I believe it is a well-known fact that History is written by the winners. An unacknowledged portion of this is statement is that it only allows for women and does not accept them, even though women make up nearly half of the world’s population, with women overtaking men in the US, Japan, Australia and some other countries. At this point, I almost believe it to be Stockholm syndrome the way most women act. Every Thanksgiving, I always remember to thank that gracious, paternal concept that allows me to have pants, the vote, and to hold a degree. Don’t know what I’d do without him!
Seriously though, it’s getting kind of creepy. Every time women want something to change slightly for their tastes, they get a whole allotted section, as if it was exactly what we asked for. In pink! I almost feel like it’s an overreaction. The conversations in my head go as follows: “Women: Hey, can you maybe make this a little lighter? And maybe a little more non-gendered? Company: NEW: MADE NEW JUST FOR GIRLS!! *throws sparkles* Women: But…but? What? *Blinks*” That girl’s only section is almost never as good as the original, it’s not being included in the original concept and it’s usually not what we wanted in the first place. Have you ever been shopping for women’s pants? What. A. Nightmare.
A few decades ago, women carved out the Erotica niche for themselves. We didn’t ask for a place, we made our own. Mostly written by women, it has its own acknowledged stereotypes and formula. Main character has tragic back story of some kind or some hidden inhibition, meets sexual partner who pokes and prod. Tons of amazing plot, something separates them, they realize they desperately need the other one (possibly insert stronger character saving the other from something or other here) and live happily ever after. That takes different forms as people want to claim it as their own for the genres they like, but in essence, it remains the same. Women like it, women write it, and women buy it. And it’s not even pink.
When I began this article, I thought porn for women was the Nerf response. Soft core porn with some better lighting and it was suddenly labeled for women. One of the first times I had ever searched for porn, one of my earlier results was a woman in heels watching a man vacuum her house, naked but for an apron. But I am gratified to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that I was very wrong. The last decade has also brought about porn by women for women. From my opinion, they can be broken down into the three categories below.
Softcore and Chocolates
The first of these categories is the category that developed at first by men as the “this is what you wanted, right?” and then repossessed by women. It is a full length feature film, often following a normal movie format like a romantic comedy. It is labeled “women-friendly” and specifically sex scenes between involved characters. The movies aren’t trying for huge story lines, but they make it clear that there is attraction, consent, and reasons. Basically, they are movies plus the M rated scenes.
The best part about them is really that they are femme forward. They have many female point of view movies and the women aren’t incredibly made up. They are real men and women engaging in believable porn acts. More tangible than porn parodies, these films are often based off of the written erotica formats that sell so well with women. Something I think is really remarkable about them is their real reactions. It’s almost comforting to see women have a wide range of reactions to sex acts some which you may even do in a similar fashion. One thing porn does horribly is set this normalcy standard of what to do and expect during a sex act. Those are paid actresses, not tribute volunteers.
Dusk (www.dusk-tv.com) is a television station that you can request from your UK or US television provider. It is one of the best locations to find these kinds of movies and videos, almost reminiscent of lifetime, with 100% more sexual content. They use the word “porna” instead of porn, trying very hard to recapture or create the spirit of what sex scenes should be(in their opinions). In a more accessible form, you can also find these types of videos on www.forthegirls.com. I haven’t seen a website more dedicated to straight white girls in a long time, but they manage really, really well. They have this odd, beautiful supply of perfect Ken dolls, straight out of the box.
These are the videos that I enjoy least. It’s almost like they’re trying to comfort me. Let’s take the first line of a video from forthegirls, for example. “Leah and Mal are soul mates, a couple who are very much in love. In our exclusive video, they talk about their relationship before we see them enjoying sex together.” So, if they weren’t very much in love, it wouldn’t be ok? By reinforcing these traditional ideals of heterosexual relationship, the person watching isn’t pushed out of any comfort zone. If this gets women who wouldn’t usually watch porn to watch it, then I do support it, but I also feel like it’s catering specifically to squeamish women. I don’t watch porn to join fandoms, thanks. But if this is what you’re so desperately searching for or you know someone who is, check it out. It really is extremely sex positive and it alleviates some of that common female guilt about male centered porn.
Sexy Instruction Manuals
These are a thing. And I think they’re awesome. One part instructions no one is going to teach you in school and one part porn video, these are a tiny genre but one that I think everyone should be watching. It’s mostly headlined by producer Tristan Taormino, working under Vivid Entertainment, talking about things no ones really discussing. Like the best shaving motion for the bikini line and how to have anal sex 101.
Although it’s not one of those watch over and over classics, Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Advanced Anal Sex is something that everyone who likes to experiment needs to see. It sexily advises safety and pleasure and is clearly a zero judgment zone. Her website www.vivid-ed.com offers advice, photos, relationship advice, Q&A sessions, and a message board. And there are plenty more videos like this available on Good Vibrations, a strictly sex positive adult movie library. Good Vibrations is also the home of something called “Feminist Porn” which I really really really question, but I’m going to make the choice to respectfully back away slowly with both hands out to display my intentions.
