Polish women like porn. We are at the forefront of the world

The idea for the name “Girls Watch Porn” was born when two friends – Paulina Krzywanienia and Paulina Kołaczek met at a women’s evening. Talking about romantic love like in American romantic comedies, they concluded that not every woman dreams of a prince on a white horse and bouquets of roses. – Before we established a fashion brand, there was a blog. It arose out of the need to talk directly about things that we often only talked about among ourselves. We wanted to break stereotypes.

Maybe I will surprise many people, but “Girls Watch Porn” is not only about porn and whether women watch it or not, but rather that women are also people!

– says Paulina Kołaczek, who is a graphic designer by profession, and privately a feminist and fashion lover who worked as a stylist for many years. Designs and produces T-shirts (and other garments) with the declaration “Girls Watch Porn”. Due to the word “porn” in the name, quite a few censorship problems have arisen. – Machine algorithms can download erotic content, so in some places the name had to be replaced with the GWP Brand name – says the designer.

Girls Watch Porn – T-shirt designed by Paulina Kocjek fot. mat prasowe Girls Watch Porn

– I always say that you might as well say “girls drink beer” or “girls play rugby”, but it is “porn” that attracts the most attention and arouses controversy, even 10 years after the blog was named.

I have given a lot of interviews and I am sorry that talking about female sexuality especially in relation to porn is still taboo

– emphasizes Paulina. – Watching movies with erotic content is one of those things that are said to be inappropriate for women to do. And we – even though we embroider this declaration on T-shirts – do not want to boast about it. I think that most of us do not need to announce it to the whole world, it is more about normalization, about understanding that women also have their own needs and there is nothing strange in it – emphasizes Paulina.

People who buy sweet pink or red T-shirts with a declaration (but also ruffled panties with the inscription “my body my rules“, “not yours” if “magical“) appreciate not only the quality of the products, but also the values ​​that the brand conveys.

– The Girls Watch Porn T-shirt is always a good start to discussions about double standards. People who assume this slogan certainly want to manifest something

I am proud of them – says Paulina.

– I am glad that you do not break open the door and ask if Polish women consume pornography – laughs Ewa Stusińska – doctor of humanities, author of the book “Nice job. grafia.pl is interested in phenomena excluded by public discourse and admits to being interested in pornography according to the principle: “Have good in your heart and a little wild porn in your head”. She is echoed by Magdalena Smaś-Myszczyszyn, a sexologist, psychotherapist, addiction psychotherapy specialist, supervisor, academic lecturer at the Lew-Starowicz Therapy Center in Warsaw.

Studies say women make up 30 percent of porn users. What’s more: in 2018, research was carried out, which showed that Polish women are in 8th place in the world when it comes to the frequency of viewing pornography. And this number is growing every year

– says the sexologist. – Women are more and more aware of their sexuality, that they have the right to sexual satisfaction, but also want to see what other people have sex like. They are simply curious, they look for what will wake them up and ask: “Where else should I learn this?”.

Smaś-Myszczyszyn draws attention to the fact that women have their own sexual fantasies that they want to fulfill, and through watching and masturbation they often partially fulfill these fantasies. But thanks to pornography, they also discover new fantasies, thanks to which they can “make their own movies in their head”. Pornography and what they see often opens them up and helps, for example, to talk to a partner about their needs. – Some of them watch mainstream porn, but there is a large group that watch the so-called “for women”, which I refer to as “alternative” – ​​because it is not only for women, it is simply different from mainstream pornography – he explains sex therapist.

Perhaps it is worth saying that this mainstream pornography in some way appeared in the world thanks to … a Polish woman. – Teresa Orlowski very quickly discovered that when it comes to producing pornographic films, there is no point in overpaying – explains Dr. Ewa Stusińska. – People want to be satisfied as soon as possible, and our compatriot from Dębica with her amazing talent for business – her company VTO in the 1980s was the largest porn producer in Europe – gave up the expensive tradition of films with a plot, typical of American and German cinema of the 1970s. , and began shooting the simple sexual numbers that flooded the Internet today.

