A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World's Largest Experiment Reveals about Human Desire (6 page)
Authors: Ogi Ogas,Sai Gaddam
BOOK: A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World's Largest Experiment Reveals about Human Desire
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Monkey Pay-Per-View
Male Visual Cues
A large penis is always welcome.
—Atia of the Julii,
Rome
, season 1
Rome
, season 1
W
olfgang likes to look at images of female derrieres. He prefers certain poses: bent over, legs splayed, leaning on her knuckles. He likes these images so much that he is willing to pay for the privilege of looking at them. Sometimes he pays several times a day. This might seem excessive, though not exactly remarkable, except for one fact: Wolfgang is a monkey.
olfgang likes to look at images of female derrieres. He prefers certain poses: bent over, legs splayed, leaning on her knuckles. He likes these images so much that he is willing to pay for the privilege of looking at them. Sometimes he pays several times a day. This might seem excessive, though not exactly remarkable, except for one fact: Wolfgang is a monkey.
Rhesus macaques at Duke University Medical Center’s monkey colony are able to trade fruit juice for peeks at photos of female perinea (the scientific term for “bright pink monkey butts”). Researchers led by neurobiologist Michael Platt have consistently found that males are willing to trade juice to view these images and will trade more juice to look at monkey erotica than any other image, including powerful males or friendly female faces.
Men aren’t the only primates willing to spend money just to
look
at females, but they’re the only ones to develop it into an industry. The most popular paysites featuring adult videos, including Brazzers, Bang Bros, and Reality Kings, typically attract an audience that is around 75 percent men. Of course, that does mean that one out of four visitors is a woman—a minority, though a significant minority. But when it comes to actually
paying
for porn, the gender gap widens into an abyss. According to CCBill, the billing service most commonly used by the online adult industry, only 2 percent of all subscriptions to pornography sites are made on credit cards with women’s names. In fact, CCBill even flags female names as potential fraud, since so many of these charges result in an angry wife or mother demanding a refund for the misuse of her card.
look
at females, but they’re the only ones to develop it into an industry. The most popular paysites featuring adult videos, including Brazzers, Bang Bros, and Reality Kings, typically attract an audience that is around 75 percent men. Of course, that does mean that one out of four visitors is a woman—a minority, though a significant minority. But when it comes to actually
paying
for porn, the gender gap widens into an abyss. According to CCBill, the billing service most commonly used by the online adult industry, only 2 percent of all subscriptions to pornography sites are made on credit cards with women’s names. In fact, CCBill even flags female names as potential fraud, since so many of these charges result in an angry wife or mother demanding a refund for the misuse of her card.
A willingness to drop cold hard cash on porn is certainly the best indication that men’s motivation to ogle images is stronger than women’s. But there are plenty of other indicators. Consider one surprising investigation sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a federal government agency that funds approximately 20 percent of all basic research in American universities in every field of science and engineering, including the mapping of the genome and the construction of radio telescopes. Its board of directors is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. No other institution has a greater influence on American science. But in 2009, a certain activity was stealing so many hours from employees at the NSF headquarters in Washington, D.C., that the agency’s inspector general launched a formal inquiry. The activity? Surfing Internet porn.
More than two dozen employees at all levels of management were spending thousands of work hours watching pornography on taxpayer-purchased computers. These were smart, educated people used to interacting with America’s intellectual elite. But these white-collar executives couldn’t resist the temptations of online erotica. One senior executive spent 331 days viewing naked girls on his office computer, though he insisted his activities were a charitable contribution: “These young women are from poor countries and need to make money to help their parents.” The NSF porn-viewing employees had one thing in common: they were all men.
Over the past three years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Defense at the Pentagon, and the Minerals Management Service (responsible for monitoring the BP oil spill) all held internal investigations to deal with numerous male employees watching porn on government computers. Men are so highly motivated to look at graphic sex that they’re willing to risk public shame and even their jobs just to visit porn sites.
So what exactly are all these men so driven to look at?