Despite having some confusing categories though, Good Vibrations is a site where you can get a lot of that by women, for women category I mentioned. More commonly that includes Female POV, Female Directed (so the cunnilingus is way better), and for some reason I do not quite understand a ton of pregnant women porn. Good Vibrations sells the kinds of videos that look HBO sponsored and I think that’s pretty impressive.
A Parody of Life
More than half of the porn parodies that are currently popular were directed by women. Not only were they directed by women, but they often have the female characters in an equal and consenting position. Rarely are there any women going “Oh, no! I thought better of you!” victimizing role. Can they be downright ridiculous between some of the god-awful commentary and some hilarious coustumes? Yes. But what they offer women is a way to marry porn or sex scenes with some of their favorite popular movies. Considering all the erotica I’ve mentioned, fanfiction.net and adultfanfiction.org are just some of (my favorite) places that have erotica for couples you never even thought were a thing.
You can find these on any site that sells porn videos, like Good Vibrations or Adam & Eve. They’re often really lighthearted, often well funded, and have multiple partner mixings, giving you enough to come back to the movie multiple times, making it worth an actual purchase. Frankly, I think they’re both really fun and comfortable while allowing a level of fantasy that the usual tags explore. I think it’s a nice companion to my previous commentary on why women love monster porn. Fantasy, I think, is second nature to women, who are often taught reserve and self-censorship.
Granted, this is still not the answer. It almost feels like adaptation, that women are being accepted because they’ve forced out their own places based on their tastes. Women are still, more often than not, not being catered to on an original concept scale. Of course, you can hold steadfast to the idea that women are just as attracted to the regular porn videos out there and for a good percentage, you’d be right. Often those scenes are just as attractive to women as what I’ve described. But the truth is mainstream everything is still something made for men that some women happen to like and everyone who doesn’t has to do something else. The positive point is that that something else is readily available in so many forms, my three categories are just kind of broad generalizations for the options out there. The point is that there are options out there for women that aren’t just your basic tags category list and that men may find them just as helpful and entertaining. Live, Learn, and remember: there are plenty of videos to enhance your daydreams of fucking Iron Man.
Bijou
July 16, 2015Come on, it’s not so complicated. There is already a booming erotic industry that is catered to women. According to the RWA it did about 1.08 billion dollars in 2013 and 80 percent of the buyers were female. Who creates it? Ever heard of Johanna Lindsey, Nora Roberts and E.L James (How well did that movie do?) to name a few? A few years ago an author decided to introduce bodice ripping back into the equation. She started an e-book publishing company and made millions off the “romantica” sub genre.
I’m not saying it all has to be about romance but if you want to get women to buy porn you at least have to know how to get them excited…and how to get them off. If you can’t wave your dingle at your girlfriend/wife and then dive right in then it’s pretty safe to say that porn that is the equivalent to a drive-by dick slap is not going to appeal.
Roric
July 14, 2015One thing I wish more feminists or equalists understood was money. There’s a lot of fuss about the game industry catering only to men. And in this article Bianca talks about the porn industry making porn for men. This isn’t quite true. The game industry and porn industry make their products for MONEY. They don’t care who they have to cater to as long as it makes them money. They target the male audience because they’re willing to pay the most money for porn and for certain kinds of video games. If you want more porn for women, then you have to convince more women to buy porn. Every industry in the world targets where the money is. As soon as they see that it’s in the pockets and purses of women, then that’s who they will cater to.
Bijou
July 16, 2015Of course it’s about the money but the idea that a business would focus on only half the population because “they pay more” is idiotic. All of the larger houses have tried to bring in more female viewers, most of them just had no clue how to go about it.
casey
July 12, 2015Well come on in then. The great part about 3dx is anyone can do it. If there isn’t enough visual porn for women, then just start making some.
My favorite female 3dx artist writes about and renders pics of busty incestuous trans lizard sisters, what’s not to love there. Check her stuff out. http://jessicaanner.tumblr.com
http://bluepoppyjewelry.com/ny-law-enforcement-fee-car-insurance.html
August 31, 2016Wow thanks for that amazing piece Ben, that’s you set the benchmark then haven’t you!Really enjoyed that, fantastic read, great insight. How on earth do you follow that?
DB Spencer
July 12, 2015Jessica’s definitely been a fave for a while! She’s also a great example of porn by women not having to fall under any stereotyped aesthetic. 😀 As a female 3DX artist myself, I’ve found it to be a very accepting area of porn for female creators! In many ways we’re more accepted, especially by fans, since we have a tendency to be more detail oriented in what we create. Less about the flash and grind, more about the expression and fun. 😀
MongoBongoArt
July 10, 2015Good article overall. Definitely need more women in the creative side of porn. Kinda over-the-top and ham-fisted on the first paragraph though. Yeah, you’re fishing for a reaction/response, but might have been a bit too much.