Why do straight women watch lesbian porn?

People love lesbian porn. And no, not just the male side of humanity. Women also regularly gravitate towards the girl-on-girl category. But why do we get so turned on by some sexy lesbian action?

Straight women love lesbian porn

Let’s clear one thing up. The fact that you like watching lesbian porn doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re attracted to women. Sometimes you are, of course, and that’s totally fine. But the number of heterosexual women who get off on this category is considerable. And they’re certainly not all lesbians who don’t want to come out of the closet.

And the evidence shows. A study by Pornhub and YouPorn showed that “lesbian” is the most searched term among female visitors. Women, who make up about 30% of the total number of visitors to these sites, click on lesbian porn about 151% faster than men, Pornhub’s report stated.

And yet, only 0.7% of American women identify as lesbians, according to a recent Gallup poll. The overwhelming popularity of girl-on-girl porn suggests that a lot of straight women get turned on by watching lesbian sex. In an email to the Huffington Post, Pornhub’s vice president, Corey Price, said that the site is certainly capitalising on this popularity. He also mentioned that their content partners have been uploading more lesbian content than ever lately.

Why do we like lesbian porn so much?

The key question remains: why? Are we unconsciously exploring our sexual orientation? Is the fantasy just sexy and exciting? Or do we find elements in lesbian porn that we’re missing in “regular”, heterosexual porn?

Video shop versus online

Some sex therapists refer to the free nature of the Internet. It gives us the opportunity to discover new things that we couldn’t easily try out in real life. The anonymity of the Internet also offers opportunities. Perhaps we used to find it exciting to walk through the dark corners of a video shop and find a VHS tape or a DVD with lesbian porn, but the idea of standing in a queue at the cash register with that in hand terrified us.

However, that doesn’t explain why the popularity of lesbian porn among heterosexual women is growing, while the popularity of guy-on-guy porn among heterosexual men has remained the same for years: virtually non-existent. There must be some cultural and social reasons for this.

Fluid sexuality

And several studies show that this is the case. For example, the Binghamton Human Sexualities Research Lab in New York recently discovered that between 2011 and 2019, women have started to identify themselves less and less as exclusively heterosexual. In 2019, 65% of women said they were only attracted to men, compared to 77% in 2011. The percentage of women who only went to bed with men had also dropped significantly.

At the same time, the percentage remained the same for men: around 85% were exclusively attracted to women and around 90% only had sex with women. Culturally, we’re more likely to find it acceptable when women experiment with the same sex than men, according to a 2019 study. It’s not like lesbians don’t experience prejudice or discrimination, but we generally see lesbian sex as less problematic than two men getting into bed with each other.

Lesbian sex is often considered sexy, sensual, and exotic – mainly because men are so fascinated by women doing it with each other. For women, there’s simply less shame, and they often feel freer to experiment sexually with other women.

Performance anxiety? Not with lesbian porn

Most porn is about one thing only: the performance. Little attention is paid to foreplay, the spotlight is always on the penis, and the ejaculating man is the focal point of the whole film. Female pleasure? Oftentimes, that’s nowhere to be found.

Mainstream porn is strongly geared towards what men find arousing. Lesbian porn, on the other hand, is softer, slower, and more sensual. It’s not like lesbian porn doesn’t feature close-ups of the women’s genitals, but there’s also plenty of room for foreplay, sex toys, and clitoral stimulation. These things are usually rushed through in “regular” porn. It’s often only about penises and penetration.

Focus on penetration

Still, the endless thrusting of a penis into a vagina is not something that necessarily brings women to a jubilant climax. Straight porn also always ends with the ejaculation of the man, squirting away into the open mouth of the woman. But let’s be honest. Few women look that ecstatic when that sticky stuff reaches their taste buds.

A divine drink? In man-focused pornography, that’s exactly what men think they’re squirting. Perhaps that is the biggest problem of straight porn: men think women really get off on getting fingered for a few seconds, being allowed to suck on a penis, and getting taken hard from behind.

Can someone find us the clitoris in this story?!

Lesbian porn is an ideal

In lesbian porn, fortunately, you don’t have to search long for that magical pleasure spot. And since most women experience their best orgasms through clitoral stimulation, it’s not surprising that images of oral sex turn them on more than images of a penis sliding in and out of a vagina.

Women often identify much more readily with the sex depicted in lesbian porn. They yearn for the movements, the sexual acts, and the way the bodies twist and turn around each other. They can vividly imagine being touched in that way, and they have a clear idea of what physical sensations that would evoke. The thought turns them on, as it’s the kind of desire and satisfaction they secretly crave. The fact that the screen shows two women makes little difference.

The big difference with straight porn? In lesbian porn, the woman is not an object of desire to be used. She’s not shown as a vagina with a human being around it, endlessly being exploited by bigger and bigger penises. Lesbian porn is soft, tender, and focused on a woman’s own pleasure. Even when it gets rough, it’s often preceded by a sensual build-up, which is a lot slower and more erotic than simply some pounding and grabbing of body parts. In this sense, lesbian porn is not only a fantasy that is stimulated, but also an ideal image. One of really good sex.

Teach him a lesson with lesbian porn

Straight women who watch lesbian porn don’t necessarily have lesbian inclinations. The problem is that mainstream porn hardly pays any attention to women’s desires, so it’s logical that we look elsewhere for the right stimulation.

The popularity of this category shows that heterosexual women are more curious than ever, and that they’re more open to different sexual fantasies and activities. This is a good thing, especially since it gives us all the tools we need to teach our men a lesson or two.

Fake orgasms

Many men learn about sex and pleasing women through porn. It’s clear that heterosexual porn is not always the best source. In that sense, it’s a great thing that women so often prefer lesbian porn: it focuses much more on the pleasure of the woman, so it can be used to teach him how you want to be touched.

Women often find it difficult to be honest about their desires. About the way they want to be stimulated and about the things that turn them on and that they find sexy. If they’re also dating a guy whose knowledge of the female orgasm comes from bad porn movies, it’s not surprising that some of us regularly brace ourselves for a round of fake orgasms.

Solo session

Of course, that’s the last thing you want. And by obligatorily panting and moaning while he happily focuses on his own climax, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. And him too, by the way, as you make him think that he’s some incredible sex god.

So the next time you retire for a sexy solo session with some girl-on-girl action, watch it together with your partner. Tell him that you’d like a breast massage or some slow licking on your most sensitive spots. Teach him what turns you on and use lesbian porn as a clever trick to show him the ropes.

Let him know that his thrusting penis is not the only thing that can do the trick for you.

Reading tip: What type of porn/porna is worth watching?