Do Women Watch Porn? If so, why??

4 Min Read

Contents

Women Watching Porn – Yes, It Happens
Should Women Watch Porn?
What To Take Away

Part 2 of 3 on Porn for Women

Okay, all the men are dying to know - do women watch porn?

For many men there’s something very appealing about the idea of a woman watching porn – especially if they can do it together.

Well guys, yes, some women do watch porn.

However, in my counseling experience the majority of women do not and have no interest in doing so. And the ones that do are usually interested in porn that’s very different from what most men have in mind.

Sorry guys.

But that doesn’t mean that porn isn’t a factor in many women’s lives and relationships. In fact, you might be surprised at the role that porn can play in a woman’s life and the reasons some women watch porn.

Women Watching Porn – Yes, It Happens

Watching porn is typically seen as a man’s habit, not a woman’s. We don’t usually think of women watching porn or developing a porn addiction and this is for good reason – most women don’t.

But that’s not to say that women don’t watch. They just typically watch for different reasons than men.

Some of the most common reasons a woman would choose to watch porn are to:

Accommodate the desires of the man in her life

Many women mistakenly put their own feelings and desires aside and accept watching porn to try to make their man happy.

They view it as something they need to do in order to satisfy him and prevent what they fear will happen next – him cheating .

So, despite feeling what many women describe as repulsion, they watch porn with their partner out of a sense of necessity.

Understand why men watch porn

Men as a whole have a strong attraction to and easy acceptance of porn. And a lot of women really want to understand more about why.

Why he does what he does
Why porn is so appealing to him
What he finds attractive
If there are sexual acts that they need to learn to keep him happy

So, they’ll watch porn to try to find out.

Cultural influence

Our culture has made watching porn normal and has removed nearly all of the negative views that once surrounded it. Current movies, music, and advertising have all incorporated pornographic images and references as a result.

So now finding it distasteful and expressing a problem with porn can feel like you’re going against the grain and will be judged as a prude, unimaginative, or uncomfortable with sexuality. For this reason, some women watch and accept porn because they feel like they have to in order to be “normal.”

Sexual pleasure

There are women who watch porn for the same reasons men do - visual stimulation, sexual arousal, and release.

Both men and women respond to visual stimulation, but what they want to see and the reasons they want to see it can be quite different. While men typically want to see graphic sexual images, women tend to prefer more suggestive and sensual imagery.

That being said, women who openly enjoy porn are still a minority, albeit a growing minority. In fact, porn addiction in women is becoming a bigger problem with each passing year.

Lack of knowledge about the negative effects porn brings with it

Porn can negatively affect both men and women. It’s not the harmless pastime that many men claim.

Porn distorts our thinking about sex, leading to unrealistic expectations, dissatisfaction in healthy sexual relationships, feelings of inadequacy, and, in some cases, sexual abuse.

However, most people don't know any of this, nor do they realize how damaging porn is to them.

Unhealthy understanding of sex

A number of women have had negative sexual experiences that have altered their view of sex. Some of them are aware of this, but many are not.

An unhealthy view and understanding of sex can contribute to a desire to watch porn for both women and men, and make true intimacy with a real partner nearly impossible.

To better understand women and porn, be sure to read the last article, Do Women Like Porn?

Should Women Watch Porn?

Let’s be clear – porn isn’t a healthy habit for men or women. Yet because it’s so readily accessible and seemingly harmless, many people figure, why not watch?

One of the problems is that the effects of porn on the brain are similar to that of many narcotics. By igniting the pleasure centers in the brain, porn can cause the same euphoric response and lead to the same kind of addiction as drugs.

And just like a drug, you’ll need more and more porn to become aroused, more explicit content, and eventually you’ll find you’re unable to perform sexually without it.

Although you can’t overdose on porn the same way you can on something like Heroin, you can cause long-lasting psychological damage that can make normal, healthy sexual relationships very difficult.

So, should women watch porn?

No. And while we’re discussing it, neither should men.

What To Take Away

Watching porn is portrayed as a no-big-deal, everyone-does-it activity. And truthfully, many people do watch porn, including women.

But male or female, watching porn causes problems.

Remember,

Porn desensitizes you to true intimacy and sexual connection.
It creates unrealistic expectations and fuels unhealthy desires.
When a woman watches porn it’s often for very different reasons than when a man does.
Women who watch porn are just as as susceptible to developing a porn addiction as men.

So back to the question, “Do women watch porn?”

Yes, some do, but the reasons they do are varied. And just because a woman chooses to watch porn doesn’t make watching porn right or good for them. Remember, a lot of people unknowingly do stupid things that aren't good for them.

In the next and last post on the topic of women and porn we’ll hear what women think about porn in their own words.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published July 14, 2012, updated on December 22, 2020, and has been updated again with new information for accuracy and comprehensiveness.