Back in November/December of 2015, I communicated with Huffington Post reporter Emma Gray re GIF porn and women viewers. It seems the story never saw the light of day, however the insights are interesting and useful — Enjoy GIF porn on HuffPo!
Emma Gray here.
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EG/HuffPo: Have you noticed a growing trend of women, specifically younger women, consuming porn on Tumblr in the last few years?
DrCT: Tumblr is known to be a women-centric site. And in 2013, TechCrunch reported that over 11% of Tumblr’s most popular accounts were porn-related. Tumblr’s popularity and the public’s awareness of GIF porn have both increased since then, so it stands to reason that the percentage of women consuming porn on Tumblr has increased too. In informal observations, Tumblr is most certainly the place many young women report going to for their porn.
EG/HuffPo: Why do you think women in their late teens, 20s and 30s might be drawn to curating and looking at porn/erotica on a platform like Tumblr instead of other mainstream porn sites?
DrCT: GIFs are like moving memories, and a well-done erotic GIF can mimic those flashes we often like to reflect upon after an erotic encounter. There most certainly is a lot of viability as to what specifically appeals to an individual, but a GIF that connects with a person seems to create a similar sensation. So for as many people as there are who prefer their porn in a longer form, there are many consumers who connect with GIFs. The rise of GIF porn has really expanded the porn consumer base, now including people who perhaps didn’t connect with erotic content in the forms it existed in before.
EG/HuffPo: Is GIF porn a newer trend?
DrCT: GIFs themselves are not new technology, and it’s a general rule that as soon as a tool or platform exists, people will use it for something sex-related (consider, for example, Vine). I’m willing to bet that there have been porn GIFs since the beginning. What were are seeing currently in terms of the prevalence and quality of GIF porn, however, is new. And like with anything, once a demand is identified, I expect people to continue refining and developing the quality of content to better meet people’s wants and needs.
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Well… what do you think about GIF porn on HuffPo?
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Get Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment on Amazon and CT.com