There’s been a couple of news stories about women and porn lately so here’s a compilation post:
* Pornhub have released a new set of stats about their female viewers. The results are similar to those produced in September 2014 with women showing an ongoing desire to see lesbian and gay porn. My thoughts on the problems with their stats are here.
* Jezebel has attempted to analyze the Pornhub data and suggest that women want to see lesbian porn because it focuses on female pleasure and has a lot of cunnilingus, whereas straight porn is still very sexist. They’re also keen on gay porn because it has hot guys.
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* In the latest installment of that endless media shock headline Women Can Haz Porns?, The Telegraph has a large feature called What A Girl Wants: The Rise Of Porn for Women. Like every other journalist who read Pornhub’s stats, Nisha Lilia Diu has delved into the stunningly brand new realization that women do watch porn, with around 30-40% of all viewers being female (I’ve been seeing stats like this since 2001).
She interviews Spanish filmmaker Erika Lust, who runs Lust Cinema and XConfessions and reveals that the latter site is apparently making $1 million a month. I can only gasp at this – and then do a bad job of hiding my jealousy. Gotta say, that is an astonishing figure and it must be a record for a feminist-identified filmmaker – even if no-one in this business really talks money.
The piece also speaks to Jacky St. James and Joanna Angel and throws in a few panicky links to suggest that porn might be dangerous but overall it’s a positive article and it does a good job of summarizing why women are sick of mainstream porn and want something different.
* My friend Yvette Luhrs, who used to work for Dusk TV, features in another Telegraph article called Feminist Porn: Will Men Ever Buy it?
But is feminist porn aimed squarely at the growing number of female porn consumers?
No, says Yvette. “Feminist porn can be enjoyed by both men and women. And because women are in control in feminist porn it sets a good example [to men] about respect and consent.”
She adds that it’s important to show men that “feminists can enjoy great sex – I think that’s an idea some men struggle with.”
Alas, the writer of the piece wanders off into a discussion of underarm hair and then get’s Zahra Stardust’s name wrong: “Sarah Stardust is blonde and has breast implants – a typical stripper’s body – but she’s totally a feminist. You’re still allowed to have a mainstream [porn] body and be a feminist. It’s a myth you have to be overweight and hairy.”
Still, it’s a nice overview of the ideas behind feminist porn, even if the comments are toxic.
* The Telegraph completes a hat-trick of articles on women and porn with Why women are turning to Tumblr for their secret porn fix.
“[It’s] quick, concise, all under one roof, and it’s strangely hypnotic to watch oral sex on loop in a Gif,” one friend told me. “It’s free,” said another. “It’s also easy to use one handed,” was a point that came up continuously. Which, whilst prosaic, is very important.
“It’s handy to have one website for literally any and every type of porn,” Leyana, 23 told me. “And your Tumblr page is your own porn collection that you can watch over and over again. Like magazines in a box, but online.”
* The Hindustan Times has an expansive piece examining what Indian women are looking for in porn – once again inspired by those Pornhub stats. And the vox pops in this article really do a superb job of summing up why I’ve been trying to make porn for women all these years. A sample:
“Quality more than quantity,” as a Literature graduate from Delhi said it. Another 28-year-old project manager from Bangalore elaborated, “Most porn movies try to cover a checklist of sexual positions rather than stressing on showing two people enjoying sex. There should be more concentration on portraying sex as an enjoyable activity, rather than something accidental.”
To put it simply, as one woman did, they “like porn where women have fun too.”
And while all women say they hardly ever watch erotica for entertainment, many wonder if they would not do so more if there were balance between how men and women are portrayed in such films. “There is not enough sexualizing of male bodies (in pornographic films),” says a Delhi editor in her 30s. “Sometimes it’s amazing to stare at a taut male,” she adds.
Preach it, ladies.