Do you watch porn?

[RadandMad]

I've been reading a convo on Twitter where several people are claiming - including a woman - that women watch porn as well as men. My first reaction is, this isn't true. Sure, I've watched it from time to time, usually in the company of men, but it's so boring, so divorced from real sex/real bodies, that I'd almost rather do anything else.

Am I wrong? I realise I'm asking a group of women who are probably going to have a more cynical view of pornography, but I'm having a hard time believing women have a porn habit even remotely comparable to men's.

Very occasionally. Nowadays, I actually find a good sex scene on TV does a lot more for me, as more is left up to your imagination. I also like reading erotica.

No

I used to, not regularly, I wasn't comfortable with it and reading up on the subject put me right off. DH has never had any interest. Erotic literature sort of fills the gap now, but I can't find exactly what I want there either.

Rarely. I prefer to read erotica instead
A lot of it is far too hardcore and disturbing. Even just going on the mainstream sites, a lot of the thumbnails and titles make me cringe

Yes. Though to be honest I mostly read the darker type of romances because I have certain kinks and the porn that caters to those kinks is probably the worst out of the bunch.

So I read (and write it) bc I know nobody's getting harmed that way.

Yes, this. Apart from the writing, I have no talent in that direction.

Yes, when I was a 40 something virgin. I was in my first relationship, we hadn't had sex yet and I was so worried about not having a clue what I was doing, that I looked everywhere for some idea of what the woman does during sex. Obviously I've since realised that porn isn't really the place to learn about sex, and have learnt about how abusive of women it is.

Yes

@JellyBabiesFan

Its so cute that there are some women who believe that their man does not watch porn.

Bless

I don't see why it's so completely implausible that some men don't watch porn. Many women on this thread claim not to watch porn due to the abuse of women in the industry. Presumably, at least some men are aware of this. They're aware that they have no way of knowing whether the women they're watching have been coerced, abused or raped. Is it really beyond belief that some men might, just possibly, be able to exercise enough self control so as not to jerk off to videos of those women?

Yes, JellieBabiesFan seems to have a very low opinion of men - many have good ethical standards and would be turned off by women being exploited.

No. I used to but then I met DH and it made me so uncomfortable that he did so I stopped and asked him to consider it as well. He did and it was life-changing for us both. Hugely improved our enjoyment of sex. I think it's really damaging to be honest.

No.

No.

@TinselAngel

This is a very odd thread for FWR.

@TinselAngel how’s it odd?

it's a very difficult question because it is so wide.

It's like asking, do you like music, or art, or food?

Opera is not grunge, and porridge is not curry.

Porn can range from the exploitative, to the plastic, to the poverty stricken, to the women-led empowered, to the amateur couples posting the sex they had last night online and everything inbetween.

Personally, I like some of the amateur stuff with ordinary people having fun. Maybe I'm a bit of a voyeur. It's like watching your neighbours get it on .

The professional stuff is godawful.

Ah, I had a look a few years ago after my divorce to see if it did anything for me, but it was horrible and unpleasant and seemed very ‘mechanical’ and not at all sexy.

I have from time to time, sometimes just to see how awful much of it is; I can't look much there.

I find male-male porn easier because there is no woman involved.

There was one site,. It was mainly gay but sometimes mmf. Because it was gay, the focus was not what was being done to the woman. I remember one scene, she was the girlfriend of one of the men, he was lying there giggling, she was holding a dildo and just cracking up laughing right into the camera. I thought, yes, this is actually okay.

No and completely against it.

Not now (since I've learned a lot more about the industry/trafficking/consent issues etc) but I have in the past.

@AmySosa I appreciate your honesty. Exactly the same scenario as you for me.

For what it’s worth I used to (back in the dark ages) work as a writer on an ethical unisex (straight) porn mag, back when print media was still alive and kicking. We had quite a large, if niche fan base but tanked once the likes of YouPorn appeared and no one wanted to pay for porn anymore. I often wonder on threads like this if there’s a market for that here in the 2020s and what form it would take.

No

No

No.

I'm a fan of ordinary everyday people getting it on.
If they want an audience, I'm happy to watch.

I used to have a subscription to Helix. I think it might have been quite a sad time in my life. I read a lot of erotica on AO3 and have been rping for years.

No and while I’m here prostitution isn’t sex work it’s paid rape

fgs so many posts saying yes.

this came up on active