Let’s kick off your day with a pressing question: Are you more of a “gangbang,” “milf,” or “amateur” aficionado? Yes, we’re diving into the world of porn.
Either way, your answer might reveal more than you think — at least according to Samira van Bohemen, a researcher at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. She’s currently busy investigating how our porn preferences might be linked to our social backgrounds.
She is highly interested in this correlation, as she tells Barabara de Jong from the AD — especially considering the fact that some of us “watch porn more often than they brush their teeth”. 🤫
So, what does porn tell us about ourselves?
If you gravitate toward the “slutty schoolgirl” trope (the scientist’s words, not mine), it might be a sign that certain forms of gender inequality are manifesting themselves in your body, which is why this type of content arouses you sexually.
But this (maybe unconscious) bias is not entirely your fault; it is mostly taught by your environment. That’s why, according to Van Bohemen’s research, the surroundings we grow up in might just have a say in shaping our porn preferences.
While Van Bohemen can’t say yet whether someone from a disadvantaged neighbourhood may have different preferences than someone who grew up in an upscale area, this is part of what her research is digging into.
For example, “We are examining whether individuals raised in very conservative environments, who hold the belief that men and women are fundamentally different, are more attracted to certain stereotypes than those from more progressive backgrounds,” she tells the AD.
The unspoken out in the open
Over the coming five years, Van Bohemen and her team will investigate why people from different social backgrounds are attracted to certain stereotypes in porn.
In doing so, Van Bohemen is uncovering something that’s usually hidden in our daily lives.
READ MORE | Sex-ploring the Netherlands: Here’s the porn Dutchies watched in 2023
Similarly, porn often deals with themes we tend to sweep under the rug, such as the inequality between men and women, class differences and sexual preferences for ethnic groups.
The first findings of the study will be presented in November at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. So, stay tuned, because things are about to get… revealing. 😏
What do you think about Van Bohemen’s research? Share your thoughts in the comments!
