OK, so it’s not specifically sci fi, gay or fantasy, but this caught our eye since such a large proportion of both writers and readers of MM romance are women:
In 2001, Salon received the equivalent of a Dear Abby letter from a straight women confessing, “[Gay porn] turns me on like no heterosexual porn ever has. What’s up with that? Am I a freak?”
In response, writer Tracy Clark-Flory recounted her experience co-judging the Air Sex Championships, during which the all-female panel of judges was often “recoiling in disgust.” That is, until a man unexpectedly and vigorously began reenacting a gay sex scene. Clark-Flory tells us, “[Reader], it was hot. For the only time that evening, the all-female judging panel leaned forward…to get a better look.”
Monday morning, The Telegraph published an article explaining “how women fell for gay porn.” The main reason given is remarkably similar to what men will say of lesbian porn. In the words of one online viewer, “There’s nothing better than watching two handsome guys f*****,” (well, any handsome men, given most heterosexual porn). Some women added that gay porn has another benefit: neither of the participants seem as feigned or as uncomfortably exploited as the women often do in both heterosexual and lesbian porn.
That two hot men are better than one is a valid reason, but just like the explanation for why men like lesbian porn, it seems to lack a certain depth. The second reason given in The Telegraph is onto something more, and looking at the long history of women’s production and consumption of gay porn reveals just how complex the array of women’s motivations can be.
I have a very personal response to this post because I am one of those women.
I was in my early teens when I discovered a fascination for the idea of men in love with other men. I remember feeling very alone. Wouldn’t dare mention it to anyone for fear of being considered a freak. It was some years later before I began to read slash fan fiction and discovered I wasn’t alone, and that I enjoyed the sexual side of the relationships as well, although I have little interest in a story that is, in the fandom vernacular, PWP (porn without plot). I am now directly involved as an editor of M/M romance, something that happened largely by chance, and have contact with many women–and men as well–who love the genre. Yet to this day, I don’t completely understand the appeal to woman beyond the superficial “straight men are turned on by girl-on-girl, straight women are turned on by boy-on-boy as well.” I think the truth goes much deeper than that, and while academics have some answers that resonate–including some of the thoughts expressed in the full article linked above–I haven’t found an explanation yet that satisfies me completely. If I ever figure it out, I’ll be sure to share!
I’ve actually had a similar discussion before. In a lot of cases the reason is a bit darker than just wanting to see two hot men f**k. One of the factors is, the absence of a female body in the mix gives women an ability to enjoy the scene/story/manga without the socially conditioned need to feel bad about themselves. There is no giant breasted, small waisted, barely adult nymph getting the attention. We do not have to compare ourselves to this false idea of beauty and desirability and we do not have to think of the unspeakable horror that is our own genitalia. (Heaven forbid.)
We have been conditioned to loath ourselves and our sexuality to the point where it is much easier to see/watch two men together. They are safe. They are not interest in women and therefore we are free to watch without any inclusion of self.
Am I saying that women watching gay porn is bad? Not at all. I am an avid consumer (and a writer) of all things m/m, but I feel that it is only fair to acknowledge that the original impulse to view it for many of us came from a place that shows how little women are valued as sexual creatures. In fact, I think it is very beneficial and probably even healthy.
I totally understand the commenter above, my interest in gay love began right around puberty, but those were pre-internet days and I had to wait until I was almost 30 before I discovered slash fan fiction and found a whole community of women like myself. I have never really looked back.