Claire Hoffman writes in Portfolio:
“It’s not just a man thing,” agrees Samantha Lewis, the C.E.O. of Digital Playground, who estimates that 45 percent of her Web-based sales (which include site subscriptions and DVDs sold online) are to women. “As each year goes by, we’re realizing, Oh my goodness. The percentages are climbing.”
I ask Adella at Digital Playground how they arrive at those figures. She replies: "We draw our information from a number of sources – 1.) marketing survey / product registration cards 2.) trade shows and appearances 3.) online sales."
I don’t believe the figures. I believe that female purchases of porn are insignificant. I don’t know that. That’s just my intuition.
I am sure some women watch porn. I just don’t think that they spend (for themselves) more than a tenth as much as men do on porn. Why would they? Their natures are different. Women are not turned on by naked men as powerfully as men are turned on by naked women. Women generally don’t seek anonymous sex while most men are happy to have sex with beautiful and anonymous women.
Let’s say I’m right. Why would porn companies inflate the percentage of female vs. male customers? For the same reason they talk about "couples porn." Not because it makes females or couples more likely to buy porn, but because it makes the solitary male addict-losers who are their principal customers feel better about themselves.
Anecdotally, I believe there are more women, mostly young women, watching porn. But I don’t believe the 45% figure; that’s ridiculously inflated. But consider the source. Digital Playground’s marketing team is known to be ethically challenged. Just ask Mike South.
I can see the non brick-and-mortar % of porn sales to females being significantly higher but probably not 45%.
My wife enjoys watching adult videos as type of foreplay even though honestly I’m not really into it as much anymore. Years back I knew scores of couples who asked me to get them porn that they would watch together.
I also knew a lot of straight, bi and lesbian females who wanted to watch porn but were uncomfortable or unable (due to distance) with visiting an adult bookstore.
If you think women don’t watch porn you don’t really know women.
there is no way, no way that 45% of sales and rental are to females. I tell you what is happening here…the porn companies have been toputing this couples porn bullshit so long they are starting to believe their own PR.
All you have to do is go to your local upscale video store and watch for a day
or pull the CC receipts for DP websites and see how many are in female names
then of those see how many of the females are married then subtract 90% from that (hubby using wifes card)
and you have the much more realistic number of about 10% at BEST
I would say digital playground and vivid have much higher than 10% female customer base if only for the reason they are a much more likely source of interest due to the softer style of content than say Max Hardcore.
One has to also consider that just because the male makes the purchase doesn’t mean he is consuming it alone. I understand for most of you that’s how it goes 100% of the time but that’s not the way it plays out for all of us.
I can understand Mike’s viewpoint if only for the fact my wife would bust my balls cold if I tried to get her to watch a Mike South video instead of say a Jesse Jane or Jenna flick.