Sexpert: Feb. 10, 2011

Dear Sexpert,

A recent Princeton FML poll said that most women don’t watch porn and that most men do watch porn. How much truth is there to this?

— Curious

Dear Curious,

First, a word on statistics. While polls such as the ones on Princeton FML are fun and interesting, they should not be taken too seriously as valid surveys. One of the main reasons is self-selection bias, where people choose for themselves to take part in a survey, which often indicates they have a strong — usually negative — opinion. Short answer: Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet!

Yes, there is some truth to the results of the Princeton FML poll, but, like many things, it is an exaggeration. It is true that more men watch pornography than women — by many estimates only about one-third of visitors to pornography websites are female. However, as far as the viewing habits of both men and women are concerned, one study showed that 88% of men and 66% of women do enjoy watching explicit material online. So, there is a discrepancy, but it seems false and misleading to say that men do and women don’t.

There is evidence that, biologically, women are affected by pornography in the same way as men. A recent study at McGill University showed that men and women become sexually aroused by pornography after about the same duration of viewing. One might assume from this study that men and women enjoy porn equally, but there is really much more going on here. This study measured the body’s reaction to pornography (in this case, increased blood flow through the body) rather than enjoyment. The authors of the study were quick to point out that what is happening with a person’s body is not necessarily what is happening in their head; indeed, many women report not experiencing sexual arousal in response to pornography even though their body shows signs of it. So what is happening here?

Many people point to sociological reasons as to why women seem not to enjoy pornography. The idea that women should not watch porn comes from all sides. Many social conservatives preach that pornography is immoral in that it promotes a licentious lifestyle and therefore causes harm to stable relationships. On the other hand, some feminists believe pornography objectifies women and sets standards of beauty for them that cannot be kept. Also, until recently, porn has been made primarily with men as the intended audience, so the stigma that porn is for men presents itself as yet another reason women are told they should not watch porn. These pressures may cause a woman not to want to enjoy certain kinds of pornography, and she might, therefore, actually not enjoy it. On that note, there are studies that indicate that women’s aversion to pornography may be because of the violent or coercive nature, which may explain why women are not watching porn to the same extent as men.

This is not to say that women should be enjoying pornography or that they are forcing themselves not to. Sexuality and sexual desire are very complicated phenomena affected by a variety of physiological conditions, societal expectations, sexual experience, etc. This might be an explanation as to why it appears that men watch pornography more often than women, since society expects different things from men’s sexuality and women’s sexuality that manifest themselves in the sexual desires of both men and women.

Finally, if you would like more information on issues of pornography and feminism from an interesting perspective, I recommend checking out this recent interview with Tristan Taormino, an award-winning, feminist adult filmmaker and sex educator, available at feministing.com [http://feministing.com/2011/01/08/the-feministing-five-tristan-taormino/ for the online copy]. Above all, remember that pornography, like all aspects of sexuality, is a personal choice, and what’s right for one person may not be right for another.

— The Sexpert

The Sexpert is written by a team of peer sexual health educators and fact-checked by University health professionals. You can submit questions to sexpert@dailyprincetonian.com. Don’t be shy!