Phonecams, gender & objectification
June 25, 2003
Jen at knowitallgirl had some further thoughts about my musings regarding phonecams and social change the other day.
She put this in a gender perspective that hadn’t occurred to me, but of course she’s correct—a lot of the more voyeuristic aspects of this are and will be applied by the men.
I suspect however that the reciprocal objectification of men she suggests isn’t likely to happen to any great extent.
This is one area where men’s heads and women’s are wired differently; individual variation aside, on the whole, when it comes to sex, men respond much more strongly to visual stimulation than women do.
You don’t have to look to far into the net’s thicket of porn sites to see this—porn sites are aimed at men for a reason, and it’s not because your average internet pornographer isn’t interested in 50% more revenue. It’s because it’s difficult to stimulate nearly as strong a buying response in women.
Men are easy marks—we just have to see something, thinking is optional (as if there was any doubt).
There are a few sites out there attempting to market to the female demographic, by adding more stories and videos with a bit of actual plot, but on the whole they’re few and far between.
Sexual orientation doesn’t seem to have much to do with it either—there are plenty of gay male sites, but very few catering to lesbians (real lesbians, not heterosexual male fantasies thereof).
Interestingly, many of the porn sites out there are run by women, straight and otherwise, although they are often not the women featured on the sites.
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Chuck Lawson · Filed Under 
I agree with you except for your assumption that it’s a biological difference. I would argue that socio-cultural-economic factors could also help explain the difference. Traditionally, in this society, men have been encouraged (both openly and covertly) to embrace their desires, to be sexual creatures (women were expected to be chaste and virginal until quite recently), and to also pay for sex. Frankly, now that women have far more economic and social power than they ever have, I think you’ll see an increase in women being willing to pay for sex (this includes porn and not just prostitution).
You could argue that the demand isn’t there and that’s why you don’t see more porn directed towards women. I’m going to argue it’s a matter of time. Plus, as you point out (”by adding more stories and videos with a bit of actual plot”), porn is almost exclusively generated for men (I will argue that the “male gaze” is a difference between men/women, but again I hedge on calling it a biological difference), so it’s hard to see how “women’s porn” will catch on when so little is invested in it (there are a few underground exceptions).
And actually, there is quite a bit of lesbian porn out there—you just have to know where to look.
And what are these underground exceptions, pray tell?