Misrepresentation of Female Sexual Behavior in Pornography

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Female sexual wellness is a highly complex condition that builds not only on biological factors, but also on social norms, background, religion, education, and social media. One source where both women and men learn about sexual behavior, interactions, and expectations is pornography. This resource has become widely available to anyone with access to the internet. While pornography is a way of expanding sexual horizons, like any media it may misrepresent more common behaviors and expectations for both genders. The impact of pornography on male attitudes towards sex and women in general has previously been described. This not only harming males, but it also potentially has negative effects on female sexual wellness as well. Objective The purpose of this review is to evaluate how women's sexuality is portrayed in the most commonly viewed pornography videos in order to understand its role in female sexual health. Methods Videos from the category “most viewed videos” based on internet ratings were viewed. We analyzed the content and female and male sexual behaviors. Results We reviewed the 25 most viewed videos by the general public from the five most popular free pornography websites. The two most commonly viewed contexts were sexual encounters between step relatives (16%) and during casting sessions (16%). With the majority of videos having two participants (92%), two videos included three and five participants. Overall, only 9 (36%) videos demonstrated at least one female orgasm with 5 (20 %) videos showing clitoral stimulation before reaching orgasm. Only 4 (16%) videos did not demonstrate male orgasm. Similarly, only 8 (32%) videos pictured a female as the recipient of oral sex, whereas all but 3 (12%) videos showed the male as the recipient. Only in one (4%) video did a woman have more than one orgasm. Anal sex was represented in 4 (16%) of videos, with novelty toy uses in one (4%) video. Conclusions The most viewed videos on popular pornography sites did not represent the most common sexual scenarios as these were between step relatives and during casting sessions. Pornography demonstrates preference for male-centered pleasure. Although the majority of women climax with clitoral stimulation, this was not represented by popular pornography sites. Inaccurate portrayal of female sexuality can contribute to sexual performance anxiety, unfulfilled expectations among both partners, and sexual dysfunction. More research is needed to determine the best referral websites representing more realistic female sexual behavior. Disclosure No