A COMPARISON OF MALE AND FEMALE DIRECTORS IN POPULAR PORNOGRAPHY: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WOMEN ARE AT THE HELM?

  1. Chyng Sun1,
  2. Ana Bridges2,
  3. Robert Wosnitzer3,
  4. Erica Scharrer4,
  5. Rachael Liberman5

Article first published online: 11 AUG 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00439.x

Issue

Psychology of Women Quarterly

Psychology of Women Quarterly

Volume 32, Issue 3, pages 312–325, September 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Sun, C., Bridges, A., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E. and Liberman, R. (2008), A COMPARISON OF MALE AND FEMALE DIRECTORS IN POPULAR PORNOGRAPHY: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WOMEN ARE AT THE HELM?. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32: 312–325. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00439.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    New York University

  2. 2

    University of Rhode Island

  3. 3

    New York University

  4. 4

    University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  5. 5

    New School for Social Research, New York

*Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr. Chyng Sun, Department of Communications, New York University, 726 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10012. E-mail: cfs1@nyu.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 11 AUG 2008
  2. Article first published online: 11 AUG 2008
  3. Initial submission: July 6, 2007Initial acceptance: February 9, 2008Final acceptance: March 20, 2008

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Pornography is a lucrative business. Increasingly, women have participated in both its production, direction, and consumption. This study investigated how the content in popular pornographic videos created by female directors differs from that of their male counterparts. We conducted a quantitative analysis of 122 randomly selected scenes from 44 top-renting adult videos in 2005 (half male- and half female-directed). Findings revealed that all films shared similar depictions: Verbal and physical aggression was common, women were the primary targets of aggression, and negative responses to aggression were extremely rare. Compared to male-directed films, female-directed films were significantly more likely to portray women-only scenes and sexual acts. Even when controlling for main characters' gender, female-directed films showed significantly more female perpetrators aggressing against female targets and significantly more depictions of women as perpetrators of aggression. We highlight the importance of economic forces, rather than director gender, in dictating the content of popular pornography.

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