Some Texts Do it Better: Women, Sexually Explicit Texts and the Everyday

Nurturing the erotic self: Benefits of women consuming sexually explicit materials

“…Such a finding has been described previously by Smith (2012: 167), who contends that “female consumers of pornography are constantly dogged by questions of harm, subordination, objectification, authenticity and the need to consider women’s well-being before their own pleasures when watching or reading pornography.” This tension was evident for the women in this study, who often struggled to reconcile their own sexual desires and curiosities with their personal values and beliefs—particularly those concerning the ways explicit materials could exploit or objectify women. While female-oriented or feminist forms of SEM could be one avenue to help women consume with clear consciences (Wilson-Kovacs, 2009), it is important to remember that for many individuals, who and what turns them on can be integral to how they view their erotic selves (Albury, 2009). Restrictions on consumption—whether they be self or externally imposed, could therefore prove to be detrimental to women and the sexual well-being they define for themselves (Attwood et al., 2018).…”

“…Such inquiry into the potential benefits of SEM has, in turn, opened the door for investigations of women’s consumption of varying types of SEM, including materials that have traditionally been consumed by female audiences. These have included erotic fiction (Illouz, 2014; Juffer, 1998; Parry and Penny Light, 2014; Wilson-Kovacs, 2009), sexualized women’s magazines (Smith, 2007), sexual self-help books (Juffer, 1998), and feminist pornography (Albury, 2009; Penley et al. 2013).…”

“Tailored pornography”

“…Rather, the mainstreaming of porn opens up possibilities for new forms of 'sexual play', which are constantly being negotiated in relation to existing norms (Paasonen, 2018). Th us, porn represents an everyday, tangible material with which viewers can engage to explore their own likes and dislikes (Wilson-Kovacs, 2009). It is this critical question -whether and how there is the possibility for agency in the way young women engage with porn -that our paper seeks to contribute to.…”

Women’s Consumption of Pornography: Pleasure, Contestation, and Empowerment

“…Neville (2015) argues that this is due to social expectations warranting women to refrain from public displays of their sexuality and pornography’s openness to the depiction of sex. For example, Wilson-Kovacs (2009: 156) suggests that discussing porn preferences is a taboo topic for women, and as such, ‘pornography is simply what the male partner invariably chooses’. However, recent work shows that women are relaxed and curious about their partners’ habits and are often those who initiate joint pornography consumption (Böhm et al, 2015).…”

“…Sociological literature focusing on women presents strikingly different perspectives on their perceptions and usage of the genre. On the one hand, prior studies report that women experience feelings of shame and guilt about consuming pornography (Wilson-Kovacs, 2009). Additionally, it is argued that ‘mainstream’ (i.e.…”