As the cancellation of the “snowgathering” event earlier this year demonstrated, there are still many misconceptions around the world with regard to the relationship between women, sex and porn.
You may recall that a rape group there likened us pornographers to drug traffickers and child molesters – ultimately resulting in the cancellation of attendee’s hotel rooms by Radisson, a hotel chain that makes millions worldwide from pay-per-view porn in their hotel rooms.
Whilst the Icelandic example maybe extreme, the underlying common misperception still exists : Porn exploits women.
The Irony is, (most) porn actually celebrates women in all their wonderful shapes and sizes – unlike mainstream, which does not. When last did you see perfume being promoted by BBW?
Another common misconception is that porn is for men only. No so. Just ask any webmaster with compelling male content. According to the Internet Filter Review, Women are the fastest growing audience in this industry and one in three visitors to all adult websites is a woman.
Furthermore, a study recently conducted at Emory University debunked another myth by suggesting that when women view porn they are more likely to look at the area of sexual activity first – unlike us men, who apparently look at the female subject’s faces first, looking for signs of arousal that would not be so obvious by viewing other body parts.
A brief glance on the front covers of most women’s magazines will confirm the fact – the fairer sex are just as obsessed with sex as men are, perhaps even more so!
The phenomenally successful book “Diary of a Sex Fiend” by Abby Lee (based on her blog
http://girlwithaonetrackmind.blogspot.com) simply reinforces this possibility.
And whilst our industry, like so many others, is still be dominated by big men with even bigger egos, women are increasingly making an impact commercially too.
A case in point is Jacqueline Gold, who has brought sex to UK’s high street. She is one of the Britain’s most powerful businesswomen and has single help change the perception of sex shops from being seedy hangouts full of dirty old men into attractive places for adults to visit.
What is more, upon so doing on my last trip to London, I could not see another male customer in sight!
A male webmaster friend of mine once relayed the story of how he wanted to capture a slice of the “feminine” pie, and set about launching a website aimed at women. It flopped. Why? He claims this was because it was developed my men.
He then handed over the editorial control of the site to his wife and claims that since doing so the site goes from strength to strength.
I expect we will witness the emergence of such websites in the months and years ahead...