This article originally appeared on VICE France
Over the course of the last few years, there’s been a ton of initiatives to make pornography more accessible to women. Sites like Dorcelle have been purpose built for just that reason and PornHub boasts categories like “Female Friendly”. Overall, the porn for girls genre seems to be built around the notion that women are more sensitive when it comes to wanking material than men. But is it true?
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According to a 2014 study conducted by Ifop, 41 percent of French women admitted to having visited a porn site and specifically listed lesbian porn as their go-to material. Many of those surveyed seemed to think that this new wave of “female erotica” was far too sentimental and, in some cases, completely exaggerated. So, to get a better idea of how women actually consume porn in this day and age, we’ve asked eight of our regular contributors to tell us about their relationship with the porn industry.
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The first time I watched pornography was right after my first sexual experience — which, let me tell you, was a complete train wreck. I was 15 years old and terrified that I’d be incapable of ever being able to pleasure a guy, so I decided to try to pick up a few tricks from a clearly feminist DVD entitled All You Need to Know to Satisfy a Man. Far from being arousing, the experience was actually quite traumatising and my young mind quickly connected male arousal with outrageous manicures and leopard print everything.
It took me years to work up the guts to watch another film. After finally convincing myself to get back into the adult entertainment game, I was delighted to find the experience was just as enlightening as it was effective. Since then, I’ve been watching porn about once a week — mostly pretty rowdy “guy” porn. I also have a real soft spot for Sasha Grey’s films. All those movies that are made especially for women have never done anything for me. They’re just so tame and tend to be about as exciting as Pride and Prejudice. ––– MICHELLE CAMARGO
Covers of French erotic magazine Union
I watch porn every once in a while. Usually, I only watch it when I haven’t had sex for a while – especially in those periods when I’m completely overloaded with work. It’s an easy way to relax and blow off some steam. It’s definitely better than jogging.
Personally, I hate those badly-shot gonzo movies full of disgusting men and tiny young girls faking it so hard. The movies I watch have to have some degree of production value. I’m mostly into lesbian and kink videos. Sometimes, I can get into that HD porn that’s on the verge of being a bit too girly and romantic, but is actually really well cast. I’ve got a thing for beautiful actresses who aren’t vulgar and guys who have really smooth faces. I don’t like it when they’re too skinny though.
I always end up feeling a bit gross when I’m done – especially if I’ve watched a bunch of videos in a row. I guess it’s pretty much the same way you feel after demolishing a McDonald’s meal. ––– DOROTHÉE FABBRI
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I have no idea why but I actually watched quite a lot of porn as a teenager. I remember it all well – Ron Jeremy, loads of completely bald vaginas and a rather distinct lack of any plot.
The older I got, the classier the videos I was into became. At some point, I started watching them at work. I’ve got the most boring job in the world: Assistant Manager for this woman who re-launched a perfume brand for rich old ladies. She is always travelling and keeps me at the office to deal with “urgent requests”. Watching porn is a perfect way procrastinate. One of the things that excites me the most was the fact that I could easily be caught by one of the accountants at any time. I’ve had a lot of orgasms in that office — some of them actually lasted longer than most of the orgasms my partners gave me.
When I was pregnant, my hormones went completely mental and I needed to have sex like five times a day. My boyfriend had a job, so I spent my time scrolling through porn sites. Given that I was so obsessed with my clitoris, my searches started growing more and more varied. I’ve seen it all — big cocks, big jugs, mixed race, old people fucking young people, a MILF fucking anything, lesbian, you name it.
Porn made for girls has never really done anything for me. When I want to watch something, it’s the sort of things that excite men that excite me. Female porn is just another marketing invention, and actually a vaguely anti-feminist concept. I absolutely despise girls like Erika Lust. ––– DOMINIQUE LOUDIÈRES
Covers of French erotic magazine Newlook
I was in my third year of high school when I watched porn for the first time. It was hard to grasp how I felt about it because my best friend was beside me laughing throughout the entire movie. Given that my first sexual emotions were for chaps like Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael Vartan, I wasn’t at all excited by these movies — the main guy looked like he had just been let out of prison and was constantly grunting like a pig. I was terrified that my parents — who were in bed upstairs — could hear it, so I kept flicking back and forth between channels. Which kind of confused my brain into thinking that whatever weird talkshow I landed on was sexy.
I started watching porn on a more regular basis, after my first sexual experiences. At some point, I realised that my idea of sex was becoming completely warped and decided to lay off the wank vids for a bit. Lately, I’ve kind of reconciled with the genre but try to limit myself to two or three movies a month.
I’m not really into “female friendly” porn. I’m mostly into hetero porn with some pretty actresses and a few sweet “boy next door” guys. That, or lesbian stuff. ––– TAMARA VARENNES
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I guess I’m a bit of a virgin when it comes to porn – I never really got into it. When I was 10 or so, my cousin and I watched Goodbye Emmanuelle. That was pretty exciting, I suppose. We were both totally embarrassed by what was going on, but couldn’t stop watching – we definitely didn’t tell each other that it was making us horny, either.
Since then, I’ve watched a tiny bit of “real” porn too. More often than not, I’ve ended up watching it with mates. For some strange reason, the only porn that’s actually ever worked for me has been lesbian. Which is odd because I’m straight. There’s probably some really clever scientific explanation for this, but I haven’t found it yet. ––– JULIETTE ASSELIN
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I watched my first porn movie when I was nine. At that time, I was spending most of my time in the woods, building huts with my friends – who all happened to be boys. It was all quite innocent, really. But that innocence quickly came crashing to an end.
One day, instead of taking our bikes to the forest, we decided to stay at home in front of the television. We all huddled under this old sticky blanket. It quickly became obvious that this blanket was used to cover up the guys fiddling around in their underpants — which were about to end up sticky too. As a way to deal with the embarrassment, I just started laughing.
I actually thought the idea of masturbating to porn was pretty exciting but I preferred doing it by myself and to movies that had a slightly more elaborate plot. Between the ages of 10 and 15, I was a pro at masturbating. I’d spend hours watching every category of video there was: from your standard missionary videos all the way to massive group orgies. And everything in between, too.
I’m not that much into it anymore, but in dry periods, I can resort to it. That said, in the age of Tinder, why would anyone be bothered to touch themselves, when, more often than not, there’s someone who is game right down the street? ––– GIUSEPPINA CHEVIGNY
Erotic movies aren’t really my thing. But porn is different. There’s something about the fact that I’m able to choose whatever I want that satisfies the voyeur in me. I was with my ex for six years but I was never able to watch a movie like that with him. To me it’s a really intimate experience. Also, I don’t really like hetero porn.
When I was 17, I used to go on YouPorn and search for the most disgusting things I could but recently I’ve calmed down a bit and I’m much more into lesbian porn. I like the fact that it’s a bit more sensual and the intercourse is far less, well, savage. To be honest, I really don’t watch porn that much — like five or six times a month maybe. ––– SYLVIE HECQUET
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I’m not really a porn or erotic movie enthusiast. It’s never been my thing. That’s probably why I’ve only ever had a really brief experience with it. After a high school party in fourth grade, I got home all drunk on Desperados. I emptied my parents fridge and flicked the TV on. After an hour of Pimp My Ride, I accidentally ended up watching porn. Puzzled, I kept watching to try and decipher the storyline behind all these enormous breasts and hard dicks. Honestly, the scenes did nothing for me but, to this day, I have a great admiration for the physical prowess of the “actors” in whatever it was that I watched. ––– CONSTANCE DORIVAL
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