It’s no secret that most porn is made by men, for men. It also should be no secret that women are not particularly interested in sitting through myriad male oral sex compilation, because it just doesn’t work for us. Though the fraction of women watching porn stretches anywhere from a quarter to a third of all porn viewers, there is still a lack of pornography geared towards women. Since ladies are undeniably unsatisfied with the erotica that is designed specially for men, this indicates an obvious gender difference in what is found sexy on screen.
According to Steve Hirsch, CEO of Vivid Entertainment, one of the largest adult entertainment studios in the U.S., and Lisa Ling from Oprah, women prefer erotica that focuses on more sensuality and foreplay. Hirsch started creating female pornography after he recognized a large, “untapped” market.
“There’s more foreplay. There’s more tease. Women, in a lot of cases, like to watch movies with story lines,” says Hirsch.
Ling adds, “It’s more romantic,” suggesting that the majority of females do not particularly want the “I need it now” attitudes portrayed by the actors in “male porn”.
Author of A Smart Girl’s Guide to Porn, Violet Blue, suggests that women may not necessarily want a story line, and that there is a clear distinction between pornography and erotica.
“Porn is something that is a graphic sexual image that conjures up an animalistic reaction in you. You like it or you don’t. Erotica also is graphic sexual imagery, but it has an extra component[s] that resonate with the viewer,” says Blue.
What seems to be happening with the creation of sexual content for women, is that studios are creating erotica for women, and porn for men—which still neglects the “animalistic” urges, which Blue is insistent about women having.
Part of the appeal of female porn, according to adult film star Aurora Snow, is the realistic women being used as leads. Women like to imagine themselves as the character, and tend to immerse themselves in the film, the same way men do. Snow asked her female viewers what they like or dislike about porn, and a fan named Maggie responded, “The most unappealing thing about porn is the women. Fake hair, fake boobs, fake moans? No thanks! How can I put myself in her place if I don’t like her?”
The trick with female porn seems to be realism. Women want to see something that they can emulate in real life, not just a real-life Barbie being objectified onscreen.
The biggest problem in the female porn industry is undoubtedly the lack of women admitting to watching porn. It is important to remember that things can only change if we request it, so to all my female counterparts, let’s start lobbying for woman porn.
