Porn for women has always had women’s sexuality – or perceived lack of it – as the punchline.
What turns women on, we are told, is men doing the ironing. Men taking the bins out. Men emptying the dishwasher. Maybe while shirtless.
Hilarious.
The truth is far more interesting. Because, while ‘lesbian porn’ has long done a roaring trade among straight men, it seems a growing number of women are turning to man-on-man action to get them going. Indeed, there’s an entire subculture of women who believe that, in the words of one online viewer, “there’s nothing better than watching two handsome guys f******.”
In a world where straight women from Judy Garland to the fictional Bridget Jones are painted as the gays’ best friend, it’s a little surprising.
“Most male/female porn focuses on the woman”, says erotica author, and fan of gay male porn, Kristi Hancock. This is less likely to appeal to straight women who, let’s face it, can get their fill of objectification elsewhere.
Hancock is blunt about what caught her eye. “I like that the porn is penis-focused. That’s where the hot guys are.” She also admits that gay porn introduced her to “more creative sexual positions” and that she’s found it more useful in her sex life than advice aimed at straight women. “The techniques work.”
So widespread is the trend, that the porn industry itself is catching on.
“We call them porn mums,” says Jake Jaxson, founder and director of an indie gay adult film company. “They post comments, come to our events and connect with us on Twitter. It’s great.”
One of these ‘porn mums’ is 38-year-old Debbie, who runs fansite Foxygirls.
“I wasn’t ever a great watcher of porn and felt shocked at how bad most of the heterosexual porn was,” she tells me. “It all seemed so fake and the guys were generally unattractive.”
Then she stumbled across a man-on-man scene. “It was just so different to any other porn I had seen, with real, intense chemistry and models that were obviously having a good time.”
Women are finally exploring their sexuality
That ability to connect seems vital to the legion of women engaging with gay porn. Because they’re not just watching it. They’re writing it, talking about it – and even directing it.
“I love gay men,” says Pam Dore, the only female director in the gay adult industry. “They’re just so much fun. And the guys are really sexual, you get the realness of it the way you can’t with women.”
Dore, who has been directing porn for ten years and calls herself a feminist, identifies this new confidence in women’s porn-viewing habits as political. She compares it to 20th century advances, such as the pill. “Women have a right to explore their sexuality in the same way that men do,” she adds.
Porn may be more accessible than ever before, but women’s interested in dude-on-dude action is actually nothing new.
In 1985, author Joanna Russ argued in her essay ‘By Women For Women, With Love’ that erotic depictions of gay men let women enjoy sexual fantasies free of a patriarchal power imbalance, and without participating in a culture of sexually objectifying women.
Are we becoming the oppressors?
But, it’s important to consider whether we’re just turning the male gaze in on itself. Are women becoming the oppressor instead of the oppressed? Are we just fetishising another marginalised community? After all, men who enjoy girl-on-girl porn are sometimes seen as a bit sleazy. Is there really any difference when it comes to a woman watching two men?
Ben, a 31 year-old gay man, agrees. “It’s still objectification, people are still being exploited. Just because it’s women watching two men doesn’t make it feminist.”
But Andy Medhurst, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sussex Centre for the Study of Sexual Dissidence, disagrees. “There’s a long history of women being fascinated by aspects of gay male sexuality, ranging from speculating about which pop stars might be gay to the curious corners of slash fiction.
“Some gay men might find this problematic, but for me it’s all part of the flexibility and creativity of desire. It’s flattering, in a way, that others find gay sexual identities and practices so intriguing.”
Perhaps the appeal of gay male porn suggests a new, more diverse and independent, direction for the industry as a whole. Women are finally exploring what genuinely turns them on, rather than what they think, or have been told, is sexy.
Many of the women I spoke to for this feature, told me that the pleasure of watching gay porn was both voyeuristic and educational – as well as learning what turns them on, it teaches them about men’s sexual desires.
If straight porn wants to appeal to the majority of women, it might do well to look at the gay adult industry.
Kaite Welsh is a freelance journalist and author writing about gender, sexuality and feminism.
Taken from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/11051140/Why-women-watch-gay-porn-more-than-ever-before.html
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