‘If It’s All an Act, Then What’s the Point?’: Men’s and Women’s Views on Authenticity in Pornographic Videos

Abstract

Sociological research has demonstrated a keen interest in authenticity by different audiences in a wide variety of social domains. The current study joins recent efforts by both sociologists and pornography scholars to empirically investigate the meaning and importance of authenticity for pornography viewers. It relies on in-depth interviews with 302 regular pornography viewers from a wide range of countries, cultural backgrounds, ethnicities and sexual identities. Findings show that most viewers ascribe significant importance to watching sexual acts that they perceive as authentic, although a significant minority does not find authenticity to be very important. I discuss the implications of these findings to sociological theory and research in fields such as the sociology of culture, the sociology of emotions and the sociology of consumption, reflecting on the challenges that demands for authenticity in pornography pose to feminist ethics.