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Why do Straight Women Love Lesbian Porn?

Author :- Angel Russell Oct. 13, 2021, 4:03 p.m.
Why do Straight Women Love Lesbian Porn?

According to a 2019 PornHub Survey¹, the “Lesbian” category of porn was 151% more popular with women than with men, despite the fact that only about 11% of Americans will report at least some same-sex attraction². It can be confusing to think about – why would someone who Identifies as straight be interested in same-sex pornography? There are lots of reasons this might be the case, but I’m going to discuss two.

First: Sexual Fantasy and Sexual Orientation are Different Things.

Sexual orientation is the language we use to talk about our innate sexual attraction to the gender of other people. So, if I’m a woman who is primarily sexually attracted to other women, I might identify as a lesbian. This language is useful in talking about the things we are most frequently oriented towards, but, for most people, it usually doesn’t cover all the bases. 

So, if I'm a woman who's primarily attracted to other women, I might identify as a lesbian, but that doesn't mean that I never find anybody else sexy or pretty, or that nobody else catches my eye. Sexual orientation language doesn't tell us everything about what a person likes sexually.

Because of that, our sexual fantasies are much broader than our sexual orientations. Fantasy is all about pretending. When we fantasize, we get to lose ourselves in a make-believe world. Some people like to fantasize about things that are very similar to, or inspired by, their real, daily lives – like thinking about what could be possible if they had no obstacles and unlimited resources. 

Others, however, like to fantasize about things that are wildly different from their daily lives – they want to imagine a world where anything is possible, and they can experience limitlessness. Sexual fantasy is like this too. Some folks spend a lot of time fantasizing about their current partners, imagining themselves in sexy, fun, exciting situations together. Other folks like to fantasize about something or someone, else entirely. Both are perfectly healthy and valid. 

Just because we have a sexual fantasy, doesn’t mean we have to, or even want to, act on it. Lots of people find things very sexy to think about, read about, or watch, that they may never want to actually do.

 “Straight women may like lesbian porn because it is totally women-centered. Two women would better mirror the sensual nature of women’s bodies and women’s ways of pleasure. Without a man in the picture, the fluid nature of female sexuality can surge. The focus can stay women-centered on what is arousing and appealing. Lesbian porn may be an outlet for experiencing how other women enjoy their bodies without male expectations being introduced.” Donna Jennings, Ph.D. (AKA: Dr. J.)

Second: Porn is All About Explicit Sexual Cues; Our Sexual Response Cycle is Activated by Explicit Sexual Cues.

Our brains have two systems that organize sexual information: our Sexual Inhibition System (SIS) and our Sexual Excitation System (SES).

The SIS is what process information around us that is NOT sexy: NOT cues. The SES is what process information around us that is sexy: HOT cues. There is a lot of variability in what we all think is HOT or NOT, however for many of us, watching other people have sex, no matter who they are, is a very explicit sexual cue, an undeniable HOT cue. Then, the hotter we find those people, the more HOT cues. 

If we like the sex they’re having, more HOT cues. Novelty (things that are new to us) is also HOT. So, if the sex is not like the sex we usually have, those are even more potential  HOT cues. Additionally, socially, we are conditioned to see beautiful women as sexy, no matter what our sexual preferences are, so for many of us (not all of us), beautiful women are HOT cues.

Humans find a lot of things to be sexy. We like beauty, we like variety, we like novelty, and we like things that are different, or exotic compared to what we’re used to. All of this adds up to a lot of reasons that many straight women might find lesbian porn to be, well, HOT. 

References

¹https://www.pornhub.com/insights/women-of-the-world 

²https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/how-many-people-lgbt/

Cover image from Freepik