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Guest post: "What we know about porn is based on men - that needs to change"

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MumsnetGuestPosts · 16/11/2016 11:19

Last month, the largest ever survey of UK women's views and experiences of mainstream online pornography was launched, //www.womenonporn.org.

The project seeks to capture the range of women's views on mainstream online pornography - whether they use it regularly, occasionally, or not at all, have accidentally been exposed to it, or have partners who use it.

I came to this research through my experience delivering specialists Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in secondary schools and a decade spent at a London based Rape Crisis Centre, designing and delivering sexual violence prevention work with young people.

The work was important and effective, but the ways in which some of the messages were being taken up by the young people were worrying. I became aware that the focus on sexual consent and the realities of sexual violence meant that we were inadvertently feeding into something positioning women as people whose sexual selves were acted on, rather than as sexual agents who could and did act through their bodies and out into the world.

We know very little about women's sexual practices, desires, and pleasures, including their views and experiences of pornography. Combined with this, we know almost nothing about women who choose not to use pornography, or who have a relationship to pornography through a partner or child's use. Some of this may be because of the quite notorious divisions in the women's movement when it comes to porn – with some women seeing it as a vehicle for women's empowerment, and others seeing it as abusive. There is little space to talk honestly, without fear of judgement or embarrassment. But we can change that.

So far, just over 500 women have had their say. Already what is clear is that women do not all think about porn in the same way, nor have they had the same - or even similar - experiences. Initial findings are clearly showing there is no singular 'women's view' on porn.

Around 70% of women who have responded have used online pornography by themselves. For the 30% who haven't, the most common reason is not liking the way it depicts women. Given this, it's interesting that it's about a 50/50 split between women who have searched for feminist porn or porn that is specifically directed at women, and those who haven't. However, it seems both camps agree that this kind of porn is hard to find.

Almost half of respondents have used pornography with a sexual partner. Some women said viewing porn was pleasurable and a useful tool for communicating sexually with their partner, while others said it was boring, or led to them and their partner feeling distracted and disengaged.

Women also have relationships to porn that aren't based on them deliberately seeking it out. Almost 90% of the women who responded have had a sexual partner who either definitely or probably used online porn. There was a fairly even split between respondents who felt fine about this, and conflicted by it.

People also stumble across porn when they're not expecting it. 85% of women have seen porn accidentally, most often through pop-up advertising, though almost 40% have seen porn on Facebook or Twitter. This is despite policies across both platforms that prohibit the advertising of 'pornographic content'.

The project is live until the end of the year so these findings are open to shift and develop. What is clear in reviewing the data so far is that there really is no single attitude, pathway, or experience of pornography for women. Instead of seeking to find out how women respond to pornography, then, it is more useful to think through what is the same and what is different amongst women's responses. And this is what the Women on Porn project seeks to do.

If you have anything you'd like to say about porn, it's easy to take part and you can do so without anyone knowing who you are.

The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. You can also choose to enter a draw to win £20 in gift vouchers. Face-to-face interviews will be held across the UK in 2017, you will be paid for your time, and you can choose to participate here.

This is your chance to take part in the largest ever survey of UK women's views on mainstream online pornography. If you have anything to say about online porn, take part and make sure your voice is heard.

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YonicProbe · 16/11/2016 17:43

"positioning women as people whose sexual selves were acted on, rather than as sexual agents who could and did act through their bodies and out into the world. "

Too right.

I will take a look at your survey. I hope it covers some of the issues with the porn industry.