uplifting women’s ability to converse freely on topics like sex and

masturbation, and the daily struggles of being a woman in the United States. Because of this

unique dynamic it can be assumed that most of these women who said ​no t​ o feeling oppressed in

the expression of their sexuality, have already overcome these feelings of oppression. Another

question in this survey which explores the stigma that exists around female sexuality in regards

to pornography consumption is, “Do you feel stigma surrounding porn consumption as a

woman?” For this question, fifty-five percent of women surveyed said yes. That’s 11 out of 20

women, more than half.

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Should there be female focused porn sites?

Some people might not see a need for female oriented porn sites. One might pose that

there are already categories for women on mainstream porn sites, like softcore, or woman on

woman. One might wonder, do women even like porn? What do they need porn for? These are

honest inquires, and are not surprising when viewing them under the lens of our traditional

sexual script which assumes women to be less sexual beings than men, in the sense that men are

proactive and women are reactive in the pursuit of sexual pleasure (Emmers-Sommer 2018).

Though, counter research has been done to explore the ways in which both women and men

consume porn, and the findings suggest that erotica might be more unifying than polarizing. In

2018 researcher Teri Sommers-Emmer conducted a study on the reasons men and women

consume pornagraphy. Below are the recorded findings on reasons for consumption.

Despite popular belief, women do consume porn for reasons such as, “curiosity, masturbation or

arousal, to name a few.” (Emmers-Sommer 49). In my own survey when women were asked,

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

“What are your reasons for consuming pornography?” seventy- six percent answered for

personal pleasure. The secret is out, women are using porn for their own pleasure. Researchers

Léa J. Séguin and her team explored the​ Representations of Male and Female Orgasm in

Mainstream Pornography, a​ nd found vast disparities in the difference between representation of

female orgasms compared to male. Studies showed that “Only 18.3% of women, compared to

78.0% of men, were shown reaching orgasm.” (Séguin, L. J. 348). On the larger scale, this

disparity means more than just orgasms. This unequal representation contributes to the sexual

scripts that deem women as less sexual beings, and decreases their access to pleasure which

contributes to the privilege heterosexual males have as the main subjects of sexual pleasure.

When asking women to share their views on mainstream porn, the responses are clear.

Women are fed up with the conventions of mainstream porn, they are avid consumers, and are

ready for a new type of porn that puts female sexaulity at the forefront of it’s practices.

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

If there are female focused porn sites, what would the social implications be?

Mainstream porn is embedded deep in the fabric of the American sexual script. Though

traditional porn unequally portrays the female body as the sexual object and the male as the

pleasure seeking object (Schauer, T 2005). What would happen if the playing field was balanced

and both men and women had the same access to view one another as an equal, sexually

autonomous beings? Since pornography for women is a somewhat new practice, there is not

much research done on the long term societal effects of female centric porn. Although,

researchers Ilisha French and Lisa Hamilton have explored the effects female centric porn has on

young adults. This research finds, “a small association between the use of female-centric

pornography and more positive outcomes, particularly for women.” (French, I. M. 85). These

outcomes came in the form of “positive effects of pornography on sex life and perceptions of the

other gender compared to pornography with more male centric characteristics.” (French, I. M.

82). Although there is not enough research done to know for sure, its is clear that female focused

porn sites, are and will have the capacity to promote positive outcomes. Not only for

heterosexual women, but for their sexual partners as well.

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Conclusion

Pornography and the world of erotica can be a complex world to explore, mainly because

it is made taboo to discuss publicly in our culture. Although for the progress of society it is

crucial that we unpack the quiet and often secretive world of pornography, and analyze how the

consumption of erotica might influence society on a larger scale. A few considerations to take

into account in terms of this review include the gender binary that it assumes, which leaves out

trans identifying, gender neutral, or gender non-conforming people. This paper also disregards

the idea of gender expression, how that differs from gender and sexual orientation, and what its

place is in the world of mainstream and female centric porn. There is also a narrow focus on

heterosexual norms and cultural scripts which are not the same as queer, lesbian, bisexual, gay or

pansexual sexual orientations. As for the primary source research conducted, the control group

was small at 25 women over the age of 18. This was also the first survey conducted with the

control group and after reflection of the responses and feedback from the participants I would

like to adjust questions in the future to better understand the stigmas, the need for, and the

general familiarity with female centric porn sites. All that is to say, there is much more to learn

about this new field of female centric porn sites. Though what we do know is; it is about time to

start creating female centric porn, empowering women in the porn industry, and challenging the

privilege heterosexual males have in the acquisition of sexual pleasure.

 
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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

References

Emmers-Sommer, T. M. (2018). Reasons for Pornography Consumption: Associations with

Gender, Psychological and Physical Sexual Satisfaction, and Attitudinal Impacts.

Sexuality & Culture, 22(1), 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-017-9452-8

French, I. M., & Hamilton, L. D. (2018). Male-Centric and Female-Centric Pornography

Consumption: Relationship With Sex Life and Attitudes in Young Adults. Journal of Sex

& Marital Therapy, 44(1), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2017.1321596

Goldey, K., Anders, S., Goldey, K. L., & van Anders, S. M. (2016). Identification with Stimuli

Moderates Women’s Affective and Testosterone Responses to Self-Chosen Erotica.

Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(8), 2155–2171.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0612-3

Kohut, T., Baer, J. L., & Watts, B. (2016). Is Pornography Really about “Making Hate to

Women”? Pornography Users Hold More Gender Egalitarian Attitudes Than Nonusers in

a Representative American Sample. Journal of Sex Research, 53(1), 1–11.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2015.1023427

Moorman, J. (2017). “The Hardest of Hardcore”: Locating Feminist Possibilities in Women’s

Extreme Pornography. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society, 42(3), 693–716.

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PORN FOR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Rao, T. S. S., & Nagaraj, A. K. M. (2015). Female sexuality. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 57,

S296. Retrieved from

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Schauer, T. (2005). Women’s Porno: The Heterosexual Female Gaze in Porn Sites “For

Women.” Sexuality & Culture, 9(2), 42–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-005-1007-8

Séguin, L. J., Rodrigue, C., & Lavigne, J. (2018). Consuming Ecstasy: Representations of Male

and Female Orgasm in Mainstream Pornography. Journal of Sex Research, 55(3),

348–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2017.1332152