Watching Sex: How Men Really Respond to Pornography

by David Loftus

The gulf between critics of pornography and those who use it seems unbridgeable. Not only do the two sides disagree about its effect on society and individual men and women, they cannot even agree on what it is. Where one finds objectification, subordination, degradation, and violence against women, the other sees beauty, fun, pleasure, female power and assertiveness, and fantasy. Freud never asked, "What do men want?" but Katherine MacKinnon asserts, "Pornography provides an answer. Pornography permits men to have whatever they want sexually. It is their ‘truth about sex'." Is this true? Dozens of books have been published on pornography, yet almost none feature the voices of the men who use it. Indeed, most of our ideas about men and pornography are theoretical, and most are entirely derived from women. Watching Sex explores pornography through the eyes of men who use it. The interviews with nearly 150 men—between the ages of 19 and 67, single, married, divorced and widowed, of straight, gay, and bisexual—are telling and provocative accounts of what they think, feel, and do in response to pornography. Their answers confound the now conventional wisdom promulgated by anti-pornography feminists, who would have us believe, in the words of Robin Morgan, "Pornography is the theory; rape the practice." Watching Sex provides a window on the true nature of men's sexuality that will prove of enduring importance.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Crystal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive and more than a little slanted. The author hammers into us that this book is about men, men, men and is clearly pro-porn--which is fine; however, his argument is unbalanced. In general, inclusions of any female perspective are negative. Loftus is very careful to cite only the most radical antiporn feminist criticisms, only briefly mentioning those with reasonable protests or even those who support porn. Furthermore, it is insulting to read such lines as: "As they so often do, women presume to speak for men in this area" (254).
Loftus makes unfounded, encompassing theories about women and pornography, seeming incapable of allowing opinions contrary to his own, thereby weakening his agenda. The only element of worth throughout this book is the anecdotal quotes from various men regarding their experiences with pornography. Otherwise, I find the author unprofessional.

[Ogi Ogas · Rating 1 out of 5]

My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.