OK, so it’s not specifically sci fi, gay or fantasy, but this caught our eye since such a large proportion of both writers and readers of MM romance are women:
In 2001, Salon received the equivalent of a Dear Abby letter from a straight women confessing, “[Gay porn] turns me on like no heterosexual porn ever has. What’s up with that? Am I a freak?”
In response, writer Tracy Clark-Flory recounted her experience co-judging the Air Sex Championships, during which the all-female panel of judges was often “recoiling in disgust.” That is, until a man unexpectedly and vigorously began reenacting a gay sex scene. Clark-Flory tells us, “[Reader], it was hot. For the only time that evening, the all-female judging panel leaned forward…to get a better look.”
Monday morning, The Telegraph published an article explaining “how women fell for gay porn.” The main reason given is remarkably similar to what men will say of lesbian porn. In the words of one online viewer, “There’s nothing better than watching two handsome guys f*****,” (well, any handsome men, given most heterosexual porn). Some women added that gay porn has another benefit: neither of the participants seem as feigned or as uncomfortably exploited as the women often do in both heterosexual and lesbian porn.
That two hot men are better than one is a valid reason, but just like the explanation for why men like lesbian porn, it seems to lack a certain depth. The second reason given in The Telegraph is onto something more, and looking at the long history of women’s production and consumption of gay porn reveals just how complex the array of women’s motivations can be.