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Porn Poll: What's Most Popular?

Posted by Katie Halper, Nerve.com at 1:30 PM on April 10, 2008.


Contrary to popular belief, lesbian porn may not be the best way to achieve unity among nations and a lasting world peace.

The other night I was having dinner with some friends. Three were straight women and two were straight men (exciting, I know! Only in New York kids, only in New York!). Thanks to my obsessive frequent L Word references, the subject of filmed lesbian sex came up. I thought I knew about what kind of porn straight women liked. But I quickly learned that I had been wrong. I knew as much about what straight women want in porn as straight men know about what straight women want in general.

I had, up until this dinner, held the following porn preferences to be self-evident: 1) most straight women enjoyed lesbian porn 2) most straight women did not enjoy gay porn. Now, I am not saying these are innate porn preferences. In fact, I think that they reflect, to at least some extent, the way society sanctions performative lesbian sex within a hetero-normative context, which ultimately appeals to straight men; and the way gay homosexuality has not been incorporated into an acceptable heterosexual framework.

OK. Back to the dinner. My friend Sarah* complained about the way the boobs of L Word characters hit up against each other during sex. Beth and Nancy agreed. Richard and Peter and I disagreed, our assessment of boob bouncing ranging from not all offensive to "pretty hot" to "the hottest thing ever." The conversation was about to move onto Obama and Hillary when Sarah added, as an aside, "I hate lesbian porn. I hate straight porn too. But gay porn is hot." I dismissed my friend's penchant for gay man-on-man sex as atypical and fringe, and extrapolated that it reflected, at most, the porn pref of 1/6 of the of the world. I was about to resume my lecture on how hot Jeremiah Wright is regardless of his hairdo, when Beth muttered under her breath, as a throw away, "yeah gay porn is hot" and Nancy enthusiastically shook her head as she down her chardonnay. All of a sudden, the opinion i had dismissed as representing 16.67% of the population became a widely held gay porn preference shared by 50% of the world!

Based on my experience (i.e. the conversations I've had with friends and acquaintances) I had always thought that lesbian porn was the most universal porn, the porn most likely to achieve world peace by bringing together various populations, by uniting (at least some) lesbians, straight men, straight women, and trans who enjoyed lesbian porn. But now my plans for world porn peace are shattered. Do straight women enjoy gay porn? And disdain lesbian porn? Ladies, let me know! I actually need information from everyone in order to carry out an effective world porn peace campaign. So please, men, women, trans, queer, bi, flexual, lesbians, gay, straight, other, please let me know what your porn preference is.

*all names have been changed

Digg!


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Realize this is second hand, but
Posted by: NthnBrazil on Apr 10, 2008 2:12 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
my wife, who as far as I know is straight, thinks man-on-man action is hot, but only if the guys are normal (i.e. no queens and no angry body-builders) so she typically doesn't like a the porno's themselves, but rather the more mainstream stuff. For example, she found the first half of Brokeback Mountain sexy, before the angst set in. Big fan of "Queer as Folk" as well.

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my vote goes to
Posted by: hurricane hugo on Apr 10, 2008 2:25 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"bores the hell out of me no matter who's doing it."
That's a category, isn't it?

jdfu!

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Wow, this is groundbreaking.
Posted by: ianfan on Apr 10, 2008 2:31 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Who would have imagined in their wildest intellectual flights of fancy that straight guys get arrousal out of seeing women having sex? I mean that's one I persoanlly would never have guessed at.

And then the shocking follow-up, which I still am having a hard time wrapping my brain around, that at the same time straight women gain arrousal from seeing men having sex?

I mean, wow. It's almost like, as far fetched as it sounds, that among straight peoples, sexual opposites attract. Again, I'm shocked.

Next thing you know they'll be shattering my little world by telling me fire is hot, ice is cold, and that it's bright durring the daytime and dark at night.

I mean, wow.

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» RE: Wow, this is groundbreaking. Posted by: blackie4aces
Well for me . . .
Posted by: Scientz on Apr 10, 2008 3:10 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
. . . as a straight man, my porn preference is female ejaculation and facial cumshots (actually, *on* the face is a waste; in the mouth is much better) but then again I'm quite probably a pervert.