GIRL METROPOLIS ANDCOUGAR TOWN
In this chapter, we’re going to review some of the main visual cues that activate male desire. Of course, men are also aroused by psychological cues. But the Internet demonstrates quite convincingly that most men prefer visuals to stories or discussion. Some of men’s visual cues will probably come as no surprise. Others are quite unexpected. Strictly speaking though, the most influential male cue of all is not visual, but chronological.
Age
dominates sexual searches, adult Web site content, and pornographic videos. On Dogpile, terms describing age are the most frequent type of adjective in sexual searches, appearing in one out of every six sexual searches. When the male desire software evaluates a woman’s visual appearance, one of the most prominent criteria is age—and not just youth, either.
dominates sexual searches, adult Web site content, and pornographic videos. On Dogpile, terms describing age are the most frequent type of adjective in sexual searches, appearing in one out of every six sexual searches. When the male desire software evaluates a woman’s visual appearance, one of the most prominent criteria is age—and not just youth, either.
Take a look at the graph on the next page. It shows the frequency of sexual searches on Dogpile that contain
specific
ages, such as “naked 25-year-olds” or “sexy 40-year–olds.” The higher the bar, the more popular the age. Notice there are two separate peaks, marked in dark gray.
specific
ages, such as “naked 25-year-olds” or “sexy 40-year–olds.” The higher the bar, the more popular the age. Notice there are two separate peaks, marked in dark gray.
The first peak is on the left, in a narrow cluster of searches for teens. But there’s a broader cluster of searches on the right, with a peak at age fifty. Though the popularity of adult women doesn’t quite reach the stratospheric heights of teens, it’s worth observing that more men search for fifty-year-olds than search for nineteen-year-olds. There is a rather shocking number of searches for underage women, but you may be equally surprised to discover there is significant erotic interest in sixty- and seventy-year-olds.
Frequency of age-related sexual searches on the Dogpile search engine
The adult industry recognizes there are distinct audiences for women of different ages. “A MILF falls into the 35-50-year-old category (50+ is ‘mature’). ‘Teens’ can be 18–20. The 21–35s are just plain porn,” explains Stephen Yagielowicz, senior editor for Xbiz, the leading source of news and business information for the adult industry. “Anecdotally, much of the mature content that I’m seeing on [nontube sites] today is vintage content from Eastern Europe, showing the widespread and perennial appeal of this material. You gotta love dirty old ladies!”
In the late 2000s, the online adult industry went through a dramatic change. This change was made possible by new technological developments, but was ultimately driven by male desire—namely, the desire to look at things. The Web site that epitomizes this change is known as PornHub.
Following the explosive success of YouTube—a Web site that allows users to upload and share their videos—a number of Web sites began to emulate YouTube, but with adult content. These sites are known as
tubes
. Dozens of tubes sprung up in 2007, including RedTube, XTube, YouPorn, and XNXX. Each offered thousands of video clips. The tubes quickly incited the wrath of the rest of the online adult industry. The reason for this animosity is perfectly understandable: many tube sites gave away content for free that they acquired for free. Instead of earning money from subscriptions—the previous business model for adult Web sites—the tubes earn money from advertisements.
tubes
. Dozens of tubes sprung up in 2007, including RedTube, XTube, YouPorn, and XNXX. Each offered thousands of video clips. The tubes quickly incited the wrath of the rest of the online adult industry. The reason for this animosity is perfectly understandable: many tube sites gave away content for free that they acquired for free. Instead of earning money from subscriptions—the previous business model for adult Web sites—the tubes earn money from advertisements.
In 2007, the Montreal-based PornHub came online. Their three floors of sedate offices, just across the street from a Walmart, resemble the sterile corporate cubicles of any high-tech startup. In just two years, PornHub became the most heavily trafficked adult video site in the world, attracting more than 10 million visitors each day. Though it had an “anything goes” attitude in its earliest days, the now caution-minded PornHub offloads squickier content (such as fisting and golden showers) onto its sister tube sites, and completely prohibits videos depicting rape, incest, or bestiality. Their success is partially predicated on an interface that makes it easy for users to locate appealing visual content. Videos are searchable by tags, categories, and a search engine. So what is the single most popular search term users enter into the PornHub search engine?