Orlowski declared: “I don’t need two hours for stroking and smelling” because she just wanted to earn money from sex

This “alternative” pornography is often more “petting”. – What is important in it is that the account is shown there: a woman in this kind of films is not objectified, she is not just an “addition to a man”. What is also important in it is – the sexologist explains. There is no reflection in mainstream porn: no foreplay, no intimacy, no communication. In this “feminist” or “female” one, women are on an equal footing with the other person or persons. Acceptance of ourselves, the other person, our body in various forms, not only formatted for mainstream pornography, is taken up. We also see the type of protection used by the actors, putting on a condom or using an oral tissue.

Meanwhile, in mainstream porn, a large breast and a slim figure still matter – porn content studies indicate that it is over 65% – often attention is also paid to pale pink labia, no hair in women, while men are dominated by a large penis and a muscular body

– says the sexologist. In alternative porn recommended by both Magdalena Smaś – Myszczyszyn and Ewa Stusińska, realized female fantasies appear – in fact, one of the most famous series by Erika Lust, the creator of alternative porn – “X Confessions” was created in such a way that the director asked women from all over the world. the world to send her your fantasies, on the basis of which she made her films appreciating diversity.

However, when it comes to mainstream porn, based on Pornhub’s annual statistics, our preferences do not differ from men, “Japanese”, “milf”, “anal” are among the top rates for both genders around the world

– underlines Stusińska. Smaś Myszczyszyn gives details: “lesbians” – regardless of their sexual orientation – “triangle”, “big penis”, “popular with women”, “dark skinned people”, “gangbang” and “anal”.

Comment? Stusińska: – Pornography – despite its underground status and apparent differentiation – is today a phenomenon so strongly unified that we eat basically the same fast food. A certain cultural training that we all undergo unconsciously makes us choose content that effectively affects affect, masterfully dramatized, with a well-lit body, the hyper-reality effect – in practice, films are best positioned and as free as possible. The content of the fantasy is not so important.

We all watch the same series on Netflix, music videos on YouTube, and the same porn

– says.

However, if we reach for alternative porn, we can expect that the criteria defined by the Feminist Porn Award will be met: female participation in the creative process, presenting the pleasure, joy and sexual experiences of a woman, and expanding the boundaries of representation – it is about going beyond the mainstream patriarchy schema.

– Very often, when you watch mainstream porn – comments Smaś-Myszczyszyn – none of these conditions is met and you can really see it, e.g. if you know the symptoms of excitement in a woman. All it takes is a ton of lubricant and nipple pinching … I also ask her about mainstream porn, because many women declare that they find themselves in it. – That’s right – says Smaś-Myszczyszyn. – Although it is created mainly with the audience – men in mind, it is supposed to respond to male fantasies.

There is a lot of objectification of women, violence, something that many women do not agree to on a daily basis in sex, e.g. ejaculation on the face, constant movement of the penis and a change from anal to vaginal or oral intercourse without any form of protection, hygiene, lack of any kind. consensuality, i.e. asking for consent. A woman is always satisfied with everything and always agrees to everything, she is an object for a man to be satisfied

This is not really what sex is like. However, men learn it from pornography and they really think, but women too – that sex is like that, says the sexologist.

I am asking about the ramifications for women of learning sex from mainstream pornography. – They do not pay attention to themselves, their needs, they are silent when something does not suit them, or their “no” is deaf or taken as part of an exciting game “oh, it’s nice that you resist me, it’s exciting”, not as a sign of objection. Women also often think of themselves that something is wrong with them if they do not look like in these movies or are not as “aroused” as porn actresses, they do not scream during sex, they do not like what their partner does, etc. because unfortunately, mainstream pornography is a determinant of what sex should look like – tells me the therapist.

– I would like no one to learn from porn – any, even the alternative – sex – says Smaś-Myszczyszyn. “But if we don’t have access to a different kind of knowledge and experience – it’s better to see alternative porn than learn from mainstream porn,” the sexologist advises.

But the most important thing is that we remember that women have the right to watch pornography and enjoy it, that they have the right to masturbate to pornography to fulfill or expand their fantasies and sexual needs, and that they have the right to talk about it not only in small, trusted groups

– he declares. She is echoed by Dr. Stusińska, who says that women watch porn, but do not admit it because … viewing pornography is the same as admitting to masturbating. – And although men culturally get away with it, women do not necessarily. But have some wine with your friend sometime and ask if she watches from time to time… I recently discovered the wonderful Spanish project FourChambers. When I shared it on my fun-page, a friend of mine from a respected newspaper spoke up and admitted that she also loves it, the researcher smiles.