(sigh)

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» are you serious? Posted by: fluffmuffinmom
» RE: Well for me . . . Posted by: Maya
Add This To Your Poll If You Like
Posted by: blackie4aces on Apr 10, 2008 3:35 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As a straight male my experience has been that most lesbian porn is much too staged, not very convincing, and therefore more or less boring. More so than hetero porn, although anything good in that category as well has been a minority of what I've seen. The exceptions to this rule are films where the female-on-female sex is actually believable, very passionate, and well done, the kinkier, not gimmickier, the better. Of course, I would say the same thing for hetero porn, so I guess there is no real difference for me. If it's good (rare), it's all good for me.

I have known several women who confided to me their having fantasies of screwing a male with a strap-on dildo. So maybe your mini-poll is to some degree accurate in that gay porn turns women on. Possibly, it may appeal to some dominance/penetration fantasy they haven't fully realized or do not want to confront and seeing a man getting fucked, even if it is by another man, fulfills that on one level or another.

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» Heh heh... heh heh.. Posted by: Xynyx
Your poll is of a limited nature
Posted by: drfun on Apr 10, 2008 9:40 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
and mainstream, why not include the inter-racial, dominant/submissive, chuckole, S&M, and trans-gender to give it a little spice N sizzle.

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Preference isn't rocket science
Posted by: partisan on Apr 11, 2008 12:08 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm a hetro guy who prefers lesbian porn simply because I like looking at attractive girls getting sexually aroused and I don't enjoy looking at naked guys no matter what they are doing.

I see a bunch of naked guys several times a week in the YMCA locker room and they have the same effect on my libido as an icy shower or the sight of the rolls of fat and cellulite on the back of Roseanne Barr's thighs.

In hetro porn when the camera lingers on the guys I roll my eyes and think "hey photographer, get back to the girl and stop wasting my time."

And no, I'm not homophobic: I have had friends who are homosexual and I don't care what they do as long as I don't have to hear about it, let alone see it.

And no, I'm not a horny loner: the young woman I've been legally going to bed with for many years is half my age and starts up my motor faster than Adriana Lima could. Still, if Adriana Lima made a lesbian film, I'd sure get it. Like I said, I like looking at pretty girls, that's all. No mystery.

Maybe the reason the women in this article like looking at men having sex is for the same reason I like looking at women: maybe they're just strongly heterosexual and would rather look at the objects of their desire. Doesn't seem like rocket science to me.

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» RE: Preference isn't rocket science Posted by: Joshua Holland
» Methinks thou dost protest too much! Posted by: KeepsonTickn
Pshaw!!
Posted by: talkville on Apr 11, 2008 2:17 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
What poll can claim to even be accurate that neglects to include all the remnant artifacts of ancient Roman buildings or Indian ones or all the florid and delicious productions of all sorts that flourished in the Middle Ages, not to mention 16t-19th century imaginations??

The narrow range within which porn now oscillates is a testament to our times.

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poll
Posted by: Dboy on Apr 11, 2008 5:25 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Ya'll should cut the article/poll writer some slack here. The real purpose of this thing was to create a nice place on Alternet to talk about sex...the stranger the better. Especially in these dark days of republican/neocon/creepy-dirtbags-in-general running things, sex is really the best topic I could think of to post about on alternet. After all we'll be waiting a really really long time for an article on the Bush trial at The Hague.

dboy

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» RE: poll Posted by: blackie4aces
Alternet is turning into Fox
Posted by: Maya on Apr 11, 2008 7:18 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have never seen pornography that is not degrading and exploitative of women and girls, reducing us to harmful stereotypes and body parts. And it has nothing to do with sex, is actually anti-sex.

Women who claim they love it and think it's "hot" are full of crap, ignoring their own experiences of being a woman in this patriarchal world and hankering to conform and be accepted by men and male culture.

What a boring group, what a boring dinner party...somebody turn on a mind numbing sitcom. Oh yeah, that's where this started.

