What Makes Porn "Authentic," and Why Women Care

Research on pornography doesn't typically focus on women's experiences, but it has been suggested that when women watch porn, it helps increase their pleasure when they perceive it to be authentic.

The reason is that when a lack of authenticity in porn is perceived, women viewers are more likely to notice the work and labor involved in the performance, which can take them out of the moment and reduce their pleasure.

So if authenticity in porn is important to women's experiences, what makes porn authentic – or, at least, feel that way?

The Study

In a new study just published in The Journal of Sex Research, researchers explored how important authenticity in porn was to women as well as what made porn feel authentic. In the study, pornography was broadly defined to include pornographic material that was animated or drawn, auditory, interactive, recorded videos, photos, or written words.

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 women and specifically prioritized the inclusion of women who were women of color, over 30 years old, and identified as a sexual identity other than heterosexual. The average age was 30.33 years old. Three-quarters of the participants reported using pornography 20 times or less in the last 60 days.

Findings

Many women in this study reported some stigma and judgment related to being a woman who used pornography. Some women shared that they sometimes felt shame and guilt when watching porn. Other barriers to watching porn included concerns about misogynistic content and the objectification of women.

To mitigate cognitive dissonance between worries or negative feelings about using pornography, women in this study reported the importance of watching feminist or ethical porn that prioritized women’s experiences and was ethically produced. Pornography that felt authentic was a key factor in helping mitigate this experience.

In terms of what made pornography feel authentic, the authors created the following five themes to reflect women's experiences.

1. Appearance. Women in this study identified that they felt there was a stereotypical look that many porn actresses shared. Specifically, women said porn actresses tended to be blonde, white, skinny, big-breasted, and with artificial enhancements. Porn actresses that deviated from this stereotype – whether due to age, race, or different body sizes – were, in contrast, perceived as being more authentic.

2. Performance. Perceiving porn to be performative (i.e., when the focus appeared to be more on the viewer than the enjoyment of the people involved) was described as feeling inauthentic by women in this study.

In contrast, porn was described as feeling authentic if it felt the performers were enjoying themselves and experiencing pleasure.

Women in this study also identified that the reaction to a sexual touch needed to seem realistic and aligned with how they were being touched.

3. Connection and Intimacy. Participants in this study also described the impotence of feeling that there was a real connection between the pornography performers. This was identified as being determined through body language that suggested performers were actually enjoying themselves as well as explicit verbal communication about condom use and what felt good.

4. Diverse Representation. Women in this study also addressed the authenticity of porn based on the inclusion of LGBTQ persons and people from diverse races. However, the inclusion alone of diverse racial, sexual, and gender backgrounds was not enough to make pornography feel authentic; women identified that it was important for the focus to be on the person's identity and pleasure versus being exploitive or tokenizing.

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5. Personal Experience. Finally, women in this study described using their own experiences as a barometer for authenticity in pornography. Authenticity was partially based on women's experiences of pleasure – particularly in their ability to identify what appeared to be a fake versus real orgasm.

Take Away

The findings from this study suggest that authenticity in pornography is an important factor for some women when it comes to enjoying and experiencing pleasure.

The findings also provide specific ways that women may assess authenticity in porn, including having a diverse representation of bodies, sexualities, gender, and race and sensing that the actors are enjoying themselves versus only performing for the viewer.

The authors highlight that when porn feels authentic to women, it can reduce emotional labor and allow women more ability to be present and experience enjoyment and pleasure.

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