“Mom.”
We can get a clearer perspective on the popularity of age-related genres (such as “Mom”) by considering the frequency of specific age-related
adjectives
used in sexual searches.
adjectives
used in sexual searches.
This table mirrors the previous figure: youth dominates male desire, but there is also significant interest in older women, including MILFs. What’s a MILF? A “Mother I’d Like to Fuck.” This term was popularized in the 1999 teen comedy
American Pie
. MILFs became a profitable online niche in the early 2000s with the rise of Internet video, led by Web sites like MILF Hunter. Today, MILFs is one of the most popular and profitable genres of male-targeted pornography. Even socially conservative India has its own homegrown version of the MILF genre.
American Pie
. MILFs became a profitable online niche in the early 2000s with the rise of Internet video, led by Web sites like MILF Hunter. Today, MILFs is one of the most popular and profitable genres of male-targeted pornography. Even socially conservative India has its own homegrown version of the MILF genre.
An erotic online comic titled
Savita Bhabhi
gained a massive following in India soon after its initial publication in 2009. The comic strip, published in English, Hindi, and several other Indian languages, details the adventures of lusty buxom housewife Savita, who seduces salesmen, milkmen, neighborhood youth, and other assorted characters while her husband is away at work. The
bhabhi
—a Hindi word that literally means “sister-in-law” but is used to address married women in general—is a staple of erotic Indian tales as an aggressively amorous woman. Savita Bhabhi’s adventures, tame as they were by Western standards, did not go unnoticed by Indian authorities and the comic strip was banned within a few months.
Savita Bhabhi
gained a massive following in India soon after its initial publication in 2009. The comic strip, published in English, Hindi, and several other Indian languages, details the adventures of lusty buxom housewife Savita, who seduces salesmen, milkmen, neighborhood youth, and other assorted characters while her husband is away at work. The
bhabhi
—a Hindi word that literally means “sister-in-law” but is used to address married women in general—is a staple of erotic Indian tales as an aggressively amorous woman. Savita Bhabhi’s adventures, tame as they were by Western standards, did not go unnoticed by Indian authorities and the comic strip was banned within a few months.
The male desire for older women is also reflected in the popularity of “mom” searches on PornHub (since teen content is highly visible and easily accessible on PornHub, users may be more likely to manually type in searches for content they don’t immediately see).
More than a quarter of all men report that their first sexual fantasy was triggered by a sexy older person. There is a popular notion that older women, colloquially referred to as
cougars
, are more aggressive at pursuing sex than younger women. The tagline for ABC’s television show
Cougar Town
asks, “Can a woman of a certain age be a mom, a successful career woman, and still be on the prowl?” The answer seems to be yes. A 2010 study found that women age twenty-seven to forty-five have more sexual fantasies, a greater willingness to have one-night stands, and a greater willingness to have casual sex than women in other age ranges.
cougars
, are more aggressive at pursuing sex than younger women. The tagline for ABC’s television show
Cougar Town
asks, “Can a woman of a certain age be a mom, a successful career woman, and still be on the prowl?” The answer seems to be yes. A 2010 study found that women age twenty-seven to forty-five have more sexual fantasies, a greater willingness to have one-night stands, and a greater willingness to have casual sex than women in other age ranges.
“The main reason I like MILFs is because they’re more experienced and mature. They know exactly what they want, so there’s none of the awkwardness,” explains Brad Fowler, a twenty-one-year-old college student from Boston. “You feel like you can learn something from them, and there’s also an aspect of desiring something that you seemingly can’t have. . . . It’s easier to hook up with a hot college freshman than a hot forty-year-old with a kid and a minivan, so there’s a sense of accomplishment involved. It’s not Moms I
Can
Fuck, it’s Moms I’d
Like
to Fuck—it makes all the difference.”
Can
Fuck, it’s Moms I’d
Like
to Fuck—it makes all the difference.”
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