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» RE: Alternet is turning into Fox Posted by: buddyedgewood
» RE: Alternet is turning into Fox Posted by: blackie4aces
» Your right... Posted by: chuckjs
» RE: Alternet is turning into Fox Posted by: blackie4aces
» RE: Alternet is turning into Fox Posted by: blackie4aces
» RE: Alternet is turning into Fox Posted by: ronaldravin
I (heart) porn.
Posted by: kenkruger on Apr 12, 2008 11:41 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I love lesbian porn. The naughtier the better. Two women locked in a carnal 69 is proof of God's eternal and infinite love for us.

As for straight porn, I quote (loosely) George Carlin: "It pisses me off. There's a beautiful naked woman. She lays down on a bed and starts masturbating. I can fantasize that she's my girlfriend. Then some asshole with a big dick comes in and starts fucking my girlfriend. It pisses me off."

Anyway, that's my two cents. Which is probably about what it's worth.

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War of the sexes...
Posted by: Landbaron on Apr 12, 2008 12:58 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's ok if a woman's gay but not ok for a man, (you might be scorned and/or get your ass kicked)...it's ok if a woman hits a man (Gee, I wonder what he did) but not ok if a man hits a woman (you'll get slammed to the ground by 10 guys)...it's ok if a woman rapes a man (who's gonna complain or believe you) but not ok if a man rapes a woman, (you might get a prison sentence equal to murderers)....Women get the kids, the house and the money in the vast majority of divorce cases-@ 50% and growing-..... Baby you've came a long way and you're just getting started!! Men are stupid and women are evil, I rest my case.

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Dear Katie, here's my opinion for your poll
Posted by: JLPearson on Apr 12, 2008 3:30 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As a straight woman, I do not get turned on by seeing other another woman's body so WHY would I get turned on by two - or more - women's bodies? Therefore, lesbian porn is not for me.
I do get turned on by men's bodies. Seeing a man in very good physical condition wearing very little, if any, clothing makes me happy. So seeing two men, wearing very little if any clothing, makes me happy too. So, yes to gay men's porn.
And gay porn is educational, in a way. I'm open to learning new tips and techniques.

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The very best porn
Posted by: KeepsonTickn on Apr 12, 2008 5:05 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
that I've ever seen was on ifeelmyself.com. (Though the porn label hardly seems to fit. Words like sweet, lovely and innocent often come more readily to mind.) This site is primarily devoted to female masturbation and the occasional lesbian encounter. I learned a lot about what women really find pleasurable. Watch several and the consistencies become very apparent.

It is all unstaged, and where there are couples, they are actual partners. It is a paid site, but it was recommended by someone I trust. Subscription payment and cancellation were both handled professionally. (It would be nice to maintain a subscription, but alas, it is not in the budget.)

My favorite segment was of a heterosexual couple making love. My least favorite were the lesbian scenes.

Thanks for a great poll. I've really enjoyed the comments.

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Just remember...
Posted by: zipper696 on Apr 16, 2008 2:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
those "lesbian" porn scenes are mostly (if not exclusively) two straight girls - so much easier to find for a producer in a hurry...did anyone think there were that many "lipstick lesbians"?

and now a word on "shaven havens"- am I alone in thinking this is NOT sexy? Frankly it makes that area look like a little plucked chicken - I mean, I'm not voting for a great bush, but at least a neat triangle...

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2c
Posted by: ronaldravin on Apr 20, 2008 3:41 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm a straight male, I only watch hetero porn. Most lesbian porn is faked, badly, due to the simple economics of the business. I always had the impression that lesbian porn is made for (usually younger) guys who are insecure about their sexuality and can't stand to see a big cock on screen cause it might mean they're gay if they enjoy it. (/sarcasm)

Unfortunately, for a lot of women, porn is a sounding board for their insecurities. I wish more women could just enjoy it for what it is (sexually arousing entertainment) than over analyzing it by comparing themselves to the porn stars and worrying their guy likes a porn star more than them (we never would, because that's just unhealthy), and fretting over the supposed 'degradation' of women by the 'patriarchy'. Women seem to be more receptive to porn that at least makes some sort of effort to tell a story. Personally I'd rather have no story than a story badly told and I've never seen porn with a good story, perhaps it exists somewhere out there.

Really though, women, instead of feeling like you're in a competition with porn why not reclaim it for free-love feminism?

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