9 Surprising Porn Facts No One Will Tell You
Recently, I watched the documentary Hot Girls Wanted at a friend’s suggestion. Although I had my issues with the film (because it felt as if judging their choices was encouraged by the filmmakers), it is able to illuminate why so many young women choose to become involved in amateur porn. It also made me think about the industry as a whole, and how there are so many unknown porn facts.
Many people interact with online pornography. Skewed ideas about sexuality have affected many generations, especially millennials. Many of us simply accept that pornography exists, and don’t actively think about current search trends. Never mind how these trends are informed by and also inform our sexual relationships outside of the screen.
Here are some of the most interesting porn facts you should know.
1. Porn sites have more visitors than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined
2. Searches for “teen porn” have tripled since 2005
In one of the opening scenes of Hot Girls Wanted, 23-year-old Riley, a talent agent, excitedly tells the girls about an 18-year-old he’s messaging with who looks like she’s 12 with double D breasts. Although she may be 18, the fact that viewers are seeking pornography with women who look like they’re 12 or 13 was extremely sickening to me.
3. Most porn contains violence towards women
In a study, 304 pornographic scenes were analyzed, 88.2% of which contained physical violence (spanking, gagging, and slapping) while 48.7% exhibited verbal aggression (primarily name-calling). Perpetrators of verbal or physical violence were primarily male-directed at female targets.
4. Every second, $3,075.64 is spent on pornography
5. The pornography industry is a $97 billion business worldwide
And $13 billion is from the United States alone. The porn industry makes more money than the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball combined.
6. American children begin watching porn at an average age of 11.
This is problematic for so many reasons. When I was 11 I used to beg my dad to let me play ‘Space Invaders’ on his 90s apple computer, and the most technologically advanced thing I owned was probably a Tamagotchi. I recently saw a kid that hadn’t hit double digits with an iPhone at the mall. I don’t remember the first time that I understood what sex was, or saw it in a movie. I can’t imagine how skewed your perception of intimacy
might be from viewing hardcore porn at such an early age.
7. Kinsey researchers believe that more than 40% of shoots constitute “abuse porn”
A google search of “abuse porn'”returns 131,000,000 search hits. Although less (but somehow worse) a search of ‘rape porn’ returns 63,600,000 and one site claims to “show the real stories of rape caught on camera.” The fact that these sites exist alone is problematic enough, but that they can insist to sell anything but a fantasy is beyond damaging to relationships beyond the internet.
8. The most popular search term for women is “lesbian” while for men it is “teen”
9. Feminist porn has taken off over the last several years
This category offers viewers are more friendly alternative to the misogynistic and abuse porn that is so commonplace. Feminist porn chooses to highlight female pleasure, features clear consent between performers, and does not necessarily have to be of a more “vanilla” variety.
There’s nothing wrong with desire or having a sexual appetite as long as the two parties are consenting adults. When it comes to internet pornography, that line is so frequently blurred or non-existent, that it’s important to be clear about what constitutes fantasy and reality. But if you’re watching porn that depicts violence and aggression towards women, or you’re actively searching for women that look underage, how does that inform your own intimate relationships? There will always be a market for pornography, that much is clear from Hot Girls Wanted, but viewers can choose which content to engage with. If we can create a higher demand for more ethical porn, women in the industry will undoubtedly receive less roles that require their subjugation, and our personal relationships will be positively impacted as well.
Has porn been a positive or negative force in your personal relationships? Let us know in the comment section below!
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