Book reveals the new female porn consumer

Melbourne, Feb 27 : The prolific porn user in Australia is no longer a dysfunctional middle aged man, but a progressive, monogamous, young woman, according to a new book on Australia's pornographic industry.

The Porn Report, the result of a three-year study by, academics Catherine Lumby, Alan McKee and Katherine Albury, says that women who are aged under 35, live in the suburbs, vote for a progressive party like the Greens, are in a monogamous relationship with a man and earn slightly more than average are the latest entrants into the list of porn viewers.

Lumby says that the book puts to rest a number of myths, including the belief that "no sane woman" would look at pornography unless she was forced to by a male partner.

"One of the myths (about pornography) suggests that women aren't consumers but we have very clear evidence that there's a growing proportion of porn consumers who are women," the Daily Telegraph quoted Lumby, as saying.

The book, based on a survey of more than 1,000 Australians, shows that though men still outnumber women as consumers of pornography, the difference is narrowing.

"Certainly there is evidence in our survey, and the 2003 ... survey indicates, that in the age groups under 40 we are seeing a greater proportion of women consuming X-rated material," Lumby said.

Of the pornography consumers interviewed for The Porn Report, 17 per cent were women and 82 per cent were male.

Lumby said that their research indicates that women who consume pornography favour watching DVDs on a laptop in the privacy of their home and also like to watch porn with a partner.

Remarkably, she added, that the new female porn consumer is more likely than her male counterpart to want to see idealised body types featured in pornography.

"There's strong evidence that for a lot of male consumers it's looking at 'real' looking women that turns them on," Lumby said.

"Interestingly, more women preferred 'fantasy porn', which is the glossy, Penthouse style porn, in which women are more likely to have fake breasts and toned bodies and the men are more likely to be the handsome hunk," she added.

The Porn Report is published by Melbourne University Press.

ANI